This is where it all began. I moved to Kitchener in August of 1971 and began learning the pipes soon thereafter. My dad, “The Chief” was PM of the local legion pipe band and set a goal to take the band into Grade 4 competition in 1972. He had a rag-tag group of young people who somehow managed a very successful campaign in what was Canada’s first year of Grade 4 competition. For most of the year we fought it out with Gail Brown’s Hopedale Optomist Pipe Band. She taught and led a great group of kids, most of whom would later populate Grade 1 bands in Ontario. We wrapped up the season by finishing 3rd overall (46 bands) at the first Scottish World Festival in Toronto. As I recall, we were the highest ranked non-Scottish band in any grade on the day.
Despite the success on the field, it was a very difficult year. Several of those pipers and drummers found their way into Grade 1 bands the following year in Guelph, Waterloo, and elsewhere.
