Snyder and Toich 1
Abby Snyder and Julie Toich
MU222
Professor Zelensky
6 April 2015
Interview 1 with Leonel Ducas
First song #00:11:11.0#
A: Does that song have a name? #00:13:47.8#
L: Nope. #00:13:51.2#
L: One of them, the day, they play it over there. They call it [French], Reel Saint Anne.
The one I'm gonna play, not the one I just play. #00:14:18.6#
Second Song #00:14:18.8#
Lis: This one is the Reel of Saint Anne. #00:16:12.9#
L: Most of that I play by ears, and...Don't ask me the name #00:16:27.7#
Third Song #00:16:35.6#
Lis: This one is {French}. [Both] The Heart Doesn't Get Any Older. [Then in French]
#00:18:52.7#
L: The Heart Never Get Old. That was my mom's song. #00:19:20.2#
A: Is it okay if we move into asking you questions? .... Kind of, where you learned the
music. What it was like. If you grew up with the music. #00:20:37.3#
L: Oh, I grew up, I start my own... I start to play my own all by myself. You know? I
heard somebody playing and I didn't have no accordion. It was playing with somebody
else accordion. No, no go ahead. #00:20:53.3#
[Hooking up microphone] #00:21:07.6#
A: Can we start with you just introducing yourself... Like, what you do. Where you live,
maybe part of your history. Like where you come from. #00:23:14.1#
L: Okay. My name's Leonel Ducas. I'm from North. Family of 12. And I um....my
address is [Redacted] and so...I like to help you girls. Just as much as I can. But anyway,
I started play accordion when I was, oh, probably 12 years old. But I started on my own, I
tried to do the best I could because I couldn't read music. You know, could not read
music, so I played by ears. And, is lot of song that I don't even know the name because I
learned from everybody else, you know? And lot of them, they never said the name of the
Snyder and Toich 2
song. So I never learned it, you know? So.. that's what, but I play quite a few different
song but lot of them I don't know the name of it but, okay? #00:24:11.4#
A: You said you started playing at 12? #00:24:14.4#
L: Yep. #00:24:14.4#
A: So, did your whole family play music? #00:24:18.9#
L: No, it was just me and my brother. #00:24:20.0#
A: What did your brother play? #00:24:20.5#
L: Accordion. Accordion, played guitar, played violin. Yeah. But you know, he played a
little more than I did, you know... #00:24:29.5#
A: Did you learn accordion from your brother then? #00:24:31.0#
L: No, no. He learned from me. After awhile, after I bought one accordion I said, you
know, I was able to buy one accordion so...yep. #00:24:41.7#
A: Awesome. And then, accordion is the only instrument you play? #00:24:45.3#
L: Oh no, I used to play guitar. Electric guitar. #00:24:48.9#
A: Electric. #00:24:48.9#
L: Electric guitar. Two guitar before those Gibson guitar. Two electric guitar. And but I
fell down and I broke my arm. And I could never play guitar after that, because my hand
didn't want to turn. See? I couldn't play guitar no more, so I had to give up my guitar.
#00:25:07.4#
A: I'm so sorry. #00:25:08.7#
L: Yeah, no I feel bad. Believe me, I feel bad. #00:25:12.5#
A: Did you play French music on the guitar? #00:25:14.6#
L: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Those French music, you know, most of that was French. Because I
never learn English, and I never went to school in America, never. My grade at school
was only four grades on farm. #00:25:29.9#
A: Gotcha #00:25:29.9#
L: And I start my fifth grade in September. December, my Dad says, "You stay home.
Take care of the animal." You know, because he was working on the wood. So... That's
Snyder and Toich 3
where we went. #00:25:41.5#
A: What type of music do you play? Do you label it as French? #00:25:49.8#
L: French. French. French music. That's what everybody calls it. Even my friend, she
play accordion, we play together once in awhile. And that's what she call that. French
American. French. [?] Uh, music. Yeah. #00:26:05.7#
A: Did you ever study music formally? You said you weren't able to read it originally?
#00:26:13.5#
L: No. No. #00:26:13.5#
A: You still can't read it? #00:26:13.5#
L: No. #00:26:13.5#
A: Wow. That's so impressive! #00:26:18.5#
L: If I hear somebody playing, I’m gonna practice a little bit and I might be able to play
it. Yeah, take me a little longer, but... #00:26:26.3#
A: So, it's all by ear? #00:26:26.3#
L: All by ear, yes. #00:26:26.3#
A: That's really great. Um, so, music wasn't really part of your family's tradition?
