FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 15,2006
Irish road bowling added to
Respected musician, Cal Scott, to perform with Chamber Chatter
_
. . .
By Claudia Hughes,
Chamber Exe. Director
Wee Bit O ’ Ireland weekend the Trail Band at Heppner St. Pat s festivities
By Peg Willis
Welcome to Hepp
celebration schedule
ner all visiting readers. ‘Tis
A St. Paddy’s leprechaun tries her hand at road howling
A first-time event comes to this 24th Annual Wee
Bit O ' Ireland celebration in Heppner. Road bowling, an
old Irish sport, makes it debut on Sunday, March 19.
“The St. P at’s C om m ittee is confident, after
researching the sport, that participants and spectators will
have more than a wee bit o ’ fun on Sunday,” reports
committee Chair Doris Brosnan. “Though none of us has
played, we can see that the basics are simple, so I think it
will appeal to alm ost everyone who has a drop of
competitive blood. Simply put, the object of the game is
to cover a designated course on a road or street with the
fewest tosses of the “bowl.” ’
Teams of two to three members can enter by
showing up at the steps of the Morrow County Courthouse
at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. This year’s event will be limited
to a maximum of 10 teams, since the St. Pat’s Committee
will have just 10 bowls for teams to use, donated by Tim
Daly, who first brought the sport to the attention of the
committee. And the committee will only have the bowls
for adults.
The Irish have road bowled since the 1600s, and
today, passion for the sport is especially strong in County
Armagh, in the north, and Cork, in the south. The origins
are unclear - perhaps brought from England by weavers
or from Holland by William of Orange’s troops, or maybe
started by Irish patriots' taking of small English cannonballs
and rolling them home by the light of the moon.
Irish troops in the Civil War brought the sport to
America. In 1954, international com petitions were
recognized, and in 1985, a world-association set of rules
were adopted by the governing body, Bol Chumann na
hEireann.
Ireland, West Virginia, added Irish Road Bowling
to its Irish Spring Festival in 1995, and now Oregon is
among the states that have organized-bowling groups. The
West Virginia Irish Road Bowling Association has been
the source of information and encouragement for the St.
Pat’s Committee, and the rules used by that association
will guide Heppner’s Sunday event:
A 28-oz iron-and-steel bowl (also called “bullet” )
about the size of a tennis ball is hurled underhanded down
a road to a finish line. For a few reasons, this year’s event
will be played on an in-town series of streets. The team
with the fewest shots to the finish line wins. A “trophy of
distinction” is planned, with the winners’ names engraved,
to be displayed in a local, “prominent place.”
A small entry fee of $5 per participant will be used
to pay for the trophy, and the remaining amount will be
split 50-50 between the St. Pat's fund and the winning team.
“As we get better at this, we will surely acquire
strategies and skills, in organizing and playing, but this year,
we just want to get acquainted with the sport,” says Claudia
Hughes, St. Pat’s Committee Chair. “Our planned course
will offer a variety of straightways, curves right and left,
and a hill.”
The course will cover 1.1 miles, which could take
about two hours to complete, according to available
information. Participants will receive specific course
information when they arrive at the courthouse steps on
Sunday.
To sign up in advance, a person may contact the
Chamber Office in city hall, at 676-5536, or call Doris
Brosnan, 676-5382. More information is available at the
Chamber of Commerce office on Thursday and Friday.
Welcome to
Hcppr icr
TTic 1 risk Capitel
of the Northwest!
Enjovf the
St. Patrick's Celebration!
4
Peterson’s
T
P y jj
Heppner
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He grew up in East
ern Oregon. And now Cal
Scott's name is known and
respected nation-wide for his
m u s ic a l
p e rfo r
m ances,
com posi
tio n and
p ro d u c
tion
of
f i l m
sco res.
How did
it happen? Cal Scott
Cal S c o tt’s early
y ears w ere sp en t in La
Grande, during the relative
peace and security of the
‘50’s. Home, family, neigh
borhood - all figured prom
inently in his life. “It was a
pretty ideal place to grow up
- in that era particularly.”
Both of Scott’s par
ents were musical. His fa
ther, D on, was the high
school band teacher, and su
perintendent of music for the
La Grande schools (1952 till
1965). Scott’s mother, Pol
ly, had been c la ssic a lly
trained on piano, and though
she did not focus on perfor
mance as an adult, Scott
grew up in a home surround
ed by music.
