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- - Terry (http://www.corfid.com/vbb//showthread.php?t=23311)

alex, i will venture a guess at the author. perhaps hemingway, as he was an avid fisherman?

Nice guess, but it was not Ernest Hemmingway.
TC was an occassional fisherman, but he looked liked a serious one with that multi-pocketed, beige vest, which he always wore, for what seemed like decades.

Thanks for the stories, Alex. You have certainly lightened the mood around here. I am so glad you found our home.....great minds - and all that. I have found myself with a smile at the end our your stories. Well done. Author, hmmm perhaps Tom Clancy?

Re: Terry and Clemens

Yes, you have read the tiltle correctly. And no "t" is missing.

I will no longer keep anyone in suspense. (Fine guess, jj...maybe he did read Hemingway. He never mentioned it to me, if he did.)

Terry's favorite author was Samuel Clemens, by a country mile.

Clem-O knew all his works and all the places associated with Mark Twain. He sometimes would quote Twain to those he thought might "get it".

I acquired only a passing familiarity with Twain, but I still enjoyed hearing TC talk about him.
My forte was Stephen Leacock, who oftimes left me laughing so hard that it hurt...It seems Mark Twain had a similar effect on Terry.
I was no expert on Leacock. I just enjoyed reading his books. However, it was clear Clements was an expert on Clemens.

I first learned of Terry's appreciation of Twain, in 1979.

Being a Commercial Pilot, I managed to get around, but nowhere to the distant and varied places Gord and his band of merry men visited.
I did "bush flying". I often got stuck in many a boring and uninspiring 'burgh- especially if the Weather Gods were somewhat displeased with me. Alas, I managed to make the best of it, only if I found a purveyor of used, musty and smelly old books. I love those places! (The big-city, high-rent phrase? Antiquarian Bookstore.)

I always kept a lookout for anything on subjects my friends fancied. Occasionaly, I would discover a true gem. The book would often be underappreciated and the seller sometimes just did not know what they had.

I was constantly bird-dogging, in my off hours:
for my girlfriend, of the time (later to become my wife...still is, too): anything on Picasso, for one Buddy: Fishing lore, for another: everything by Grey Owl, for my Mother: Medical reading, for Clements: Twain, for myself: Leacock.

Much of my flying was done out of Timmins, in Northern Ontario, to: as far north as the Cree Indian villages on the Albany River, as far South as the Nickel Belt, as far west, as Wawa and as far east to the huge James Bay power project, in Quebec. In time, I managed to corner the market on all the 1st Edition Leacocks, north of the Severn River. A few of these had even been signed by the great humourist, himself!

From time to time, I would come across other incredible, less frequent finds: 1st Edition Mark Twains. The ones I had discovered were in such places as Sudbury, North Bay, and other smaller, assorted One-Moose Towns, dotting the monotonous and never-ending boreal forest (Towns with only one airstrip- typically unpaved and too short for comfort. More than one time, did I have to abort a landing approach because of a Moose wandering on to the runway).
But, I digress.
These Twain beauties from the 1890's were ridiculously underpriced, compared to what they would go for in the States, IF you could ever find them. (I know this from experience. Whenever I passed through New England towns, I'd visit bookstores. If/When I did find them, first edition Mark Twains were very dear. Leacocks, as well. I can't tell whether New Englanders are better read than Ontarians, but I can vouch for the fact that they know the value of a well-written book.) These Twains, too, were to disappear from the shelves of the used booksellers of North Ontario.

I would pass the Twain finds over to Clem, with my compliments. I know these books now had a worthy custodian. I was told he would disappear to read them, until they were completely devoured.

I recall Terry saying, on more than a single occasion: "People get the impression that road musicians are as dumb as posts. Maybe some are, I don't know, but every one I've known has interests hardly anyone knows about and they're truly into them. And deeply, too. You just have to talk to them and listen to what they're saying."

I'd wager Terry could quote & argue Clemens as well as any PhD who did their dissertation on the man.

