Alfred
Eisenstaedt's 1945 LIFE photograph of a sailor
kissing a nurse in Times Square symbolizes the
cathartic joy of V-J Day. Around the
country, patriotism ran high and in the
prairie city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,
Ina and Paul Schmidt welcomed their second
child, a baby boy, into the world, choosing
names to reflect that eventful day.
Vance Jerold Schmidt was born August 14, 1945,
on the final day of World War 2.
Vance’s early
years were certainly not easy. Before he
turned 5, his father succumbed to the ravages
of tuberculosis. In those days, there
were not a lot of career opportunities for
women, and money was tight. His mother
struggled to raise her young family - Vance,
and his sister, Arlene. The only
affordable housing was located in a rough and
tumble neighborhood, populated by street
toughs and bootleggers, in Winnipeg’s north
end. At the age of 6, Vance developed a
limp that eventually caused the small child to
endure body casts and a 3-year stay in
Shriner’s Hospital. When he was finally
released, his world had changed
dramatically. His mother was remarried,
he had a new stepfather, Clarence Masters, and
a new home in a different neighborhood.
Times were still
tough for the family, but the one bit of
entertainment they could afford was the
radio. Having spent the better part of
his formative years in the socially restricted
setting of a hospital ward, Vance emerged as a
somewhat shy, unsure little boy. The
radio had been his only link to the outside
world. The music of the big bands that
had diverted his attention away from the
endless drudgery of tests and physical
therapy, now served as replacement for the
friends he had left behind when the family had
moved. Too poor to afford a musical
instrument, he would sit for hours on end in
front of a footstool, attempting to reproduce
the drum patterns he heard.
In the late 50's,
the family took over management and caretaking
duties of an apartment building on Clarke
Street, a move that would forever change the
direction of Vance's life. Terry Loeb
and his family also lived in the same complex,
and the two boys became fast friends.
They attended Churchill High School together,
walking along the frozen Red River in the
winter. On really cold days, Terry's
mother would drive the boys to their
classes.
Recognizing their
child’s natural talent, and that this was no
passing fancy, Ina and Clarence Masters
scraped together the money to provide their
son with some formal instruction. Vance
studied under the tutelage of Willie Wendt,
percussionist for the Winnipeg Symphony
Orchestra.
Terry's uncle was
kind enough to allow Vance to use his drum
set. The young musicians would set the
equipment up in the basement of Augustine
United Church on River Avenue and spent
incalculable hours, developing their skills.
It would be
several years before Vance would own a real
drum set of his own.
Vance
1948
|
Vance with his
mother, Ina (on the
right) and his aunt Tilly
1949
|
Vance with his
mother, Ina,
and sister, Arlene
1950
|
|
 
1956
|
Terry
Loeb (left), Vance (centre) 1961
|
1962
|
|
THE EARLY YEARS
