Fiddler Les Raber . . . A Michigan Treasure

Les Raber was born in Allegan County, Michigan in 1911. Les’s father and grandfather were fiddle players. Les’s mother made his first fiddle out of cornstalks, then another one out of a broom handle and a cigar box. When Les was 10, his mother ordered him a fiddle and instructions for $4.98 from Sears-Roebuck. He started playing for dances around Allegan at age 15. Les and his wife Rosemary had four children who were all musicians. – /from Original Michigan Fiddlers, Edited by Rosemary Raber, 1986, Original Michigan Fiddlers Association. Used with permission./

Les attended Allegan High School, playing violin, alto horn and French horn in the high school orchestra. He played in several local bands, including The Allegan Band, Baker Furniture Band, Otsego Band and Plainwell Band. Les also played with a group of musicians who gathered in theaters in Allegan. He would play music, walk home to milk the cows, and then walk back to town to play more music. After two years at Michigan State University, Les earned his degree in Agriculture and became a cow tester for the state. For nineteen years, starting in the mid-30’s, Les played for square and round dancing every Friday night at the Dixie Dance Hall on the south side of Grand Rapids. This was not just for fun; it was to put food on the table. They all went as a family because there were not many babysitters in those days. They learned to dance some of their very favorite dances like the ‘Sally Waters’, ‘The Rye Waltz’, ‘Heel and Toe Polka’, ‘Put Your Little Foot’, and many square dances. When they would get tired, the children were wrapped up in coats inside the drum case and would fall asleep under the piano while the dance continued. In 1987, Les performed at the Festival of American Folklife at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. He was selected to represent Michigan in the art form of ‘Old Time Michigan Fiddlers’ at the Festival of American Folklife for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. He played concerts every day for six days. The music was recorded and is now housed in the Library of Congress. In 1991, he received the Michigan Heritage Award from the Michigan Council for the Arts honoring his lifetime of playing and preserving old-fashioned dance music. In 1998, Les was invited to play at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. In 2000, Les performed at the 12th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Cleveland, Ohio and at the 62nd National Folk Festival in East Lansing, Michigan as a featured guest of The Old Michigan Ruffwater Stringband. Les died in August 2000. He was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Fiddlers Association Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2003. – /from Come Dance With Me: Original Fiddle Compositions and Favorite Tunes of Les Raber by Judy Raber & Jim McKinney, 2008. Used with Permission./

Les Raber’s recordings and the 4th edition of /Come Dance With Me: Original Fiddle Compositions and Favorite Tunes of Les Raber/ with 176 tunes are available at www.GoldenGriffonStringtet.com, the Les Raber Memorial Fund in Hastings, Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Psarianos Violins in Troy and Ann Arbor, Herb David’s Guitar Studio in Ann Arbor and Shar Instruments in Ann Arbor.

© 2012 Jim McKinney Used by permission.