In an earlier story, I mentioned I had met Terry in Elmira, in June of 2010.
I knew Elmira held a very special place in his heart. He often talked about it. It was once the home and now is the final resting place of Mark Twain. Terry very much liked the "feel" of the place. An hour-or-so before the gig, we spent about thirty minutes talking about: old times, his kids- now, all adults (he especially beamed about a daughter), how he hadn't been to Elmira in about twenty years- what had changed and what hadn't, things which were vexing him, my McGlincy Guitar, his guitars, a subsequent negotiation for mine and ripping yarns from the complaints department, in general. He also asked me what I was up to and I told him what 'fer.
Just as he was being called to head backstage, he asked if I was going to the hotel. This was an affirmative, as my wife and i were staying overnight there, as well. We agreed to meet at the hotel bar.

After the concert, we attended at the appointed place for some libations. There, we were unexpectedly greeted by Rick Haynes and Mike Heffernan.
I got into a protracted conversation with Rick. Later on, Terry suddenly appeared and he began to discuss Twain with my wife. After a few minutes of Twainisms, he turned to me and he said "Hey, Alex, stick around. I've got something you'll want to see!" and he left.
Shortly thereafter, I left the bar to use the facilities and I ran into Terry out in the foyer.
He had a old-looking book with him. He handed me the book and told me to check it out.
I did so. There, on the initial leaf, was an inscription to him. It was dated: "March, 1981".
It was one of the 1st Edition finds which I had given him.
He thanked me for the book, one more time, over a quarter of a century later.

That was the last time I saw Terry Clements.

He never forgot a kindness, a truth to which many others will readily attest.

This type of person is classified as: Gentleman.

Thanks for the lovely story! I too love Stephen Leacock, his wit and humour are much like Twain/Clemens. And like Terry's.
I can imagine all the town you were in up north..I spent many summers in my parents hometown of Timmins and out in the bush where the cabin was located on Gibson Lake. Small bushplanes and float planes played a huge part in the lives of people in the remote areas you speak of...I've been to many of those little, out of the way towns.
It's nice but not surprising that Terry was such a thoughtful man and appreciative of the kindness you showed him. I'm sure those books were helpful in getting through the long flights and weeks away away from home and family while out on tour.
thanks again for the stories..

Re: Terry and Clemens

Alex, you write in a wonderful style we are enjoying to the fullest.

Gentleman: may be the most concise and fitting epitaph for your dear buddy

There are some beings out there I've never met yet I think of them as friends and Terry was one of those...

I too lived on Bayview near Stouffville Rd where they recently blew up the forest and put up a parkin' lot...well, that sort of thing

I had never heard of Stephen Leacock until I went to the concert at the Opera House in Orillia. I had time on my hands and love museums....what an interesting life he led, great house. I have searched the internet and read about him and picked up a couple books at the library. VERY hard to find in the US. I don't know if I would count him in the top 10, I enjoyed the reading, but I really enjoyed the museum.

I've been off the site for a couple of weeks. I'm completely shocked and so very sad at this terrible news. What a fabulous talent has been lost and such a loss for all of us but moreover his family. My heart goes out to them and to the band. I want to thank all of you who took the time to post all the informative links - what a great group. Life is so very precious.
CM

Re: Terry, McGlincy Guitar,etc.

I have started a "SOCIAL GROUP", entitled "McGLINCY GUITAR"

Please visit it, to see the my McGlincy. It is only one of nine(?) ever created by the master Luthier, the late Ed McGlincy. Owners include: Gord, Terry, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, myself and four others. (If you are one of the four, please DO introduce yourself!)

Enjoy.

P.S.
For others who wish to upload their pictures to the site, I now know how to do it.
It took me a while how to do it...It would seem the "trick" is to adjust the resolution to no higher than 600 x 600 dpi. Use "Infan Viewer" (a free download). Change the resolution of your photo, then, save the photo in a new location. Then, if set to no more than 600 by 600 dots per inch, you will be able to upload. Have fun.

ANOTHER WAY to see the McGLINCY photos:

Click my name (alex) and then, click the album.

Enjoy! (Do click "View All". I've posted 17 photos, to date.)

...I would not have this beautiful instrument, if it wasn't for Terry...

Re: Terry, McGlincy Guitar,etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex (Post 170558)

could you post a link to the site..??

Sure, Charlene,

See if this works:

http://www.corfid.com/vbb/album.php?albumid=23

thanks Alex...had no idea you had posted them here at CORFID!
lol

Yes, thanks for those reminiscences, Alex. They are a nice insight into the character of Terry Clements. They sure are consistent with the few minutes I had to meet him along the way.

