{"id":25655,"date":"2017-01-12T05:58:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T10:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=25655"},"modified":"2018-10-01T13:13:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T17:13:28","slug":"lifetime-song-meet-mansfield-rogers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/lifetime-song-meet-mansfield-rogers\/","title":{"rendered":"A lifetime of song: Meet Mansfield Rogers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at <\/strong><\/em>laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

At 91 years young, Mansfield Rogers still gets a thrill when he takes the stage to sing. Conquering the jitters, well, that never really goes away.<\/p>\n

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Singing has always been his thing, and it always will be. Mansfield found his voice when he was a small boy, probably before he was six years old. He remembers gathering around the fire every Sunday to sing with his family while his mother played the piano. He also recalls taking the stage for a Christmas concert and being totally nervous. Those long-ago memories still surface every now and then and they are ones he will cherish forever. They were just the beginning of a lifetime of memories built by doing what he loves to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hobby of mine in so many ways,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s therapeutic\u2026 something I find very relaxing. Over the years, I\u2019ve sang at any chance I could with any group I could. For me, it\u2019s just a lot of fun. I don\u2019t think you ever get over the stage fright. And maybe that\u2019s from being brought up in a time when you were to be seen and not heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the sweetest elderly man, with blue eyes that tell a story of someone who\u2019s seen it all and done so many wonderful things in his nine decades on this planet. He served in World War II, making him one of Huntsville\u2019s oldest living veterans. He\u2019s never missed a Remembrance Day service at the Legion either. It means a lot for him to be able to pay his respect. He considers himself lucky that he was able to make it home.<\/p>\n

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Mansfield is one of the founding members of the Muskoka Music Men.<\/p><\/div>\n

He worked for the Ministry of Transportation for 36 years and helped build major highways in Muskoka as well as across northern Ontario. He was also involved with the local Air Cadets program starting in the early 1980s and sat on the sponsoring committee helping to raise funds for the Cadets for 23 years.<\/p>\n

Mansfield doesn\u2019t look like a guy who\u2019s over 90. He gets around just fine on his own, although sometimes he relies on a walker or his handmade cane for balance. He\u2019s sharp as a tack and witty, too. He\u2019s maintains good health and for that he is grateful. He still drives and he\u2019d \u201clike to keep it that way\u201d for as long as he can. He\u2019s been married to Betty Lou, a woman who he has shared all the joy in the world with, for the past 65 years. She\u2019s the apple of his eye and has been since he first laid eyes on her.<\/p>\n

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The sweetest couple: Mansfield and his loving wife Betty Lou. Not many people can say they’ve been happily married for 65 years, but these two certainly can.<\/p><\/div>\n

Mansfield (better known as Mans to his friends) is a longtime member of the Muskoka Music Men, the local chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. In fact, he\u2019s the longest-standing and oldest member and even helped form the group back in 1989. He\u2019s been actively involved since its inception, singing merrily and happily once a week (and sometimes more) for the last 28 years. He was instrumental in recruiting some of the first members and over the years he has watched many new faces come and go.<\/p>\n

I just love the harmony part. That\u2019s my favourite part of singing. We\u2019re a good group. I think we all really enjoy the social aspect of it. There\u2019s been a big turnover with not having enough members\u2026 and I think that\u2019s because it\u2019s hard to get men to sing. It\u2019s alright for women, but for some reason or another singing is not considered a man thing to do. To me, there\u2019s nothing like singing. It\u2019s really too bad we can\u2019t get more men to come out and sing with us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Being part of the Muskoka Music Men for almost 30 years means Mansfield is always out and about in the community. The group meets on Tuesday evenings for practice, but he\u2019s also part of a quartet that gets together on Wednesdays. Getting out and singing with his friends keeps him busy. (It might even be the secret to what\u2019s keeping him young.) He\u2019s performed at hundreds of events \u2013 weddings, birthdays, private social functions and other special occasions. Every year he looks forward to delivering \u2018Singing Valentines\u2019, a definite way to get anyone to blush when a quartet of gentlemen show up at their house or place of employment to sing a romantic tune. He\u2019s hoping that this year, even with member numbers being down, the tradition continues.<\/p>\n\n\t\t