Comments from JCampbell

Showing 2 comments

JCampbell
JCampbell commented about Garrick Centre on Apr 1, 2006 at 5:58 pm

HMcK I apologise for the tardiness in relying. I have been without internet access for almost a month and recently, the site seems to have been having some problems.

Unfortunately, there is no more that I can add. Agnes always used her maiden name and I never knew her married name. She seemed to keep her private life very private. I never heard mention of children or any relatives. I did meet her husband once when he came to the store. He managed the books and may possibly have been an accountant (speculation). It’s not very helpful, but I do hope you will be able to piece together the informstion you are looking for.

JCampbell
JCampbell commented about Garrick Centre on Feb 27, 2006 at 8:06 pm

I happened on this site somewhat accidentally and saw the discussion regarding Agnes Forsythe. I met Agnes in around 1970 just after she had moved to Vancouver with her husband and long time friend Eileen Wedlake. Agnes managed a music store at Seymour and Dunsmuir at the time and I went there to take organ lessons. Two or three years later, she opened her own store on Kingsway, a couple of blocks north of Edmonds and was a principal retailer for Wurlitzer. She also had a music school with maybe four to six teachers. The timing was right and I think she did well in the organ and piano revival of the 70s. There were concerts in the Playhouse Theatre and visits to pizza house Wurlitzers and a memorable re-opening of the restored Orpheum Theatre wurlitzer by Reginald Foort in those days.

She spoke rarely of her days in Winnipeg but I do remember her ‘complaining’ how physically demanding it was to play a theatre pipe organ. She is a small person, petite and with small hands, so I can imagine how hard she had to work at a full size console. I never heard her perform or saw her teach, though she would play a few bars as a demonstration in support of a sale. She was awarded the Freedom of the City of Winnipeg in the mid 70s and I also remember her saying that the Garrick had offered her the organ for free. She was flattered but had no way to do anything useful with it and regretfully declined the offer. (Good luck for PT!)

I lost touch in around 1980 and have had no contact or news since. I did notice that the store closed in around 1985 or so.