Stanley Francis was born on Sept 7, 1927, in Rocky Harbour, Bonne Bay. His grandfather came to the area from France and was an accordion player, as was Stan’s father. He was employed most of his life as a lumberman and logger. Stan and his wife Beatrice were married in Lomond in 1952 and settled in Cow Head. Stan began learning tunes from his father at age 15, later picking up more music from the radio, records, and other musicians in his local area.

Kelly’s Note: I visited Stan one afternoon at his home in Cow Head, and we spent several hours playing tunes. First up, though, was Stan’s nine-year-old son Jimmy who played 5-6 familiar tunes surprisingly well on a full-size fiddle. When I asked Stan to play some old, local tunes, he played Beef in the Cupboard, Up to See Granny, Elly Cranky, and Stack of Barley, saying these were tunes his father used to play on accordion. Stan said: “I knew a lot more jigs one time.” When asked about dances, he said, “Nothing like it, my son, one time, good old violin music and square dancing.” Stan also played: Growling Old Man, Little Burnt Potato, Maple Sugar, Rakes of Kildare, Ragtime Annie.