“From the time we
were little we would sing
along with the family. There
was Beethoven or Bach or
Mozart on the hi-fi every
morning. As far back as I can
remember, that's how we
woke up.” This early expo
sure to the masters played a
big part in Scott’s musical
education.
M usic w a sn ’t the
only thing in Scott’s life. “I
liked Scouts and church
youth group and playing
baseball, but really, music
was the main thing. It was
what I really wanted to do.”
Scott’s formal musi
cal education began at age
seven with piano lessons. He
soon added trum pet and
clarinet. Scott bought his
first guitar from The Fix It
Shop in La Grande. “It was
ancient - a 1915 Gibson L 1
arch-top with an oval sound
hole. It wasn’t a great sound
ing guitar, but it was a real
guitar. My dad helped me
glue it back together and it
was very cool.”
By junior high age,
Scott became involved in his
first band outside of school.
“I traded that old Gibson for
a horrible imported electric
guitar. Seems really dumb
now, but hey, I was a kid.”
T h is band, The
Sceptres, ‘“did pretty well for
14-year-olds. We played for
a high school dance - but
they were kind of em bar
rassed to have a bunch of
junior high kids, so they put
us on the upper level of the
gym - with no lights, so we
wouldn’t be seen.”
A m ajo r tu rn in g
point in Scott’s musical en
lightenment came when... “I
was practicing a simple ver
sion of the Chorale from
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
on piano. Somehow 1 dis
covered that I could play it
in a different key. T hat’s
when the door opened. I
spent the rest of the week
playing that one tune in dif
ferent keys. It was a really
big deal for me. But my pi
ano te ac h e r w a sn ’t im
pressed. She just wanted to
know why I hadn’t practiced
my other pieces.”
Playing music is just
one part of what Scott does
now. He is also a well known
composer and owns his own
recording and production
studio. He has done over 30
specials and documentaries
for PBS. Recent projects in
clude Great Lodges of the
N atio n al Parks, and the
themes for Oregon Art Beat
and Oregon Field Guide.
“This is a dream job
for me. The reason I’m mak
ing a living is because I’m the
composer and musician and
recording engineer - all in
one person. I’ve made a liv
ing at this for 20 years. I feel
so blessed - so lucky.”
The Trail Band, a big
part of Scott’s life, came to
gether in the early ‘90’s for
just one perform ance - a
stage play in Cleveland. But
the band just co u ld n 't be
stopped! “It's the only band
I’ve ever been in that took
off on its own. We’ve kept
playing because we enjoy
playing together - and enjoy
each other. I think that still
shows.” Audiences all over
the Northwest would agree.
The Trail Band is
one of the Northwest’s most
powerful and sought after
musical groups. Their music,
som e o f it com posed by
Scott who is also the musi
cal director of the group, is
varied, widely acclaimed and
irrepressible.
M arv R oss, the
band’s founder, says “Cal is
the most versatile member of
The Trail
Band,
a n d
t ha t ’s
saying a
lot. He
moves
f r o m
tru m p et
to piano
to guitar
to m an-
d o 1 i n
whi l e
The Trail Band
■missing
nary a beat.”
And Scott m oves
just as freely among musical
styles. Be it classical, jazz,
Celtic, ragtime, blues, reg
g a e... Scott nails it with
class.
Scott, who lives near
Tigard with his wife, Sue,
seems to have inherited his
father's desire to help young
sters find and enjoy their
music. Going out of his way
to encourage young musi
c ian s, S c o tt’s ad v ice is
“Practice. You’ve got to love
it.”
So, did he practice
because he loved it - or be
cause his parents made him?
HEPPNER ELKS 358
676-9181
"H here Friends Meet"
142 North M a in
S im ple answ er: “ Y es.”
Sometimes we have to be
made to do what we don’t
feel like doing.
W hat in stru m en t
should an aspiring musician
learn? “1 like to see kids play
a linear instrument like a
horn or a fiddle, and a chord
al instrument like piano, and
the guitar. I really think it’s
best if they can do all three.
You get different things from
each of them - really differ
ent things. ”
To aspiring compos
ers Scott says, “First of all,
copy your hero’s style. Write
som ething in exactly the
same form. And finish it - no
matter how bad you may
think it is. You can’t start
your second song till you’ve
finished your first.”
