Don Messer and The Islanders stop, the crowd in the street would applaud. So keen was the interest in fiddling that it even provoked sermons against it from a few pulpits. Later an old-time orchestra was formed under the direction of Bob Weeks—he had won third place in the 1926 competition—and broad¬ cast to the Radio Commission's Maritime network on at least two occa¬ sions in 1934. George Chappelle 's "Merry Islanders" went coast-to- coast on network programs in the winter of 1937. The tradition of maintaining old-time music on CFCY culminated in the signing on of Don Messer and his Islanders as resident professionals in very early 1940. One of CFCY's first and most active sponsors was Kelly and Mclnnis , a popular men's clothing store. Art McDonald had sold the account, but the store owners had most of the say as to what, or who was to go on the air. Mr. Mclnnis himself was fond of dropping into the studio to say a few words to the customers about any bargains or specials he was putting on. Like most of the broadcasting from Great George street, everything in the beginning was casual and unplanned. I know of one person who later became well known to all Maritime radio listeners, who started out by winning the Kelly & Mclnnis Talent Contest. Ches Cooper sang the old Wilf Carter song, "I'm Going to Ride to Heaven on a Stream-lined Train " and won the first prize of a suit of clothes. It was worth $22.00 then and it represented almost a month's pay when Ches was teaching school in a rural area. Ches told me that returning to the little village where he lived after the broadcast was a special thrill for him. "Radio in those days was the same as going to Hollywood, almost. The first time I sang on the radio and drove back home, I went down to Prowse's store, the local store in and all of the people said, T heard you on the radio today', and I was just like a celebrity from Hollywood." Years later, Ches originated a program devoted to agriculture on CFCY and after appearing on both radio and television on Prince Edward Island over a period of twelve years became a well-known agri¬ cultural commentator for the CBC in Halifax , host of Country Calendar and on Radio Noon. Ches always says that CFCY was like a family and 97