50 YEARS AGO Ed Gyurki won Open, Canadian titles

The ninth annual Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers' Contest, held August 7 and 8, 1959, saw Ed Gyurki, a 21-year-old Woodstock hospital technician and dance band leader, emerging as winner of both the Open and Canadian titles.

Al Cherney, 26, of Wingham, placed second in the Open section and Victor Pasowisty, 29, of Toronto, ended up in third place when Ned Landry, 37, of Saint John, N.B., was disqualified because he played two numbers in improper order, the breakdown before the jig.

Cherney is the new Novelty playing champion, having dethroned six-time winner Sleepy Marlin, of Louisville, Kentucky.

Runners-up in the Open division were Ken Cameron, of Fork River, Manitoba; Stan Cardinal, of Monroe City, Indiana; June Eikhard, of Sackville, N.B.; Landry, and Marlin.

A total of 104 entries wee registered in the two classes.

The playdowns for the ninth annual contest got under way shortly after 7 o'clock Friday with "Invincible" Vince Mountford in charge. The judges were Peter McGarvey, of Orillia, Al Aylward, of Toronto, and Wallace Laughton, of Niagara Falls.

Four hours into the playdowns, MC Mountford was served a steak dinner, courtesy of the Shelburne Hotel, with Walter Little doing the honours, and at 12:05 a.m. Mrs. Sarah Duffin, 87, mother of former Dufferin warden Claude Duffin, was selected as the oldest lady then in the audience and received Dale Estate roses from Mr. Mountford.

The final contestant, who finished playing at 4:08 a.m., was Tex Fortier, of Sherbrooke, Que. in the novelty class. A fiddlers' jamboree followed with players overflowing the stage onto the floor and Dorothy Houston, of Earlton, forsaking her fiddle in favour of the piano to lead the jamboree in one of the most sensational sessions in history.

The judges finally appeared at 4:16 a.m. to announce their selections.

Saturday night's show really started about 8 p.m. with Vince Mountford keeping everyone entertained until he turned the official introduction over to contest manager Mac Stewart at 8:30. Rotary Club President Glenn Ewing welcomed the radio audience to the finals' broadcast and the CBC's Bill Bessey and Gordie Tapp then took over before the finalists began showing their wares in alphabetical order.

As the broadcast was about to begin, producer Reid Forsee mentioned that the CBC's Dominion Network was covering 39 stations from coast to coast.

25 YEARS AGO Doctor's son, 23, was champ in 34th contest

Thousands of fiddle fans jammed Shelburne Arena Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, to witness the 34th annual Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers' Contest.

Emerging as champion of the annual contest, sponsored by the Shelburne Rotary Club and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was Frank Leahy, 23, of Willowdale, who was one of 32 competitors vying for top honours in the contest's Championship Class.

Dennis Lanctot, of Ottawa, place second and Raymond Schreyer, of London, was third in the class.

Judges Jim Coles, of Kingston, Rudy Meeks of Orillia, and Bob Wood, of Kitchener, faced a tough decision with so many fine fiddlers.

Following the presentation of his winnings, a beaming Mr. Leahy said he would like to thank his father, Dr. P. J. Leahy, "who wrote all the tunes I played here tonight." Mr. Leahy said his family has a picture of him holding a fiddle when he was three years old. "But I didn't start playing seriously until I was six or seven."

He said he entered this year's competition confident that he would be in the top three since it was his "third or fourth year" competing at Fiddleville. He succeeds Chuck Joyce, of London, who was among the 10 finalists.

The playdowns began Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. with 164 registered entries, up from last year's total of 146. "We haven't had this many since the 25th anniversary of the contest," said the contest's executive secretary, Ken Gamble.

Vince Mountford, acting as Master of Ceremonies for his 33rd year, drew appreciation from the large audience, presiding from Friday afternoon until 5:15 a.m. Saturday.

Only two winners were named Friday night, in the classes for those 12 and under and 65 and over. David Jones of London won the 12- and-under category over 16 other entrants, and Tommy McQueston, of King City, won the seniors' category.

Saturday night's program saw 10 championship finalists, namely Peter Dawson (Pembroke), Chuck Joyce (London), Denis Lanctot (Ottawa), Frank Leahy (Willowdale), Michelle Lubiniecki (Scarborough), Kendra Norris (Kitchener), Karen Reed (London), Oliver Schoer (Toronto), Raymond Schreyer (London) and Robert Vallee (Nitro, Que.).

Finalists in the 45-65 years class followed. Gerry Smith, of Exeter, finished first, Ken Jacobson of Thunder Bay second, and Rocky Nash, of Thornhill, third.

Next it was the 19-45 class finalists. Lloyd Wilson, of Kingston, won the category followed by Bill Irvine of Mitchell, second, and Anne Marie McQuaid, of Seaforth, third.

The crazy antics of the Novelty Class came next. John Crozman of London earned first place by playing with a baseball bat, clothes hanger and while twisting or flipping his body into unorthodox proportions.

Second and third place went to Wayne Ferguson of Sarnia and Cindy Butineau of Trenton, respectively.

In the 18 years and under class, Pierre Schreyer of Sault Ste. Marie finished first, Louis Schreyer second and Gretchen Koelhler, of Westfield, Mass., third.

Denny Lanctot, of Ottawa, took home the Johnny Mooring Memorial Trophy as the contestant under 21 years of age who got the highest points total.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Shelburne under clear skies Saturday to watch the annual Fiddle Parade, which proved to be bigger and better than ever with 135 entries and about half a dozen bands taking part. It took almost an hour for all the entries to get under way from their starting position at Centre Dufferin District High School.

"I feel it was a darn good parade and I am sure everyone went away happy," said Parade Marshall Barry Weech.

First prize for the best float in the parade went to Horizon Landscaping Service of Shelburne, with second and third prizes going to Timberline Hotel and Hal Roach of Orangeville. Walter Gooderham received top honours in the antique car category with his 1910 Model T Ford.