Circa 1959
Al Hepburn Richard Dowson and Wick Drewry went out west to Alberta to become cowboys in 1959 They worked on the ranch in Brooks Alberta until the fall, Al left shortly after they arrived and I remember him saying “they round up cattle with a pick-up truck”
Wick went back to Ontario after round up
Richard moved in with my brother Bill Dowson who was living in Drumheller Alta where he worked on the local Radio station CJDV The voice of the big country” He went back to high school in Drumheller and graduated after a year of selling insurance he married and went to University of Alberta Edmonton became a school teacher and high school principal
Wick went back to the Ranch every year after that and worked on the ranch from branding in the spring to roundup in the fall and spent the winter with his mother in Willowdale.
Richard now lives in Moose Jaw Sask
Al Hepburn joined the North York Fire department where he worked until his death and Wick later became a horse wrangler at Pioneer Village in Ontario and retired with a government pension. He passed away a few years ago.
An now you know the rest of the story. - John Dowson
Al Hepburn and His 56 Caddy
Al
bought it in 1958 while he was living down the street from us on Parkview with Kenny Beaton’s family. Kenny’s Dad had been blown up in the War – never adapted to life after combat – so was in the hospital most of the time and Kenny’s mom took in boarders to make ends meet.
Kenny had one sister – older – who lived at home at the time.
Kenny Beaton was well known because he survived Polio – but he was also known for getting hit by a car while crossing Yonge Street. At the time our school, McKee Avenue School had the Elmer the Safety Elephant flag on the flag pole at the front of the school. When Kenny got hit they took away our Elmer Flag – assholes.
While Al was living at Beaton’s and working for the Township driving garbage truck, a guy named Joey Alkie was also there. Joey loved the booze. Joey had worked as a cook for a well known Deli on Bathurst (it’s still there). One day Joey told Al that they kept money overnight in the Deli and where it was located.
The two went down one night and Al broke in, found the money and got out. Joey asked for a share and Al told him he couldn’t find the money – so there was no share.
Al had managed to get over $1,000 - later investing it in his Cadillac.
Our mother thought he was a great saver and an example for all us on how to save and invest.
Al told me the story while we were working at the 7L7 in 1959. He had the Cadillac at the ranch for a month – then the Finance Company boys showed up from Calgary and repossessed it.
Hepburn was a scoundrel through and through – but great fun to be with.
The last time I saw Joey and Al together they were on the subway coming back from a Dog Show at the CNE. Joey was loaded.
Richard Dowson, Moose Jaw
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Al Hepburn & The Hound Dogs (1954)
- by Russ Strathdee
Al Hepburn lived in a bungalow 2 streets north of Finch Ave, (which was the northern boundary of Willowdale) at 15 Bishop Ave. He asked me to play in his band, The Hound Dogs. Apparently he got my name from Danny Antonacci, who was one of my high school classmate. Hepburn never went to Earl Haig.
Al was a couple of years older than me and his profession during the day was what he called a “Sanitary Engineer” for the Township of North York – a garbage collector. He had a younger brother Ken and the two of them played guitar and sang Rock and Roll music.
Al and Ken Hepburn
Al played mostly rhythm guitar while Kenny played lead (solos) on his brand new gold sparkle Gibson “Les Paul” guitar. That guitar was quite special back then and it became a classic. Al had a really nice guitar too. It was a Martin.
The “Hounds” would sometimes practice in my mom and dad’s living room or the basement. Other times we practiced at Al’s mother’s place. Al’s mother used be sitting in the kitchen when I arrived and she’d say, “Hi Albie” (meaning Albino). I didn’t really mind; actually thought it was a bit amusing. It was all good. Nearly ever guy had a nickname.
Al Hepburn and The Hound Dogs
Personnel: Al Hepburn (lead singer and guitar); Ken Hepburn (lead guitar); Doug Tarpley (rhythm guitar); Nick Bassel (string bass); Gord Stewart (drums); Russ (sax). We all wore white jackets, except for Al, who was the front man. Unfortunately, Nick Bassel (string bass) is off to the right, out of sight of the camera for this photo.
In the above photo, I am playing a tenor sax. This would be an instrument I borrowed from Earl Haig, as I did not own one at that time. I can remember some of the audience at the Farmers Market were staring at my sax, maybe wondering what it was?
