By: Dave Featherstone

On: Apr 7, 2024 at 11 14 AM

Bob Whittaker Bob Whittaker was a tireless promoter of the bluegrass community here in Manitoba and a proud member of the Manitoba Old-Time & Bluegrass Society (MOBS). My earliest memory of Bob was when he was first running the bluegrass jams first at the Elmwood Legion in 2003 in what I liked to call the "Jam Sandwich" format, where a local band was featured in the middle of a jam. Things would kick off with a jam that would last an hour or so, then the band would perform, followed by a jam to

By: Dave Featherstone

On: Apr 7, 2024 at 11 13 AM

Bob Whittaker Bob Whittaker was a tireless promoter of the bluegrass community here in Manitoba and a proud member of the Manitoba Old-Time & Bluegrass Society (MOBS). My earliest memory of Bob was when he was first running the bluegrass jams first at the Elmwood Legion in 2003 in what I liked to call the "Jam Sandwich" format, where a local band was featured in the middle of a jam. Things would kick off with a jam that would last an hour or so, then the band would perform, followed by a jam to end the night, usually enticing the performers in as well. Bob ran it in this format fervently and, twice a month dedicated the next 20 years to keeping it going, despite the struggle to come up with a band to play each time, for a pass-the-hat. The bluegrass scene is very small in Manitoba and there are only a handful of bands who would play. Fellow banjo player and MOBS Newsletter editor Ed Byard wrote a piece about Bob just after his passing in 2021: "Bob Whittaker 1940-2021 - The Manitoba bluegrass community lost a dedicated friend and ambassador with the death of Bob Whittaker, on November 8, 2021, just short of his 81st birthday at St Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. Bob will be remembered by MOBS members as a past Vice President and President, but, most of all for his efforts to establish the regular Friday night jams and concerts held at Royal Canadian Legions in Elmwood and Transcona, jams that have been held continuously for twenty years, have provided stages for local musicians to perform and jam, and that have been a centrepiece of the MOBS community. Bob played the electric guitar in his early years, and would occasionally go to hear his friends’ band play at local hotels. One day the band leader said to him, “Bob, you like bluegrass music, so why don’t you buy this mandolin from me for $75...??” At first, Bob was not sure what to do with his new purchase, but at a chance encounter at a MOBS event, he was referred to Rick Everett, who filled him in on the Manitoba bluegrass scene. Lessons with Kerri Krishna and the purchase of a new KM 250S Kentucky mandolin from Sled Dog Music meant that Bob was now a bona fide bluegrasser, thus frequenting jams wherever he could find them. One of these events, around 2001, was at the Beausejour Legion where concerts and jams took place fairly regularly. Bob (along with help from George Dyck) floated the idea that a Legion jam would take place in Winnipeg. With support from the Legion, these jams started at the Elmwood Legion, then moved to the Transcona Legion when the Elmwood Legion found that the music got in the way of their very popular meat draws. Soon, various pieces of sound gear were purchased, and the format of the Friday night jams were such that a local band would come to play, and a jam would take place both before and after the concert. Bob and Dorothy usually managed to find bands to play for virtually every jam, the turnouts were good and the bands got paid a small honorarium. Twenty years later, they still happen. Bob was also a regular at the Friday morning Anola jam, and, when that jam had a brief hiatus, he could be found at the centre of a Friday morning jam at the Royal George Hotel in Transcona. Bob was not front and centre at jam sessions, but he was nonetheless a presence, strumming along and singing the occasional tune. I found him to be a man of few words and of quiet demeanour---well, until he laughed: I will always remember that robust, nasal “hyun-hyun” chuckle!! Despite being self-effacing, he has left a substantial imprint on MOBS, and I think everyone that knew him will miss him."