#00:26:35.9#
L: No. #00:26:35.9#
A: Okay, um, we had learned that there were kitchen parties. Did you ever have those?
#00:26:39.7#
L: Oh yeah we had those parties. #00:26:41.7#
A: Yeah? #00:26:41.7#
L: Believe me we had those parties, you know. Those kitchen parties oh yeah. Friend,
we'd get together and we'd play. A bunch of people together, you know? It's not one was
played more better than the other, we all played for fun! That's all, you know, yep
#00:26:58.1#
A: How often would you say you had those? #00:26:59.0#
L: Oh jeez, when I was younger, we was playing a lot in Connecticut. When I was in
Snyder and Toich 4
Connecticut we used to play a lot. And a friend came with the guitar and he was playing
guitar and [?] was playing that. She was singing, you know? Oh yeah! #00:27:14.2#
A: Could you walk me through just a typical kitchen party? How many people would
come, where would you set up.. #00:27:17.5#
L: Oh, I don't know probably 20, 30. Oh yeah. We used to have a good party. Oh yeah.
Yep. #00:27:28.3#
A: And then, you and your brother would play at the parties? #00:27:32.6#
L: Well, my brother never played to too much with me, because, we could play together,
you know... not the same tone. You know, so it was playing this… but we never get close
together to play. No. Because he was living in Canada, me, I was in Connecticut most of
the time, you know. And when he started to play accordion, you know, he started when
he was in Canada too, but me I was in Connecticut after, you know. So but that’s where
you learn too. You know, by ears. #00:27:58.8#
A: Ok, and then, at the parties, like, was there a special kind of food you would have?
Were people dancing all the time? #00:28:06.4#
L: Oh yeah, all kinds of food. French food, you know what I mean? Pies. [French]. You
know what [French] means? [French]? Oh yeah, no..[laughs]. You know the [more
French]. You probably don't know that. But if you talk to the girl in Waterville she knows
all that, oh yeah. #00:28:28.1#
A: Ok. Um, so you had said that you learn by playing by ear. But, um, could you explain
kind of where you picked up all of your songs? #00:28:37.5#
L: Well, I picked up. It's hard to explain, really, you know, because it's one note at a time.
You know what I mean? I could have somebody singing--or she was singing--and I could
try to pick one, one, one note at a time and put it together after. #00:28:54.9#
A: And that's how you would learn music? #00:28:54.9#
L: That's the way I learned how to play that. #00:28:57.8#
A: Wow. Do you ever teach those songs to other people? #00:29:01.6#
L: Nope. Not really. No. Well some people, like that girl, she play with me once in a
while. She learn all my song by try to play together. You know, that's the way she learn a
lot. Yeah. #00:29:14.3#
A: And then, I was wondering, kind of, how the songs you play today, do they differ at
all from when you were younger? Say when you first learned them at twelve?
#00:29:25.9#
Snyder and Toich 5
L: To be honest with you I wish I be young. I will play the same way I was when 37
years ago. Because I could play a lot different. You know? Because I was playing all the
time. Now I don't play. I probably used up probably one a month? One every two
months? I don't play no more. You know, because, I had a friend of mine here, and she
was playing guitar. And after they get a divorce, I didn't have nobody no more. She gave
up the guitar. She gave everything away [?] guitar. And after that, I didn't have no interest
no more. You know, I tried to find somebody with a guitar to play, you know, with me.
But I never [?], you know. #00:30:04.1#
A: How long ago was that? #00:30:08.2#
L: Oh, probably 30 years ago? Yeah, probably 30 years ago. #00:30:15.8#
A: Um, so, during that time--say, between when you were younger to the point where you
lost your guitar player--uh, did you see the music scene changing at all? #00:30:24.8#
L: Oh, yeah, I lost a lot of it. I lost lot of them because I not as quick than I used to be. I
don't play as faster than I used to be. You know. That's why with the guitar it sounds
better. #00:30:37.6#
A: You said you had played for the radio, right? #00:30:45.1#
L: Yes. #00:30:45.1#
A: Um, what was the group like that you played with? #00:30:47.3#
L: We was only me and another girl, and her name was Nancy Lamar. And we had the
spoon guy. We'd play a song for the festival in Bangor, you know, the Water Festival.
