Inspired Places: Chester Delaney 

Episode 7:
Chester Delaney is no stranger to the stages, halls, and kitchens of Chéticamp. He was the life-long violin accompanist for the late Gérard Romard, one of Chéticamp’s best-known song bearers, until his sudden passing in 2007. Together, they performed in Toronto, Halifax, the Magdalen Islands, and of course at the Doryman Tavern in Chéticamp where they hosted Talent Night for many years. Chester still frequents that stage in Gerard’s memory with Claude Bourgeois and Tommy Poirier. Growing up in St-Joseph-du-Moine, Chester was the son of well-known local personality Joe Delaney who prompted square sets and tended a famous garden of scarecrows known as Joe’s Scarecrows. Chester appeared in a documentary by Sir William Connolly (a.k.a. “the Big Yin”), and also appeared with his violin on the television program The Nature of Things. At the time of his retirement from Le Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial, Chester was the School Board’s longest serving custodian. He went the extra mile for students and staff, participating in many school concerts, sometimes spending recess at the chalk board explaining various methods of long division. He often brought his violin to school, and that was always a special occasion.