Of the many facets of
his profession, Scott says the
thing he enjoys most is the
com posing. “ I'm alw ays
looking at a visual image
(film) thinking “what kind of
music’s going to go here?’
It’s the emotional link to the
viewer. I sit down with the
d irecto r and we go over
where there’s going to be
music. We develop what’s
called a cue list - where the
music goes. And w e'll talk
about the nature of the mu
sic they want - orchestral or
small, jazz or whatever. I go
write it.”
S cott’s personality
may be as much a factor in
his success as his musical
ability. Ross says, “He’s a
consummate pro, a gentle
man, and an artist - I con
sider myself lucky to work
and play with him.”
W hat's up next for
Cal Scott? H e's currently
performing and recording
with Kevin Burke, renowned
Irish fiddler. And of course,
there's the Trail Band. And
new film offers come regu
larly. T h e re ’s not m uch
chance of an early retirement
for this gifted musician.
Scott will perform
with the Trail Band on Sat
urday, March 18, beginning
at 7:30 p.m. at the Heppner
Elementary School gym. The
performance is funded by the
M orrow C ounty U nified
Recreation District.
To learn more about
Cal Scott and his music visit
his web site: www.calscott
music.com or the site for The
T rail Band: w w w .trail
band.com.
DEADLINE
FOR ALL
ARTICLES &
ADVERTISING
MONDAYS AT
5 :0 0 P.M.
glad we are to have you back
in Heppner where everyone
is Irish for the weekend.
For answers to your
questions, stop by the green
information booth beside the
Post Office where you can
purchase your button for the
$100 lucky button drawing.
Now did ye know that you
have become one of 33.7
million residents of the U.S.
who have Irish ancestry and
can legitim ately wear the
green?
And, with that, like
a smattering of lucky clo
vers, I share the following:
A mischievous lepre
chaun was out and about this
past week blowing flags to
and fro and turning Father
Condon’s upside down.
Some wee folk have
been seen climbing into the
H eppner TV window and
checking out the variety of
baskets for the casino night
auction and raffle. They want
everyone to know that win
ners aren’t limited to gam
ing enthusiasts: one and all
have a chance to win “bas
kets” .
Follow the le p re
chauns upstairs Friday night
at the Elks. The Luck O ’ The
Irish Casino Night proceeds
keep the celebration ongo
ing and help market O re
gon’s Rugged Country in the
Willow Creek Valley. (That’s
why the H eppner le p re
chauns are bigger than those
ordinarily found under the
toadstools; they have lots of
work to do.)
Congratulations to
Dr. R obert R olen, w ho,
th o u g h not Irish to our
knowledge, has run a busi
ness for twenty years taking
care of eyes in our commu
nity. May he have many more
successful years in Heppner.
The Heppner Cham
ber continues to meet every
Thursday and should ye be
early in town, join us this
T h u rsd ay , M arch 16, at
John’s Place, noon, to hear
a p re sen ta tio n by Steve
Brucker of Oregon Interna
tional Speedway. He will
give a presentation and an
swer questions regarding the
race track that may come to
M orrow County, west of
Boardman. Plans are for rac
es by 2008. Do you suppose
leprechauns are allowed to
participate in major league
racing? Brucker plans to
come to Heppner this week
end and enjoy the festivities,
so ask him.
And should ye have
such a great time this week
end, what with the entertain
ment, races, first ever road
bow ling and all, we can
promise you an equally fine
time if you join us April
Fool’s weekend for a repeat
of Trivia Night. It's happen
ing in Heppner.
T h o u g h t fo r the
week: “May the road rise up
to meet you, the wind be al
ways at your back, the sun
shine warm upon your face,
the rains fall gently upon
your fields... and until we
meet again, may God hold
you in the hollow of his
hand.” .. ..a version of the
Irish blessing.
Jewelers/
676-9200
Saturday, M arch IStli
Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner
starting at 6 p.m. Live music with
the Little McKay Creek Band
starting at 8:30 p.m.
Have fun during the St. Patrick“* weekend celebration!
LEXINGTON AUTO BODY
IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH
LOOSLIE AUTO BODY.
Lexington A uto Ikxly is doing
A uto B ody R epair, G lass R epair
an d R eplacem en t Towing.