The Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Awardees- Fiscal Year 2008
Watie Akins, Brewer
Apprentice: James E. Neptune
Watie Akins is a Penobscot elder, drummer and singer who makes his living as a civil engineer. His father was a musician and his mother, Little Elk, performed as a dancer and singer on stages in the United States and Europe. Watie has performed in pageants and stage performances as a drummer and singer since grammar school. He retired in 1997 and throughout his retirement has devoted his time to researching Penobscot culture. He is particularly interested in recovering and preserving detailed aspects of Penobscot music and drumming, that have been obscured by influences from Native American tribes farther west.
Greg Boardman, Auburn
Apprentice: Jasmine Chick
Greg Boardman began his musical life as a rock and roll artist, but he soon found himself under the spell of the fiddle in 1970. He learned many of his tunes from master fiddlers Otto Soper of Orland and Simon St. Pierre of Smyrna Mills, as well as Ben Guillemette and Lucien Matthieu. Mattheiu, coincidently, is the uncle of another of this year’s awardees, Don Roy. Greg has performed extensively with the Northern Valley Boys, the Moosetones, the Ben Guillemette Ensemble, and the Canterbury Dance Orchestra.
For more information on Greg Boardman and his works of art, please refer to his listing in the Maine Arts Commission's Artist Directory.
John Connors/Dave Wylie, Madawaska
Apprentice: Chace Jackson
John Connors was born during the Depression in Allagash, Maine. He learned the art of boatmaking from his grandfather in the late 1940s, and joined the family boat shop in St. Francis, Maine. In the early 19th century, the Connors family built various types of boats in Pictou Nova Scotia, where John’s great-great grandfather built dories for the Atlantic fishing trade. Before the logging companies stopped transporting logs on the Allagash and St. John Rivers, John worked seven successive river drives in batteaus and wooden motorboats.
With his wealth of knowledge John is known in the Allagash region as a raconteur and storyteller, with a repertoire of tales about the river drives. He is assisted by Dave Wylie, who operates a boat shop at St. David, Maine. In 2006, Connors and Wylie collaborated to build a batteau for the annual Acadian Festival in Madawaska.
Donald D. Roy, Gorham
Apprentice: Matthew Lamare
When he was fifteen, Don Roy was allowed to take one of his uncle’s fiddles home with him to practice with. What was special about this is that Don’s uncle is Lucien Mattheiu, a master fiddler. Roy visited his uncle frequently, each time learning a tune or two from him, and on weekends he would sit in on the music sessions at family gatherings. Roy learns most of his tunes by ear, though he can occasionally be found thumbing through written collections of fiddle tunes. He currently commands a large repertoire of Franco and Celtic tunes. He won his first fiddle contest at the age of sixteen, and has claimed other awards since, including the Maine State Champion Fiddler in 1990, the Massachusetts State Champion in 1986, and the second and third place winner at the Northeast Fiddlers in Barre, Vermont in 1980 and 1982. He has performed at numerous festivals including the Folk Masters series at Wolf Trap, and the American Folk Festival in Bangor.
For more information on Donald D. Roy and his works of art, please refer to his listing in the Maine Arts Commission's Artist Directory.