We'd play a couple song at the radio station because during the days of the festival, the
radio put it on for advertisements or whatever, you know. So that's why we play over
there. Yep. #00:31:15.1#
A: You don't meet up with them anymore? #00:31:17.2#
L: Nope, no.... No, that girl, she went couple time after me, but I never been there after
that. Yeah... #00:31:24.3#
A: Great! Um, the girl you were playing with, is she a lot younger than you?
#00:31:30.4#
L: Uh, no she's older than me. Well no, she's little bit younger than me. Uh, how old
Nancy? 69? #00:31:41.0#
A: Okay, so not girl girl. [laughs] #00:31:41.0#
Snyder and Toich 6
L: Yeah yeah. No no. No, she’s 69. She learned how to play on the farm [?] in Fort Kent.
You know. When she met me, you know, uh, playing, I told her, I was playing accordion.
And she said, "Well, we gotta get together." That's what we did. You know, we start to
play a little bit together, and. Yep. #00:31:58.7#
A: Are there many accordion players? #00:32:02.9#
L: Not too many around here. No, I never heard too many around here. #00:32:07.9#
A: Why not? #00:32:07.9#
L: Well, I don't know why, but not too many people play that. #00:32:13.2#
J: Did you used to see more people playing accordion? #00:32:16.2#
L: Yes. If you go up in Canada. There's a lot of people in Canada playing accordion. Oh
yeah. That's the type of music that everybody loves! They like to dance square dance, and
violins, you know. Yep. #00:32:27.8#
A: Do you play at those square dances now? #00:32:29.9#
L: Oh yeah. #00:32:34.2#
A: Yeah? #00:32:34.2#
L: I like to! I like to watch. You know we played the other day. But there I didn't have a
chance to play. She [Lisette] played for me. I was dancing, you know. Yep. #00:32:39.0#
A: So, kind of moving in to the next set of topics... Um, this is like the, I guess the events
that you would play French music for. #00:32:50.3#
L: Yep #00:32:50.3#
A: Is it mostly for square-dancing? #00:32:52.3#
L: Most of it's all square-dancing, or slow dancing, you know. Or grand [valles?]. You
know, those waltz. Big waltz, you know. Yeah. #00:33:00.4#
A: What would a typical like square dance look like? You would probably go before and
set up? #00:33:10.7#
L: Oh yeah. Well, there’s so many different square dance, so, everybody knows which
one to dance. Now we jump on that, we play that, we dance this one. Like that girl, you
know, from Waterville. She teach us a couple of times, couple of them. And we danced
with that. After the first couple turn, we all set. #00:33:29.7#
Snyder and Toich 7
A: So you go to do the dancing? #00:33:32.2#
L: Oh yeah yeah. Oh yeah. #00:33:33.3#
A: You don't play accordion for it? #00:33:35.3#
L: No, because when I dance, I can't play. #00:33:38.0#
A: [laughing] Of course! #00:33:38.0#
L: You know, so yep. Yep. And that night I didn't have no chance to play because the girl
was playing and they wanted somebody else to dance, so, you know. #00:33:48.9#
A: Then you said this is more popular in Canada? #00:33:53.1#
L: Oh yeah, yeah. A lot more in Canada. #00:33:56.8#
A: Do you ever go up to Canada for these? #00:33:58.3#
L: Yeah, we just came back today! #00:34:00.8#
A: Oh, really! #00:34:02.0#
L: We just came back today. We went last week. We went again, uh, couple of days ago
and then we came back today. #00:34:07.4#
A: I think that would explain... I was trying to call you yesterday to make sure that you
knew the interview was today. #00:34:13.1#
L: Oh, oh nope, we left yesterday morning. We came back today. #00:34:16.1#
A: Okay. Well fabulous. How was it? #00:34:18.7#
L: It was good. Well, we went for business trip, you know. Yeah. The last week we went
for my cousin's funeral. So... #00:34:33.3#
A: I'm sorry. #00:34:33.3#
L: ...that's the way. You never know, so.. #00:34:30.6#
A: Um, so, are the square dancing events that you attend now, um, are they different from
the ones you attended when you were younger? #00:34:38.1#
L: Oh yeah. Big big difference. #00:34:41.3#
A: What's the big difference? #00:34:41.3#
Snyder and Toich 8
L: Well, the difference is the people don't know. You gotta teach them before. You
know? And like in Canada, everybody dance square-dance, you know,
waltz…#00:34:52.8#
A: Is that frustrating for you, to-- #00:34:56.0#
L: Nope! #00:34:56.0#
A: --to have to teach people all the time? #00:34:56.0#
L: Oh yeah but I don't do that. I don't do that no more, no. I did that when I was in
Connecticut, or when I was, you know, but now I don't do that no more. Nope.