Nick Bassel
Our theme song was "Two Hound Dogs"
Hound dog!
They call them Rhythm and Blues
Hound dog!
Two dogs named Rhythm and Blues
Hound dog!
Rompin' ol' Rhythm and Blues
Hound dog!
Rockin' ol' Rhythm and Blues
Hound dog!
Crazy ol' Rhythm and Blues
Hound dog! Hound dog! Hound dog! Hound dog!
A "Hounds" Set List
Al used to tape a set list to the top side of his Martin.
The Hound Dogs made several appearances at the Celsie Brothers Sunday Night Jamboree, held at the Thornhill Farmer’s Market. I did not own a tenor saxophone (that I am holding in the photo). I borrowed one from Earl Haig. We each got paid $2.00 for the night.
Al Hepburn was looking for other places for the group to play and one late afternoon we drove up to a shabby place in Newmarket called "The Bucket Of Blood”. (It’s no longer there, of course, but would have been right at the corner of Yonge and Mullock). We met up with a really slick guitar player named Eddie Liquer, who Al knew, and it was arranged that “The Hounds” would play there the week after Eddie’s show ended. I don't recall this actually happening but Doug Walmsley does.
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Potato Champagne
One time when the “Hounds” were rehearsing at Al’s place, he took us down to the basement to show us a batch of “Potato Champagne” his older brother Don was making. There was a large 5-gallon stone crock sitting on a chair right next to the furnace to keep it warm.
The crock was full nearly to the top with a fresh batch Don was making. On top of the fizzing, frothy concoction were two pieces of bread with yeast sprinkled on them. Peeled and cut up potatoes, oranges, sugar and water were the main ingredients. The yeast reacted with the sugar and warm liquid to make alcohol.
During our rehearsal, a couple of green Ginger Ale bottles of Don’s brew were passed around for us all to sample. Well, this stuff was so powerful that after a few rounds of sharing, the drummer, Gord Stewart, had to puke out the bedroom window. It was wintertime and unfortunately he barfed his expensive bridgework out into the snow below. We all remember Gord groveling around out the back of the house in the snow looking for his teeth and this was a cause for major pause in our band rehearsal.
Al, The Instigator
A friend of Paul Douglas, Bill Powell, had folks who would go away to Florida and leave Bill to mind the house. The summer of ’59 Bill was working for the CNE and he thought it would be nice to have a few pales over during this time. Some of my friends that would also attend these get-togethers included Barb (my date), Al Hepburn, Danny Antonacci, Paul Douglas and Doug Walmsley. The main gathering would be in the living room with the kitchen in the next room. It was a great arrangement for getting your cool beverages from the fridge.
Paul Douglas usually brought a couple of 24’s while Danny would always bring a 6-pack – Al Hepburn mockingly called that “a School-boy Six”.
At one of these Soirees, Hepburn, always the instigator, suggested that it would be more “efficient” and equitable (since some guys brought more beer than others) if we each just poured our beers into a 5-gallon stone crock – the same one used to make Potato Champagne.
A few of us decided to follow Al's recommendation with the idea that we could each take a sip from the crock, like a loving cup, and pass it around. Hepburn was also clever in pointing out that this would save numerous trips to the fridge.
The thing was, the crock itself weighed about 15-20 pounds and being about a third full, that was a lot of beer to be hoisting to your face. What happened, as we discovered, was this didn’t work out too good - when you went to take a sip, by the time you hoisted and tilted the vessel the right angle, all this beer came at you like a mini tidal wave. It became a real art to share without it all nearly drowning you and going all down the front of your spiffy attire.
Dancing on Top of Cars
My '49 Olds
I sold my ’49 Olds to Al Hepburn for about $300. My old high school buddy, Dave Dobson, told me in an email what happened shortly after that transaction:
Al always instigated things. I remember Al pinched a few cases of beer from the back of a bootleggers van and created a need for a bush party. I cannot remember who the other guest were. As events progressed we decided that jumping from the roofs of our autos to the roof of the next one was indeed great fun. Monday morning I looked at my sagging looking Chev and vowed to never partake in alcohol again...
I distinctly remember being so horrified when Al later told me he “did a little dance” on the roof of the Olds. I was so proud of that car. This was disappointing.
