A post from Mark McCarthy:
Our dear friend and client Claire Molson called us recently looking for an ‘Ugly Stick’.
“I want to buy an “Ugly Stick” – a real ( maybe used ) one. I just discovered them and being a music buff I was taken aback at the fun they engender..so Island happy..”
For those of you who aren’t aware; In Newfoundland ‘Outport’ communities, social gatherings such as concerts, ‘Mummering’ and kitchen parties were an important part of the rural culture. The principal melody instruments were accordions and fiddles with rhythmic accompaniment provided by the ‘Ugly Stick’. The instrument’s main body is a mop or broom handle cut to approximately four feet. An old rubber boot was attached to the bottom and a cymbal attached at the very top. At strategic intervals along the length of the shaft, nails affixed with bottle caps, felt tins and other noise makers would be driven into the shaft. The instrument would then be decorated with items of colour and fluff to the artist’s taste.
Needless to say we put the call out and in perfect Newfoundland tradition, our great friend David Howell showed up with a perfectly tailored, custom made, collectors item that would mean as much to the Molson family as it would to most every Newfoundlander given the announcement regarding the new home for Montreal’s NHL hockey farm team here in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Now that’s what we call a “Hab Province”
Thanks so much to David Howell and his creative crew. Brilliant job gentlemen!