...an response to a query from the Terry Clement Guitar thread:

Dear JohninCT.,

I am aware of only a partial lineage of Edward McGlincy's Instruments.
If you will imagine a tree, one branch starts at an initial owner. The start of the branch of which I am most aware: Bob Dylan bought one, he showed his to Gordon Lighfoot, he ordered one, who showed his to Terry Clements, who ordered one, who showed his to me. I placed my order a few days later, after I had played Terry's, and after he had given me an introduction to Ed. This is where this particular "branch" ends. The second branch, begins with Johnny Cash. I do not know if this branch continued, in a similar way to the Dylan-Lightfoot-Clements-yours truly, chain. I am given to believe there are four more McGlincys in other hands. I have been trying to determine the dispoition of Johnny Cash's McGlincy. I am pursuing the matter and I may learn of its' status, one day.

As a serious collectors of stringed instruments, I have come to learn an owner is merely a custodian. We, as custodians, do our utmost to protect beautiful instruments and we can only hope they will find their way into worthy hands, upon our eventual demise. (We trust the next custodian will give the instrument, the respect it deserves, commensurate with its quality.)

I have been continually trading, buying and selling guitars, since the late 1960's. My first ax was a Martin D12-35. I learned to play on it. It was a terrible instrument to hear and an ogre, to play, let alone learn chords on. In my young mind, it was a Martin, until I had gained a little wisdom. Three years later, I had saved enough to buy a Gibson 12-string...This soon eveolved into a series of acquisitions (both "B's" and "J's", in various saddle configuartions. I still retain one: most playable, indeed.). I will continue to trade, buy and sell. This McGlincy is included in the practise. One day, I will probably part with it, given it is becoming more difficult for me to play, with the advancing years.

I am always receptive to serious offers.

After all this waxing philisophical: I do not know if any of the original owners have sold theirs.

Cheers,

Alex

I have received two very interesting links from Johann Lowenberg.

The first takes you to CBC Radio 3.

Before his passing, Terry produced some great music, featuring Terry, Red and Rick, on Johann's upcoming album. Lightfoot Folks, do CHECK this link out!:

http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Johann-Lowenberg

You will hear demos, but it probably won't take long to master them for release.
The music is wonderful!!! It is a great treat. Thank you Johann.

The second is about possible lineage links of the McGlincy guitar:

I quote his Johann's correspondence:

"Hi Alex

This article shows that Dylan and Cash were good friends, so it could very well be possible one showed the other his McGlincy, depending on which was built first

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyl...ght-0217-2011/

johann"

My response:

"Johann,

Thank you. It was fascinating article. It certainly made me think about the possible connection between Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

It is possible one showed the other his McGlincy and the other was sufficiently impressed to have one made for himself. The "branch" may go Dylan, Cash, Lightfoot, Clements, myself or, possibly Cash, Dylan, Lightfoot, Clements, me.

Perhaps someone who knows Mr. Dylan could shed some light on the matter and clarify the lineage?..."

I would now add:...or, someone who knew Johnny Cash?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just received an update from Johann. The link for the Cash-Dylan Article is not working.

Try this one: http://goo.gl/XfjqC

I've tried it. It works!

Thanks, Johann.

Boy,

I haven't checked in for awhile. This is very sad.

My wife,I, and two friends from our high school days went to a concert in 1972 at the old Auditorium Theater in Chicago. Those of you that know the theater know it was perfect acoustically. Terry was perfection without the theater, imagine what it sounded like with it! Afterwards we all headed to the Earl of Oldtown, a pub near Lincoln Park. We knew that Gord loved to jam there when in Chicago. We were fortunate to get the last table and sat with Terry and Gordon and talked for quite sometime. Both down to earth guys that we will always love dearly. Sitting only 8 feet from them while they jammed was a highlight of our lives. Rest in piece Terry as I last saw you at Fraze Pavilion, Kettering, Ohio, June 17th, 2010. With me was a friend from 35 years ago who also loves Gordon and Terry and all the gang. When I looked over she was crying as the songs they were singing were our favorite songs from 35 years ago. I will never forget that night! Love you guys and so does Sue!

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex (Post 170778)

Quite interesting, thanks Alex for the reply.