#00:35:05.0#
A: Okay. #00:35:06.8#
L: I let the young one teach it. #00:35:10.1#
A: Is it a lot of young people who go out to dance? #00:35:10.1# #00:34:55.5#
L: Not too many. There was a few over there the other night. There was a few. And
after that they danced a little bit. They were happy. #00:35:22.2#
A: I know you said one of the songs was your mother's song. Could you kind of
describe, because, I'm not used to hearing a song being a person's, what made it your
mother's song? #00:35:39.4#
L: She used to sing that song. She could sit on the chair and knitting and sing that song
all the time. #00:35:52.1#
A: Do you have a song? #00:35:51.2#
L: There was the one I played. But my mother, she knows all the songs. But I played by
ear. She was singing and I was playing. #00:35:59.7#
#00:36:07.0#
A: The song that you had played for us that's yours, if you don't mind me asking, why is
it important to you? #00:36:19.5#
L: The only thing that is important to me is to play that. I don't play like I used to, but I
enjoy playing that, you know? And I grab the accordion, if I got something in my mind,
oh, that's the one I'm going to play. I'm going to play a couple of songs, put it back in
there, you know. #00:36:38.0#
A: So it's just whenever you feel like playing? #00:36:36.0#
Snyder and Toich 9
L: Yeah. #00:36:40.4#
A: Is it more for yourself, or is it also to be part of the culture or to remind you of things?
#00:36:49.9#
L: To remind myself, you know? So I won't forget every one of them. You know?
#00:36:56.1#
A: What does it most remind you of? #00:36:54.8#
L: Well. The old times. It reminds me of the old times when I was younger and we used
to go out and *play* and have a good time. That's why I don't want to forget that.
#00:37:05.8#
A: Of course not. #00:37:09.5#
L: No, I don't want to forget that, but I forget a lot. #00:37:11.8#
A: You keep telling us you speak French. Do you think it's important for the Franco
community to still speak French? #00:37:30.0#
L: Oh yeah. That girl in Waterville, she was good. She was real good. And everybody
played and they understand French and that was good. #00:37:32.0#
A: If someone wanted to join in who didn't know French as well, would it be hard for
them? #00:37:39.9#
L: I don't think so. People catch up quick, you know? They're younger, they can catch
up quick and they can jump in and start to play. #00:37:54.6#
A: But it's still good to know French? #00:38:01.4#
L: If they don't know my song, they're going to have to learn it quick, you know?
#00:38:02.7#
A: Does it help enough with communicating? #00:38:00.9#
L: Oh yeah. #00:38:07.3#
A: Are there stories you have that are passed down only in French? #00:38:17.0#
L: Not much, no. My daughter, she used to be good to play with me on the organ. But
she gave up that little turkey. #00:38:27.1#
A: That's too bad. Will you tell us more about your family? You said that you grew up
Snyder and Toich 10
in Connecticut? #00:38:35.0#
L: No, I grew up in Canada until I was nineteen, I turned nineteen, then I went to
Connecticut. I was on the farm, there was twelve kids in the family, so. We had a big
farm. #00:38:46.7#
A: Why did your family move? #00:38:43.1#
L: My family? They move to Connecticut for a couple years and then they moved back
home. They went back to Canada. On the farm. #00:39:00.6#
A: So why did they move to Connecticut? #00:39:08.2#
L: Well, because there was nothing over there for money. So they figured they're going
to go to Connecticut and work a few years and when they retired they might be able to
collect some money for the retirement, and that's what they did. #00:39:11.8#
A: Is it important for you or for your family to be around other French speaking family?
