[From the Ontario District's newsletter, The Trillium, issue 59-04, October - December, 2005 , Waldo Redekop, editor.]

Northern Division Big Wheel Contest

By Jim Doyle, Northern Division Co-ordinator

The first Saturday of October 2005, was a beautiful, sunny day. What a gorgeous day to make the trip to Huntsville. The leaves were just starting to turn, and you could just feel a great day was ahead.

Martusha and I tried to arrive a little early (so she could browse through the neat little shops on Huntsville’s main street and so I could try to get set up with my laptop, unaccustomed as I am to acting as contest administrator). The Huntsville men had everything well in hand. Set up was already underway and the registration desk was prepared for the arriving competitors and guests.

The inviting smell of lunch wafted through the air, inviting one and all to come and partake. And we were not disappointed! A delicious bowl of hearty stew awaited us, accompanied by a unique triple-decker egg salad and roast beef sandwich. Top that off with coffee and dessert and it is amazing anyone could still demonstrate breath support!

It was time for the contest. The judges, Bob’s Yer Uncle, were set, resplendent in their bright Hawaiian shirts.

The church hall had a stage, but it was not conducive to a proper walk-on by the quartets. However, in my mind, that contributed to the casual, relaxed feel which was evident the whole afternoon. For example, one of the novice quartets got lost in the words to one of their songs. Unperturbed, they started that verse over again, maintaining a smile the whole way through. This time, they made it to the tag and received a resounding standing ovation from the supportive crowd.

There were seven Senior Novice Quartets, nine Regular Novice Quartets, six VLQ’s and three of the four chapters participated as a Mini-Chorus. Unfortunately, again this year, we were not able to produce any Super-Novice Quartets (all four new quartetters).

The Midland Chapter, the Huronia Harmonizers, donated the Henry Light Memorial Plaque many years ago for the winning mini-chorus. This year, for the first time, they were the winners of that award with their energetic presentation of “This Land is Your Land.”

The winning Very Large Quartet was Shadfly Country from North Bay, singing their “Big Band Medley.”  

In the Novice Senior Quartet category, Huntsville’s Mall Four were edged by one point by Shadow from North Bay.

The Novice group was just as close, with Barrie’s Young Buds (featuring a father-son combo) capturing the bronze.  Missing first by two points, the Four Notables from Barrie grabbed the silver.

It was a clean sweep of this category by Barrie, as their foursome Choral Greef took the gold medal. This quartet comprises lead David Rozycki (a first-year Barbershopper), bass Syd Lucas, tenor Larry Maw and baritone Rod Harris.

We were not yet finished with the afternoon. District President Wylie Forster and his foursome, Backroads entertained us with their smooth styles. It was a chance for those of us in the Northern Division to host a group from another division. Then we had a version of the retiring champs as Sounds Unlikely sang a swan song.

Our real treat for the day came when our judges, Bob’s Yer Uncle showed us what topnotch Barbershop is! These guys told us how genuinely grateful they were to be invited back to Huntsville, which had been one of their first performances in about eight years. Bob’s Yer Uncle have reunited after some time with other combinations, and boy, are they making the reunion work. Brad Brown, BernieHachey, Bob Himes and Dave Moore did a terrific job judging the Northern Division Novice Big Wheel. They contributed to the relaxed feel of the day. One can only hope that they might inspire some of our novices to aim for their lofty heights.

Thank you, Huntsville, for a terrific hosting job. Thank you, Backroads and Bob’s Yer Uncle. Also, thank you Northern Division for supporting your 2005 Big Wheel. Watch for news about next year’s event.     k