Tribute to a Good Friend and a Great Fiddler!

Ivan playing the fiddle at a Folk Night in Black Duck Brook in October 2007.

When I first moved to Stephenville in 1975, Ivan White was already a renown
fiddler. His music was regularly featured on CFSX and he could often be heard
playing at concerts, festivals and gatherings. Although I became familiar with
Ivan�s music, I never really got to meet the man behind the bow until one day I
came across him in the woods near the Whaleback. I was hunting ski trail and he
was hunting firewood. It took us little time to get introduced and as soon as he
found out that I was from Cape Breton, needless to say, the conversation became
focussed on Scottish fiddling. Gerry Holland, Buddy Mac Master, Angus Chisholm,
Dan R. MacDonald, Bill Lamey, Winston Scotty Fitzgerald, Natalie Mac Master,
were all his favourites and we were soon trading stories about the great Cape
Breton fiddlers who he held in such high esteem.
But I didn�t really get to know Ivan until Marg encouraged him to take up
skiing. Marg had been a dedicated member of Whaleback Nordic for years and one
day Ivan decided to join her on the trails. Ivan certainly gave cross country
skiing more that try! Before long he was a regular at Whaleback. I would often
meet him coming in off the trails. He would have just finished a 10 or 15 km
tour and with cheeks all flushed and a spring in his step, he looked the picture
of health. One day in particular sticks in my mind when I met Ivan on the narrow
path that leads from the chalet to the parking lot.
I was dodging along slowly with head down and I heard this enthusiastic
greeting as we approached, "Graham, when�s the next Kitchen party? You make sure
you give me a call and I�ll come up and play for you! Now don�t forget, let me
know!" Well as it turned out, he never got to play for the next kitchen party
because Ivan and Marg had to go to Port aux Basques to look after their
grandchildren. While he did miss last year�s kitchen party, I have fond memories
of Ivan and Tommy playing long medley�s of toe-tapping tunes at the chalet. In
fact, one night we had the privilege of having him play for an old fashioned
square set. It was indeed a treat and the energetic dancers were worn out long
before the accomplished left-handed fiddler surrendered his bow.
In September, Dan Rumbolt and I were kayaking along the south coast and we
paddled into Grand Bruit to spend the night. After setting up camp we drifted up
to Cram-A lot-Inn, a little plywood shed where the men in the community gathered
to chat and discuss the topics of the day. As soon as we entered the narrow door
a friendly voice called out, "Have a seat boys! Where ya from?" When they found
out that we were from Stephenville, this fellow asked, "Do you know Ivan White?"
And so the conversation continued, about Ivan White the fiddler, the sailor who
he had travelled the world, the skier, the family man who loved his
grandchildren, the story teller and the good friend.
Several days after returning from our south coast paddle, I met Ivan and Marg
at the Co-op and I told him that we had met his good friend Gerry Billiard when
we were in Grand Bruit. He was so excited that we had met his sailing buddy he
could hardly contain himself. "So you met my old sailing buddy Gerry! I must
give him a call as soon as I get home," said Ivan as we parted.
Family and friends were extremely important to Ivan and he was blessed with
many. Tonight we�ll be having a Kitchen Party at the chalet. Ivan will not be
there ... his friends at Whaleback will dearly miss him.

Graham