James Ernest Victor was born in Peterborough, Ontario on April 28, 1917. His father was also James, so the new arrival was called Ernest or Ernie. James Sr. was a Salvation Army bandleader and that’s where Ernie started his musical training. He became a member of the Salvation Army Junior band at the age of 7. When Ernie was 17 years of age, he was appointed band- master of the Junior Band. Ernie also played in the Senior band at this time. The Salvation Army Junior Band with 25 Boys aged 8 to 16. Bandleader, Ernie Victor Ernie learned to play two cornets or trumpets at the same time. He had seen this done by other trumpet players, but they always played the same notes on each trumpet. Ernie wanted to do something different so he practiced and practiced until he could play “The Carnival Of Venus” on two trumpets at the same time and in harmony. He also learned to play two flutes at the same time. Ernie became the featured soloist with the Peterborough Salvation Army Band.

  From the Stratford newspaper: "Visitors to Lakeside Park Sunday afternoon will see a unique event when 21 year-old Ernest Victor of Peterborough plays a cornet duet. The one man duet isn’t something you can see (or hear) every day of the week. The young man plays two cornets at the same time, one from each side of his mouth, and he plays a harmony duet. It took about a year and a half to get the stunt down to perfection. The visiting bandsman is playing during a concert to be given by the Salvation Army Band in the shell bandstand. He will also play a flute duet. The young musician, who has been tinkering with musical instruments since he was seven, plays a banjo, violin, guitar and makes music out of water-filled bottles and tumblers."

 Lakeside Park Band Shell, Stratford. Ernest Victor plays a cornet duet. Some of the instruments that Ernie played, including an Xylophone that he built himself without plans. It was made from Mahogony and he tuned each note by shaving a little at a time from the underside of each block of wood. Each wooden note was suspended on waxed strings so they could vibrate when hit with the mallets. Some time during 1936 the Salvation Army Corp in Peterborough rented the cruise boat at the George St. dock for a trip down the Otonabee River to Wallace Point and return.

  Ernie was playing in the band during this Church outing and after the concert he met Audrey Sanderson. He walked her home after the cruise. Audrey joined the Salvation Army and became a songster in the choir. Ernie and Audrey were married in Salvation Army uniform at the Peterborough Temple on September 18, 1937. In February of 1940, James W. was born, and Ernie immediately started to teach him to play the trumpet. Jimmy at age 2 Daughter Grace was taught to play clarinet and son Ralph was taught bass, percussion and accordion. Ernie lead the Salvation Army Band that went to Toronto with the Peterborough County School Children to see the King and Queen. About 80 students traveled from Lakefield by train, to join with them. The Peterborough group paraded into the C.N.E. stadium to be reviewed by the reigning Monarchs. Ernie wanted to do other things in music and left the Salvation Army Band. He started a Sunday evening dance for teenagers in the basement of Immaculate Catholic Church. As you can imagine it was controversial at the time, but was well received by the local teenagers. During the Second World War, Ernie tried to enlist but was turned down for medical reasons.