#00:39:19.3#
L: Oh yeah. Because they only speak French. All of my family, they don't understand
English. It was all French. But when they moved to Connecticut, a lot of people was
speaking French. So they go everywhere, they did everything they had to do. They had
to learn [?]. They learn, they understand, they understand better than they speak. Most of
my family they couldn't speak too much English. They could understand a little bit, but
they didn't speak too much. #00:39:52.9#
A: How did you learn English? #00:39:54.4#
L: Just by talking like I'm talking to you. That's the way I learned my English, never
been to school. #00:40:00.5#
A: By ear. #00:40:03.4#
L: Yeah, by ear, that's it. #00:40:01.9#
A: Why did you choose to stay in the States instead of Canada? #00:40:13.6#
L: Because there was nothing to do in Canada. The only thing we had to do in Canada
was to go and work in the United States or cut wood. That's it. There was nothing for us
because we didn't have no education. Even Connecticut and anywhere else, I didn't have
no education. That's why I went carpentry. Carpentry didn't need no education. If you
know how to pound a nail, that's all they want. That's it. To be a worker, that's what they
want. #00:40:34.7#
A: How did you settle in Orrington? How did you end up here? #00:40:41.3#
Snyder and Toich 11
L: Well, we were living in Springfield, Mass at the time, and it was not a place to raise
the kids. Because it was rough, Springfield, it was rough on the end after five years, so
we decided we're not going to raise the kids there, we're going to raise the kids in Maine,
so we came here and we've been here thirty-eight years. Yeah. Thirty-eight years
#00:41:05.5#
A: And you like it here? #00:41:12.3#
L: Oh yeah, because we're close to town, we're pretty close to the city, close to a lot of
things, you know? If we want to go to Connecticut, it's halfway travel from here to
Canada. #00:41:22.7#
A: Do you still have family back in Canada? #00:41:20.7#
L: Oh yeah. We went this weekend, so... #00:41:31.0#
A: As we were driving in the sun was setting over this lake. It was so beautiful. I can see
why you'd want to live here. #00:41:36.5#
L: Plus me, I was born right next to a lake. Next to water. So that tells you something.
Different. #00:41:48.0#
A: Is there a large French Community in Orrington? #00:41:50.7#
L: Not much, no. We've got a few but, most of them, you know, they don't want to speak
French. The only time we meet is when we go to church on Saturday night they have a
night supper, now we go over there, and now we meet a lot of French people, and
everybody hear us speaking French, now everybody starts speaking French. Oh are you
French? Ah yes, we're French. #00:42:13.0#
A: That must be great for building the community. #00:42:13.2#
L: Oh yeah yeah. #00:42:19.9#
A: So, with speaking French, are there other parts of the culture that you share too? Like,
would you exchange French food recipes with them? #00:42:35.0#
L: Well, she did quite a few times. But me, I don't cook! #00:42:36.1#
A: Do you want to play a few more songs? #00:42:42.9#
L: Sure, why not? #00:42:48.5#
L: The song I'm going to play is Maple House? What do you call that in French? [talking
in French] #00:44:12.0#
Snyder and Toich 12
That was on the radio all day yesterday because in Canada, they were putting those maple
syrup houses and that was on the radio all the time. #00:44:37.8#
#00:44:59.4#
Conversation with Lisette about speaking French #00:45:10.8#
Fourth Song #00:45:31.6#
L: I'm going to play a slow song. The name of it is "Je t'aime beacoup avec de mon
coeur." "I love you with all my heart.” #00:47:04.2#
Fifth Song #00:47:07.4#
Sixth Song #00:50:52.9#
Seventh Song #00:53:16.0#
A: I noticed you tapping your feet. Is that really common to do? #00:55:51.9#
L: Oh yeah. Well, I used to have a tapping board. And I always wore my cowboy boots
and play it like that all the time. But I quit that. #00:56:03.2#
A: What's the tapping for? #00:56:03.8#
L: It's just like playing guitar. You follow the tunes, you know? On the tapping board it
sounds good. #00:56:23.8#
A: Did you say you wore your cowboy boots? #00:56:28.7#
L: Oh yeah, I'd always do that. #00:56:32.4#
A: Is there a common structure to the songs that you play? Do they tend to repeat
phrases? #00:56:46.0#
L: Yes. That's the way it is, you know? You do one phrase and you go back. That's the
way I learned, anyways. There might be some more [?] on that, but I never learned that.
#00:57:10.0#