TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 15,2006
Heppner fiddler, Tim Collins, to perform with
Old Time Fiddlers
- dances, fund raisers, get-
By Peg Willis
Morrow County is
home to a former, self-
avowed “closet fiddler.”
One of the truly great old-
time fiddlers still around,
Tim Collins of Heppner is
reluctant to toot his own
hom. Or perhaps “to bow
his own fiddle” would be
more appropriate.
Soft-spoken and
unassuming, Tim will admit
to playing the instrument,
but says he’s not very good
at it. He isn’t interested in
promoting himself or his
abilities and has reached
championship status only
because of his natural desire
to help out a friend.
Collins, born in
Wallowa County and now
working for the U.S. Forest
Service in Heppner, came
from a musical family. Both
his parents, two brothers and
a sister all played guitar
growing up. And Mom
played accordion and piano.
Tim, the youngest in the
family, started on a small
guitar of his mother’s at age
six. The family members still
get together for family jams
whenever possible.
Tim’s dad owned a
Fiddle and one time decided
to learn how to play it. “He
tuned it up the way he
thought it should be and
learned to play a few tunes.
My brother would back him
up on guitar. Then some guy
showed up that knew how to
play the fiddle a little bit, and
HE tuned the fiddle - and
then my dad couldn’t play it
any more. He didn't have
the right tuning on it.” That
was the end of Dad’s Fiddling
career, but young Tim was
beginning to get interested in
this strange instrument.
A couple of aunts
“took my grandpa to Weiser
(the National Old-Time
Fiddle Contest) one year and
they made tape recordings of
some of the music.” When
Collins heard the fiddle
music he thought, “Wow.
That sounds pretty good.”
So he got his dad’s old Fiddle
out, listened to the tapes, and
“just kind of squawked
around on it.” By this time,
he was a sophomore in high
school.
“1 did Figure out how
to tune it right,” says Collins
laughing.
One of the people
who most helped Tim in the
early days was his second
cousin, Charlie Trump in
Wallowa County. Charlie
had been playing nearly all
his life, having learned from
his mother and her brothers.
The style he played was what
had been common in Raleigh
County, West Virginia, his
mother’s place of birth. So
Tim began picking up the
same tunes and style.
‘Tim ’s got real good
timing. He’s good,” says
Charlie Trump. This is high
praise coming from the man
who was declared grand
championship 16 times at the
Blue Mountain Old-Time
Fiddle Contest.
Quite often Tim
would record C harlie's
playing and take it home to
learn. “I used to play just
about every tune that Charlie
played. I still play a lot of
them. I think I mimicked him
to the point where, when I
played, people couldn't tell
us apart.”
In Tim’s late teen
years he worked at a ranch
where in the winter, there
wasn’t much to do in the
evenings but sit and learn to
play. “I would just sit by the
fire and play Fiddle.”
In the beginning, the
instrument was difficult to
Tim Collins
learn. “I didn’t really Figure
out how to work the bow for
a long time.”
“I’ve kind of
changed my style a little the
last couple of years,” says
Tim. "The way I’m holding
my bow now. I’ve got a lot
more speed to it. I was using
too much arm and not
enough wrist.”
Watching the bow
glide gracefully across the
strings and hearing the
intricate subtleties of Tim's
playing makes it seem almost
effortless.
Not so, says Tim.
“Learning is a struggle for
me. I work at it hard. I don't
know that I’ve got a lot of
talent, but I’ve worked at it
hard. And what I do now.
I’ve worked to learn.”
Tim first played in
public for a high school
talent show. Once the word
was out that he could play,
he was invited to use his
ability in a number of venues
togethers of various kinds.
Contests were something
Tim was definitely not
interested in.
The first fiddle
contest Tim was talked into
entering was in Baker City.
He was so nervous he played
his hoedown in about half the
time it would normally take.
He was glad he didn’t make
the cut to the second round.
“I felt pretty good about
that, because I really didn't
want to get up in front of
those people again.”
But in more recent
years, Tim has entered the
Blue Mountain Old Time
Fiddlers Contest in
Enterprise. He goes at the
beckoning of his former
mentor, Charlie Trump, now
88 years young. "Charlie
always calls and says ‘we
need all the fiddlers we can
get over here.’ So I go to
help out. He's got so much
to do to get it ready.”
Tim ’s children,
Maggie and Patrick, also
enjoy the contest. They like
playing for an audience.
“Right now I’m
going to fiddle contests
because my kids like to go,”
says Tim. “I try not to be
nervous around them - try
not to let them see me sweat.
They seem to have a great
time doing it.”
Tim’s wife Jeannie is
the glue that holds it all
together. She pays the entry
fees, and yearly dues, makes
sure that they are signed up
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Tri-Plex
to play and have all of their
"stuff.” She notes that
toddler, Roy, can’t wait to
become a part of the family
band. “Every time I try to
play with them on my gut
bucket, Roy gets in there and
hollers “Let me do it.' and he
plunks along.”
Tim won the
championship division in the
2005 contest. He’s very
happy about the quality of
his playing - but not overly
proud. Perhaps the humble
appreciation of his abilities is
as important as the ability
itself. More than just
learning and playing notes,
Tim Collins exhibits the spirit
of old-time music. It’s not
about being better than
someone else; it's not about
drawing attention to
yourself; it’s not about
money or fame or keeping
score. It’s about the music
and the culture that has
spawned, it. It’s about
valuing people and the music
that binds us to them.
And it’s a very
personal thing. “I notice that
when Tim is frustrated about
something, he gets out his
fiddle or guitar and plays,”
says Jeannie. “And he
strives for that invisible
definition of perfection that
only he can see.”
W e're very glad
Collins came is now willing
to share his music with those
who like to listen. Tim
Collins is a piece of the past,
dressed up in modern
clothes, and Fiddling his way
into the hearts of all who
hear his sweet music. This
world could use a few more
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people like him.
Tim will perform
with the Blue Mountain Old
Time Fiddlers on Friday,
March 17, at Heppner
uÇandCb.
REALTOR B
180 W. Baltimore #5
Heppner, OR 97836
541-676-5049
I