  Ernie became the musical director of an “All Girl Bugle Band”. The band was called The Peterborough Girl’s Service Corp. and they performed in many Victory War Bond fund raisers. Sheriff Stan McBride’s sisters Lois and Ruth were members of the band. Lois (McBride) Bertram wrote the following about Ernie and the Band: Between 1940 and 1945, I was a member of the Peterborough Girls’ Service Corps, Drum and Bugle Band. I played the bugle and during some parades, I was a Majorette. Our leader was Miss Mitchell, who worked in a bank. She was a very dedicated person teaching us our drill, gun and marching skills. We met at the Peterborough Armouries once a week. A young musician, Ernie Victor, taught us to play our bugles. He was very patient, and deserved a special medal, having to spend the hours he did with 15 such unskilled musicians! Our ages ranged from 16 to 20. Ernie always treated us with respect, conducting himself at all times as a true gentleman. He was a very caring, mild mannered person. We enjoyed his lessons. Although the war brought much heartache, our band was a bright spot in our lives as we marched Lois McBride Bertram along George St., in parks or at the train station, playing for the soldiers who were leaving or returning. Thank you Miss Mitchell and Ernie Victor, for the part you played in our young lives. Signed: Lois (McBride) Bertram, Thornhill, Ont. Lois (McBride) Bertram Top Row 4th from left. Ruth McBride Top Row 3rd from right. Ernie joined a band that was playing at the Brock Ball Room. He played lead trumpet for the band doing “Jitney Dances”. Because of the war, there were more women present than there were men, so the Jitney Dance was born. The admission to the dance was free, but you had to buy ‘dance tickets’ in order to dance. Each ticket cost five cents and was good for one set of 3 songs. A gentleman would ask a lady to dance and then would turn in a ticket to the usher as they entered the dance floor. Each dance was usually very short, so the men had to keep buying more tickets. Ernie enjoyed playing for these dances and formed his own band. He played for dances at all the area dance halls. Many of these are no longer around. He played at Rye’s pavilion that was at the south end of Lock St. There was also Rye’s boat house, where they used to have boat cruises down the river to Hastings and return. Ernie and his band would provide the entertainment on these cruises. He played at Brookside Pavilion at the corner of Highway 7 and The Old Keene Road. This hall closed and became Brookside Groceries. The Brock Ball Room became the Brock Street Arena and then Food City. Some of the other venues that Ernie entertained at were Juniper Island, Tully’s, Club Aragon, The Pines, Chemong Yacht Haven, Rock Haven and South Beach Hotel. The Club Cobana opened as a night club, but only operated for a very short time before closing down. Ernie also played in the band that entertained on the cruise boat that sailed from Cobourg, across Lake Ontario to Rochester, N.Y. and re- turn. Ernie joined Graydon Sheldon and His Oldtimers as trumpet player and music arranger. He also started to do all the bookings for Graydon. They were soon playing dances six nights a week, barn storming all around southern Ontario. Graydon and the Oldtimers had a radio show every Saturday that was broadcast from a studio above Comstock’s Furniture Store. Karl Monk was the announcer, and a regular guest on the show was André Dalton. André was a constable on the Peterborough Police Force, and was billed as ‘Andy Dalton, the Sing- ing Cop’. Comstocks was on George St. about where Days Inn is now. Graydon, Ernie and the Oldtimers later moved the show to the CHEX Radio Studio above the Peterborough Examiner, at the corner of Hunter and Water Sts. Over the years with Graydon Sheldon, Ernie was in six motor vehicle accidents while a passenger. Three of these involved trains. Fortunately, his worse injury was only a broken kneecap received in a head-on collision with a Tractor Trailer.

  Ernie was fascinated by Harry Houdini, and he started doing magic shows under the guidance of local magician Bob Hardy. Ernie loved the slight of hand, and secrets Bob Hardy’s involved in magic tricks. Floating lady. In the early fifties, Ernie started Ernie Victor Entertainment Agency. He booked ‘Acts’ for local groups such as the Kiwanis, Kinsmen, Knights of Colum- bus, etc. that wanted to raise money for charity. He booked the Memorial Centre for the C.G.E. Social & Athletic Club and had a sold out night of enter- tainment including Country Hoedown, with Tommy Hunter, Tommy Common, Gordie Tapp, Maurice Boyer, and special guest Gordon Lightfoot. Some of the other entertainers Ernie brought to Peterborough included Mart Kenny Or- chestra with Norma Locke, Billy Meek and Anita Scott the Pearly Queen from the Pig & Whistle TV Show, Alan Hamel, Billy Van, Chris Beard, Our Pet-Juliet and our own Ada Lee. Ernie also booked the grandstand shows for the local fall fairs such as Lindsay, Peterborough, Lakefield and Norwood. It was a family tradition to go to the Norwood Fair on Thanksgiving Day. One year Ernie entered a family band in the parade to the fairgrounds. He told everyone they would have some fun and get into the fair for free. Ernie’s son- in-law Ron, was persuaded to drive his pickup truck with everyone sitting on hay bales in the back playing “When The Saints Go Marching In”; over and over again. It was the only song that everyone knew how to play without music. Everyone had lots of fun and got into the fair for free. Ernie had a favourite saying that was repeated every time the family did something together; “We don’t make much money, but we have a lot of fun!”. The best laugh for the family came about three weeks later when Ernie received a cheque for twenty- five dollars for the best family float! The family band: Ernie and Jim on trumpet, Grace on clarinet, Ralph on drums, Uncle John on piano with singers Aunt Alice, cousin Betty and Uncle Peter. At Christmas, they would go around the neighbourhood in Nassau and play Carols.

