MoMo

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HANK SNOW THE SINGING RANGERandGENE BEAULIEU THE OLD-TIME FIDDLERLegendary country singer,Hank Snow, was a good friend of my grandfather, Eugène “Gene” Beaulieu of New-Carlisle, Québec. Briefly speaking to my father (Milton “Milt” Beaulieu) about it , he says that he thinks that Hank and my grandfather met on the river in a lumber camp working together back in the 1930's when lumber was floated from remote logging areas to mills down-river. Hank discovered my grandfather’s talent playing the fiddle and asked him to join his group.At the time Hank’s music hadn’t caught on and, apparently, the group became more popular once my grandfather joined them. People started going to the shows when they saw the poster: “Hank Snow the Singing Ranger and Gene Beaulieu the Old Time Fiddler”. Everywhere they went, they wanted my grandfather! He told how, they use to have to hide from the fans like a small scale backwoods Beatlemania.They did lots of tours and partying in the Cape Breton highlands with Scotty Fitzgerald, a popular local performer, and became close friends. My grand father also took care of Hank’s horse, “Shawnee”. In those days, Hank would use his horse as part of the show. As my grandfather told it, the first time Hank went to Nashville he wasn’t as well received as he would be in later years, being a Canadian, so he came back and played with my grandfather on the local a.m. radio station back home in Québec and continued tours with him and Scotty.Dad mentioned at one time, he thinks they were in Campbelton, New Brunswick or somewhere around there, right after the war ended. Soldiers were back from the war. My grandfather didn’t go to the war because he had lost part of his right foot under a train when he was a kid playing with some other boys on the Canadian National Railway tracks that ran near his home.One night, my grandfather was out taking care of Hank’s horse and having a beer outside the trailers just after they had finished a show. Three or four soldiers with a few beers in them came over and started bullying Hank saying stuff like “you call yourself a singer?” and boasting about how tough they were since they fought in the war. Now, my grandfather was a man known for his kindness and generosity - a man who paid for dozens of funerals for families without money - but don’t mess with him. From that day on Hank called my grandfather his “body guard”.Hank once told my father a story of how when my father was young, he and his dad would travel to visit Hank at his home. Hank would pick them up at their hotel in the Cadillac. Once in the car, my grandfather asked Hank why he didn’t choose the Lincoln he always wanted. Hank said he had a Lincoln for a while but got into an bad accident, and went back to the Cadillac and never drove a Lincoln again. That was the end of that story. My dad can tell these stories much better than I can.My grandfather, despite his humble beginnings, was a man who believed in good manners and respect. He wore a suit, tie and hat every day of his life. He would give my father a speech before they would go to Hank’s house, telling him to stick with him and not to ask Hank any questions about music or anything else. On one particular day they walked into the house and within an hour dad forgot the rules and, much to Granddad’s dismay, started asking Hank a string of questions about everything under the sun. Hank entertained Dad with stories about their travels and adventures on the road and showed him songs he never published. My grandfather wasn’t close enough to kick Dad or I’m sure he would have. When he told the story about why he called my grandfather his bodyguard, he looked Dad in the eye and said, “No one grabs a-hold of your father”. This left an impression on the young Milt Beaulieu.My grandfather always taught Dad that if you fall, get right back up and carry on - not always easy advice to follow. One day later in his life my grandfather fell out of his rocking chair and he couldn’t get back up. My father lifted him and gave him back his own advice. My grandfather got the message and understood that sometimes his advice wasn’t welcome.In time, my grandfather wanted to give up the music business and go his own way as a businessman. He and Hank remained close friends. Even after he became a huge star the singer would send cards, photos, magazines, and souvenirs from the road or from Nashville where he settled in the 50's. One day my grandfather went to the Grand Ole Opry where Hank was, by this time, a regular to see him perform. When Hank saw him in the crowd, he stopped the show and introduced the crowd to Gene Beaulieu, his “best friend” and invited him up on stage. He was so surprised and happy to see him so far from home.That night probably ended as many nights at the Grand Ole Opry did; once it shut down for the night the performers moved the show to the Ernest Tubb Music Stop where the show went on, broadcast live on radio, ‘til long after midnight.Not long before that night at the Grand Ole Opry, when Hank was touring in Québec, they would park their vans in our yard. Hank used to love my grand-mothers' cooking and she loved to cook for him. One of his favorite things to do was to go out back to the garden, pick a dozens cucumbers, sit on the porch steps with his guitar, play music and peel his cucumber. He would eat them all day.My grandfather (“Papa” to me) is mentioned in Hank’s autobiography, “The Hank Snow Story”. There is a Hank Snow Museum near his birthplace in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, a couple of hours drive from where I now live and I am planning to visit it soon as I have never been there and I hope it will be with my father. There are Hank Snow pictures, posters, and memorabilia in boxes in my grandmother’s house which I hope to bring along.I could sit for hours and listen to Dad’s stories about the old days and his experiences. The last story I heard was of Hank returning my father’s phone call when my grandfather died in the 1980’s. He sent my grandmother a card. Hank passed away in late December 1999, just a few weeks before my grandmother died on Valentine’s Day. Up until that point, I think dad spoke just to Hank’s son.I guess the rest of the story is, as they say, history. Hopefully my little essay will fill in a few blanks in the story of a great Canadian country star with a little-known connection to an ordinary Québec family; my family.April21, 2008“Momo” aka Monica (pronounced ‘mo-knee-ka’) Elizabeth BeaulieuGoals: to see the Hank Snow Museum and Graceland, the home of his protege, Elvis Presley.