himself.

The Merry Makers, sponsored by Kelly and McInnis, was a group of local fiddlers who played the kind of music most Islanders loved. Don Messer and His Islanders, with vocalists Charlie Chamberlain and Marg Osbourne, were the favorites of Maritime listeners. Lem Jay, from Mount Stewart, carried on an annual tradition as he played fiddle tunes, unaccompanied, on New Year’s Day on The Outports.

Other programs also had a wide listening audience. On Saturday mornings, broadcaster Gerry Parsons from radio CHNS in Halifax carried the top ten recordings in the Country and Western Hit Parade. The top spots were occupied by artists such as Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Tex Ritter,