Inside The Whig Standard  Kingston

Accordions ¦ Raymond LaForest;

Posted By MARK BERGIN

Posted 19 July, 2008

Raymond Laforest has two favourite squeezes in life, his wife of 51 years, Claudette, and his accordion collection, the largest in Canada.

Laforest says he's a lucky man. He's thankful for the nurses, doctors and physical therapists who helped him recover from a near fatal blood clot that formed in his spine and resulted in a muscular paralysis in January 2007. After several weeks in Ottawa and Kingston hospitals, he was moved to St. Mary's On The Lake. He received physiotherapy twice a day. His condition gradually improved until he could use a wheelchair, then a walker and now moves short distances on his own.

Laforest doesn't have to move far. His wife's always by his side and he's surrounded by 400 accordions.

The accordion, an instrument that uses free reeds driven by a bellows, is not ancient, but, since its invention in Berlin in 1822, it's spread around the world.Life hasn't always been easy for the high-spirited and big-hearted Frenchman.He was born into a family of 11 children on a farm in St. Nazaire, Quebec.His mother died when he was only six years old.

"I have memories of her playing the accordion," said Laforest. "The music kept her in my heart."

When Laforest was 11, a stepmother Laforest describes as nasty came along. At 15 he ran away from home and lived on the streets until Claudette's mother offered him a place to live.Around the same time, Laforest taught himself to play and repair his beloved accordion, as well as the banjo, guitar, mandolin and violin.Laforest fell in love with Claudette. They married and have seven children and fourteen grandchildren.

They are proud Canadians and didn't like talk of separatism in Quebec in the 1970s. They decided to leave and in 1979 bought land in Ontario and built their own home.In 1982 Ray started work as a canalman with Parks Canada.He became somewhat of a legend on the historic Rideau Canal.At the end of his 11 hour shifts at Jones Falls, he liked to get out his accordion and entertain boaters.

"During my work, someone asked me to play 'Happy Birthday' so I did," said Laforest. "It was against the rules to play on the job. But people get one vacation a year and if I could make it a fun one they could remember, I wanted to do that."During the last two years before his 2001 retirement, he was given permission to play during down time of his daily work, like when boats were "locked in," waiting for the water elevation to change between locks.

Since the work of a canalman can involve ten to 15 miles of walking and a lot of physical labour over a single day, "down time" is somewhat of a misnomer.

Laforest slowly started his accordion collection in 1978. After settling on the Rideau, his collection grew rapidly."I love the sound," he said. "It reacts to the player. It plays what you feel. There is such a rhythm. All people enjoy hearing it. I love to see little kids tapping their hands and feet."Laforest's collection spans more than a century and a half. His oldest, a Flutina, was made in France in 1835.

His most unique is one he found in Florida. He points to a large accordion on a shelf."It was made in Italy and had to be a special order. I've never seen another with two keyboards."One of his favourites is a 1949 modified student accordion by Hohner."The old ones give a better sound," he said. "Would you like to hear a tune?" he asked,and then proceeded to play several, ending with You Are My Sunshine. When he plays, you'd never know this retired serenading canalman remains partly paralysed.

Like the song, Laforest brings a lot of sunshine to the lives of people around him.

"When you want to make someone happy, you should do it now.

If you wait, it may be too late."

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Raymond LaForest loves playing the accordian and collecting them!