MEMOIRS FROM MARILYN MERRY
Marilyn Merry has been a teacher in Vancouver for over fifty years. Her students were very successful and included Mary
Margaret Manifold, Maureen Stephens, Debbie Timmus and the MacInnes boys. As a dancer, Marilyn was very successful in competitions all over Alberta, BC and the Western U.S. She started Highland in Edmonton and continued with Miss Mary Isdale in Vancouver when the family moved to BC in 1948.
"My parents joined BC Highland in 1948 when we moved to Vancouver from Edmonton. Mom had been a secretary of the dancing association in Edmonton and so it was quite a natural occurrence that she eventually became secrretary for BC Highland. In those days there were six monthly competitions - everyone copeting in one dance and at the end of the six months points were added for the trophy and medals. If you had a birthday in the middle of the year you took your points up to the next class - making for some interesting results!
My first competitions were at the Cambrian Hall at 17th and Main. I don't remember the number of years but Lakies Pipe Band also held their Festival at the Cambrian Hall. My Mom, Mrs. Francis Fridge, Mrs. Pinkerton and Mrs. Fraser pretty well ran the show for many years. The competitions moved to a hall off West Boulevard in Kerrisdale and then to the Scottish Auditorium at 12th and Fir. They then went to the Seaforth Armories where the platforms were stored and some Friday nights army maneuvers went on around the dancing competition.
I remember Miss Isdale saying that the competitions had evolved from a monthly pipe practice for dancers that had been held in a hall on Davie Street in Vancouver. How the original competitions were started, I don't know, but I know a history was printed out during my Mother's reign as secretary, but I don't know if anyone still has a copy.
The first outdoor BC Highland games I remember were on July 1st at Central Park in Burnaby. I would have been 10 years old and newly arrived from Edmonton. I don't remember bands but perhaps they were there. The Victoria Games were in July and the Caledonian Games at Brocton Oval in Stanley Park were the first Saturday in August - lots of bands there and terrific athletic events - first time I saw Harry Jerome run. The BC Highland had a hand in the dancing - scoring and platforms but I think the July 1st games were their big show - later held at UBC Thunderbird Stadium.
Miss Isdale had a big dancing school on Pender Street at Lakewood (her home). She was very good at directing people the way she wanted and so the executive was usually very heavy with Miss Isdale's parents. Other teacher's at the time were Phyllis Thompson, Nan Wilson, Ella Gallagher and Lottie Henderson.
After the six monthy competitions a family pot luck supper would be held with everyone bringing food. The prizes were presented and if you didn't have a new dress to wear, you felt pretty sad. The kids had a great time, especially in the basement of the Cambrian Hall "screaming city".
Miss Lavoie - a great friend of Miss Isdale's had organized the Fraser Valley Highland Dancing Association and if you lived south of the Fraser River that is where you danced. Miss Lavoie ran a VERY disciplined competition - no noise and dancers sat on their assigned chairs the whole evening. I judged there when I was about 16. My Dad drove me to Cloverdale and they gave me a cup and saucer.
I also remember the BC Highland meeting at the Vancouver Sun building on Cambie at Pender in the Edith Adams Cottage. Judges sheets were available for parents to study and we all came home with new recipes.
Funds were always a problem - what else is new? The annual rummage sale was held in a hall on Main Street at Kingsway. How they got all the clothes there I hate to guess. Of course, because these "executive" ladies worked so hard to raise this money, they felt they had control. It made some lively discussions.
The prizes for the monthly competitions were always certificates - complete with the signatures of the President and the Competition Secretary, along with a seal embossed with the BC Highland stamp. The year end prizes were always the BC Highland medals and for many years the MacDonald Lassie trophies.
A scoring system had been devised by Mr. Flockhard - three judges, only two counted. Quite a sophisticated system at that time.
If Marilyn's memories of BC Highland bring some of your own to mind, please contact us and send your comments. We will regularly update this page so we would love to hear from old members, former dancers and especially any previous Executive Members with their memoirs.
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