Midgic Baptist Church held a two-day reunion of the 1953-54 young people’s choir this past weekend and approximately 35 of the original 80 members were present. The choir was organized by Rev. Wilson Touchie, who was a student minister at Mount Allison at the time, and remarkably he also assembled choirs in Cookville and Centervillage during that period.
The celebrations started Saturday August 29 with a musical afternoon featuring Nothing Fancy, Reva and Marina, Del Wheaton, Allan Balser, Midgic Trio, Julia Horsman and Sandy Lowther, with Marjorie Dobson and Fred Phinney. A supper barbecue was enjoyed as the men did the cooking out in the rain and the people, about 130 in all, enjoyed a delicious meal inside.
Then on Sunday August 30th, there was a special choir reunion service attended by 180 people. Rev. Hal Lowther preached and former youth choir member Percy Hicks played the organ. David and Anna Acton of Cookville were the MCs and called choir members forward one by one to duplicate the original photo that ran in the Tribune Post in 1954. Family members also lit candles for the twelve choir members who have passed away over the years. On display were some of the original choir gowns (which were homemade out of bleached flour and sugar bags) provided by Myrna Hicks and others.
“It was a great success,” said Anna Acton, “and we want to thank all those in the church who were so willing and enthusiastic to help out in so many ways.”
“The idea for this reunion started around our kitchen table about two years ago,” said David Acton. “Rev. Wilson Touchie is a gifted man who used his gifts for the Lord,” said Pastor Lowther. “It was an amazing achievement to gather a youth choir of that size, especially in so short a time.”
Mr Touchie was not able to attend, as he is a resident at the Fisherman’s Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg, NS. His brother Jack, who is also a retired United Church minister, did attend, and he remarked that he had been to Midgic many times , providing transportation for his brother . The choir reunion was part of celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the founding of the church in 1859.
