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NEWS
(updated 30 June 2008)
Pipe Major Retires in Style
On 20 June 2008, Pipe Major Eric Kean retired in style from his many
years of
employment at Goodyear in Medicine Hat by playing through
the factor and office in full dress uniform. Congratulations Eric!

Tony Competes in Regina and Moose
Jaw
Tony Solazzo, a piper with the South Alberta Pipes & Drums ,
competed in the Victoria Day weekend Highland Games in Regina
Moose Jaw and did us proud:
-grade 4 6/8 March in both games (played
Glendaruel Highlanders)
In Regina, placed second and Moose Jaw place first
-grade 4 2/4 March in both games (played Walter
Douglas)
In Moose Jaw. came in 3rd, in Regina first
In Regina, he was asked to compete in grade 3
Hornpipe and Jig just for fun
because they needed more competitors in the class. For this he
played
Duncan Johnstone and Fiddlers Rally and came in first
Meal
do naidheachd! (Congratulations!)
Hector Smith, PM, Dies in Eugene OR

Hector E. Smith of Eugene died January 23, 2008, of lung
cancer at age
82.
He was born September 9, 1925, in Medicine Hat, Alberta, to Earl
and
Josephine Colthorp Smith. He studied the pipes
under Alex Hosie from age nine.
He
danced the hornpipe atop a flat car when the band played for the king
and queen
during the Royal Tour (1939). See photo on
history page.
Smith graduated grade school and high school in Alberta, and
graduated
from
the University of British Columbia. He served in the Canadian ( actually
the Royal)
Navy in World War II. Hector
moved to Oregon in 1951 and helped start the
Eugene Higlanders Bagpipe Band in 1953. He was the instructor and pipe
major
until his recent death. He may have been the longest - standing pipe
major
on the continent. He played the pipes for over 70 years
and taught over 100 pipers.
Hector continued to play ice hockey into his late seventies. He played
for a
Port Coquitlam team in Nanaimo, B.C. which was all guys between 70 and
75.
He practiced law for more than 50
years.
Submitted
by Ma'Carry Cairo (one of the last students of Hector Smith)

FORMER BAND MEMBER VISITS
Mike
Spencer, formerly with South Alberta Pipe Band, and then
with the
South Alberta Pipes and Drums, stirred from his current lair in Maple
Ridge, where
he has progressed to Uillean Pipes, and visited the lads during their
Friday practice
at the Legion. Mike was warmly welcomed and roundly insulted for
not bringing his
pipes to practice!
BAND PLAYS AGAIN FOR CELTIC KITCHEN PARTY
After
last year's successful appearance in the Esplanade to open for Rosheen
at the
St. Patrick's Day Celtic Kitchen Party, the South Alberta Pipes and
Drums was
invited to open for Tiller's Folly at this year's Celtic Kitchen Party
(Brewtopia) on
the 17th of March 2007.
SCHOOL RESTARTS 08 JANUARY AT
NEW LOCATION AND NEW DAY
The school of piping and drumming restarts on Mondays,
08 January, at the Alexandra
Junior High School band room. This is the same location as Friday
evening band practice.
Beginners and experienced players welcome. Students
in past years have
included adults,
teenagers and children, both with no previous experience or
joining us from another city
with association with a previous band. Registration fee is
$20. Bring your green
tutor,
practice chanter, drum pad and sticks if you have any.
STREETS OF HAVRE SAFE, BAND CALLS OFF ATTACK
Due to bad weather (threats of snow), the annual band trip to
Havre was cancelled this
year and the good folk of Havre can rest easy. The parade went
off in the end in cold,
windy weather. The band hopes to make an appearance in Havre
again next year.
2006 WORLD PIPE
BAND
CHAMPIONSHIPS IN GLASGOW
The
Grade 1 World Championship Trophy went to the Field Marshal Montgomery
Pipe Band from Northern Ireland under the leadership of Pipe Major
Richard Parkes
MBE (pictured above receiving trophy) and Leading Drummer Keith Orr.
Field Marshal
had already won the Scottish and British titles this season before
adding the Worlds.
Field Marshal
finished with 16 points winning both the MSR and Medley events.
Simon Fraser University from Canada took the runners up place with 23
points
finishing 2nd in the MSR and 3rd in the Medley. The House of Edgar
Shotts and
Dykehead (Scotland) finished in 3rd place, Strathclyde Police
(Scotland) in 4th place,
Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland) in 5th place and The
Scottish Lion -
78th Fraser Highlanders (Canada) in 6th place.
9 pre qualified
bands already guaranteed their spot in the final were joined by the
delighted Grade 1 morning qualifiers Alberta Caledonia (Canada),
Ballycoan
(Northern Ireland), Dysart and Dundonald (Scotland), Australian
Highlanders
(Australia) and The Clan Gregor Society (Scotland).
The Grade 1
final is of course a twin performance final and was judged by Denver
Cardwell (Piping), Jim Campbell (Piping), Willie Dunlop (Drumming) and
Trevor
Dear (Ensemble) in the MSR Contest with John Wilson (Piping), Dixie
Ingram
(Piping), Gordon Parkes (Drumming) and Joe Noble (Ensemble) judging the
Medley event.
CITY CELEBRATES 100, BAND NOT
FAR BEHIND
On a damp, cool evening, Tuesday 9 May, 2006, the City of Medicine Hat
celebrated its
100 years of incorporation and renamed Riverside Park as Riverside
Veterans Memorial
Park in honour of our veterans...and the South Alberta Pipes and Drums
were there to help.
Later on, after the renaming ceremony, there was lantern parade and
light show and the
band marched down River Road. A good time was had despite the
rainy weather.
CELTIC
KITCHEN PARTY
The Band opened for
the Celtic Kitchen Party at the Esplanade on Thursday, 16 March.
We played three sets and had two dancers (Janelle and Shannon) from the
McConnell
School of Highland Dance dance the Fling. Drew Darley Band
followed with guest Celtic
Ezra
and the main band Rosheen
followed
on. There was beer tasting in the lobby.
There was great appreciation of our dramatic curtain raising version of
Highland Cathedral.
PIPE BAND STARTING UP IN LETHBRIDGE
At the Coalhurst parade on Saturday, 13 August, we were pleased to meet
a band
of pipers and drummers from Lethbridge. They told us they were
just starting up
again after the Legion Band disappeared several years ago. We
invited them to play
with us afterward and two drummers joined us for a few sets in the
park. Welcome
back Lethbridge! They have a website, see out Links page.
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