  Ernie started a ‘Sunday Night Show’ at Tobe’s County Gardens in Belleville, He booked the entertainers, wrote, produced, directed and performed in this weekly show. He would always do a parody of one of the previous weeks special guests. His favourites were the magicians, and he always made sure that his parody of their trick would be really bungled. How about a pet skunk being pulled out of a hat instead of a rabbit. Or while trying to make a birdcage disappear, his pants disappeared instead. Graydon Sheldon and the Oldtimers provided the music for the shows. Ernie would do anything to entertain his audience. One of his most entertaining parodies was about the song “Talk Of The Town” and the line “Everybody knows you left me——this way”. He was dressed as a pregnant lady with a wig made from binder twine! In 1955, Ernie was hired as director of the Port Hope Community Band and then a year later, he was also hired as bandmaster of the Bethany Community Band. In order for both bands to play in a parade at the same time, he appointed his son Jim to be the ‘assistant band master’. Summertime was very busy. Every Sunday afternoon there would be a concert in the park in Bethany and every Sunday evening there would be a concert in the park in Port Hope. Sunday mornings in the Spring, the Bethany Band would play for ‘decoration day’ services held by churches at many of the cemeteries around Bethany. Ernie had a great love for music and he was able to pass this on to the members of his bands. He entered the Port Hope Band in the Canadian National Exhibition Band Competition and won the first prize trophy three times and second place twice. Ernie entered the Port Hope Band in the Peterborough Kiwanis Music Festival and twice beat the Peterborough Concert Band for first place. The band class was adjudicated by Conductor Martin Boundy and the band received 98 marks-the highest mark ever awarded at that time. In September 1958, the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce staged Canada’s First Bullfight. It was a ‘bloodless’ bullfight in that the animals were not hurt or killed. Ernie put together a Mexican band and booked Mexican entertainment for the controver- sial event. He did all the arrange- ments for the mu- sical parts of the stage show and also the fanfares and entrance music for the Matadors and their cast. The band was comprised of the best musicians available from around this area. That was good, because they had to adlib a lot when the Matadors couldn’t get the bulls out of the arena after the ‘fight’. The Lindsay Town Council did not like the idea of the bullfight, but they had to admit that it brought a lot of at- tention to the town. The Chamber of Com- merce lost a total of $9,400 but people are still talking about it 42 years later. Ernie also had a Dixieland band that played for dances two and three nights a week. Dez Bailey was the featured singer. At about age 45, Ernie figured he was getting too old to be playing trumpet so he taught himself to play electric organ. Within 6 months Murray Green hired him to entertain at the Grand Hotel in Peterborough. A year later he was on the ‘hotel circuit’ around Southern Ontario. He was also booked into three different clubs in Northern New York State. As part of his show, he told jokes, played organ and trumpet, did a singalong and played requests. He was very rarely stumped when asked to play a certain tune. One of the highlights of his act involved a lot of showmanship. Ernie made a set of small blocks that would sit on the keyboard of the organ. When you pressed on one of the blocks, three or four notes would be pressed and you would hear a chord. With a lot of introduction and fanfare, Ernie would bring in a step ladder, climb up and sit on the top and then play two trumpets at the same time. By putting his feet on the different blocks he would accompany himself on the organ. From a one man duet he became a one man trio. Ernie gradually stopped all the travelling and played mainly at the different hotels in Peterborough. He also booked the entertainment for many of the Hotels. One of the acts he booked into the King George Hotel was a new comer that would make it big …… Stompin’ Tom Connors. Every time Ernie had an entertainer, singer, musician or act booked into a venue in or around Peterborough, he would always invite them to his home for Audrey’s home-made spaghetti dinner with hot apple pie and a slice of cheese for desert. What usually followed was a jam session that would last into the wee hours of the morning.

  Ernie stopped playing in 1976, but he never stopped entertaining. He died on May 14, 1978. He is missed by his wife Audrey of Millbrook, sons Jim and Ralph and daughter Grace Carveth, all of Peterborough and four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

ERNIE VICTOR HAS GUESTED WITH:
Dez Bailey, Graydon Sheldon, Andy Dalton    

PETERBOROUGH Venues that ERNIE VICTOR has PERFORMed in: 
King George Hotel, The Grand Hotel, Norwood Fair, Juniper Island, Tully’s, Club Aragon, The Pines,
Chemong Yacht Haven, Rock Haven (The), South Beach Hotel, Rye's Pavilion, Rye's Boat House,
Brookside Pavilion, Brock Ballroom,              

Contact Information FOR ERNIE VICTOR'S SON JIM:
E-Mail: jimvictor@cogeco.ca