ROADS MOST
TRAVELLED
Life is a highway for this ‘singing
mortician’ and he’s seen many
twists and turns along the way
by Paul Henry Dallaire, Timmins, Ont.
KANATATHE^ NORTHCOUNTYBOYSPHOTO:^TIMMI
NSDAILYPRESSSI
was born in 1941 in the small town of
Timmins in northeastern Ontario.
We were a poor family of 15, includ-
ing Mom and Dad, and I was the eldest
child. My father was a roving “packsack
miner” and prospector, hoping to strike it
rich. There was a lot of booze around while
I was growing up; the kitchen always had
a batch of dandelion wine fermenting in a
corner with a towel covering it, and there
was a moonshine still set up downstairs.
Dad was away a lot, working the mines, but
hardly ever sent money back to the family.
When Dad was home though, there
was always music around the house. My
mom sang and my dad had a band called
The Porcupine Troubadours, and they’d
all practice together at our house when
I was very little. I remember hearing my
mother’s voice on the radio one time, and
Dad showing me my first guitar chord and
teaching me about E major. You know,
there’s something about music that some-
how runs in your soul—it certainly runs
through my life and my best memories as
a kid are rooted in it.
Growing up in our circumstances was no
picnic. At school, I was treated the same as
most poor people, which ranged from be-
ing ignored to being insulted. Some people
started calling us half-breeds, and I didn’t
know what it meant at first—I thought it
had to do with being hard up for cash allThis classic
photo of Paul
appears in
his promotion
material and
as cover art.
24 More of Our Canada SEPTEMBER 2019