FACES OF THE CENTURY--PEOPLE WHO MADE NEWS IN THE 1900S--MONTE MUSICIAN: PERCY PARKER
	There have been thousands of news stories that have appeared in The Vidette over the past 100 Years. So, as we begin our countdown to the millennium, we have decided to run a weekly feature on influential people who made a name for themselves during the past century.
	This week's profile is on Percy Parker who was not only a valued Grays Harbor County employee for over 40 years, he was an accomplished musician, playing cello with the Grays Harbor Symphony Orchestra for over 52 years.
	Percy Parker was horn in London, England on Oct. 2, 1895 to Ernest Alfred and Mary Ann Amelia George Parker. He was tile second of four children.
	Born into a musical family, young Percy's musical career began when he was 9 years old when his father bought him a three-quarter size violin. His first violin lessons were taken during the noon hour at Whitehall Place School, Forest Gate, Essex, England. His innate musical abilities allowed him to progress rapidly in playing the violin, winning first prize in a contest held at the school before summer break.
	In 1905 the family moved to a village of Wareside in Hertfordshire, England. At the time, Percy was the only violinist in the village, so he gave his first violin lessons to the village blacksmith's son.
	Percy returned to Forest Gate in 1907 and studied the violin with George Leigh at Leigh's Academy of Music. His playing improved greatly under Professor Leigh's guidance and the professor encouraged Percy to enter a violin student's contest, which he did. Percy placed second and won two shillings and sixpence for his efforts.
	When he was 12 years old, Percy had the privilege of playing in the "Brotherhood" orchestra, for which his father played the flute, his older brother Bert played the piano, and uncles Bert and Sidney played violin. The orchestra would perform on Sunday afternoons at the Methodist Church in Forest Gale.
	In 1910 Percy and his family took a seven day trip across the Atlantic as they moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
	His four years in Winnipeg were very enriching musically as he continued his violin studies with a Frenchman, Camile Couture, a prominent teacher who claimed to be personally aquainted with Belgium violinist Eugene Ysaye.
	During this time, in 1912 at age 17, Percy became the youngest member of the Broadway Symphony Orchestra, which was comprised of some of the best musicians in Winnipeg.
	When he was 18 years old, Percy got his first professional violin jobs playing the dinner hour with a harpist at a cafe in Winnipeg. He also played the violin at dances and also in the Sunday school orchestra.
In 1913 Percy began a love affair with the cello. He first became interested in the cello when he read an advertisement in the paper. He bought the cello for $10. He quickly learned how to play the instrument
	In the fall of 1914, Percy left Winnipeg to join his family in Cranbrook, B.C. There he Joined a small dance orchestra, "The Cranbrook Orchestra." Also during this time he began teaching violin and cello.
	Mr. Parker joined the Canadian Army in May, 1918. After joining the army, Mr. Parker spent a month at Aldershot in Surrey, England, then was moved to Seaford in Sussex, where he spent the duration of World War I.
	Mr. Parker was granted indefinite leave after the Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. Following his granted leave, he spent two weeks in the Canadian General Hospital with the Spanish flu. Released before Christmas, 1918, Parker was sent to a demobilization camp in Buxton, Lancashire where he remained until the spring of 1919.
	He then married Edith Daddo on April 30, 1919 in St. Saviors Church , Church of England, in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. They later had three children, Joan, Dorothy, and Lewis.
	Following their wedding, the couple sailed for Vancouver, B.C. in August, 1919, on a troup ship. Upon their arrival in Vancouver, B.C., Mr. Parker got his opportunity to play for royalty in Vancouver when he played for the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII, who abdicated before his coronation.
	Mr. Parker and his wife left Vancouver, B.C. in 1920, arriving in Tacoma to live with his parents who had immigrated to that city. He found Tacoma to be a "unfriendly city," so the family moved south to Montesano in December 1920.
	Percy's father got a job at The Vidette as a pressman and he helped secure a job for Percy playing Violin in the silent picture show at the Montesano Theater, with Mrs. Bert Ressler as pianist. This job lasted three months, until lie got a job with the Grays Harbor County garage in March, 1921 as a bookkeeper and parts man.
	Soon after his arrival in Montesano, Percy began giving violin lessons and joined up with the Schafer Brother's Band, playing trumpet under the direction of I.N. Faucher.
	Mr. Parker worked as a parts man and bookkeeper for the Grays Harbor County Public Works Department until the 1930s, when lie worked in the county engineer's office until his retirement. He also served as a part-time bailiff for the Grays Harbor Superior Court until 1973 and continued to keep hooks for the county garage until he was past age 80.
	He also played with the first Aberdeen Elks Orchestra in 1926. He switched from cello to trumpet when that orchestra became a hand around 1950 and continued to play with them until about 1973.
	Mr. Parker played cello and trumpet for vaudeville shows at the former Grand Theater in Aberdeen. He played trumpet in the old Schafer Bros. Logging Co. Band and also played cello and
trumpet for the silent movies at Armour Theater in Montesano during the 1920s.
	Among the numerous musical accomplishments Mr. Parker achieved during his lifetime was playing the cello with the Grays Harbor Symphony Orchestra for 52 years. Many of those years he had the opportunity to play beside his daughter, Joan (Parker) Jones, who recently completed her 50th year with the orchestra.
	Mr. Parker was a life member of the Aberdeen Elks No. 593 and was a Gold Tall Elks member. He was a past master of the Wynooche Lodge, Free & Associated Masons and was a member for more than 50 years. He was also an honorary member of the Montesano American Legion and was elected the Legion's official bugler for the post and played taps for Memorial Day services and funeral services for 25 years. Mr. Parker was also a member of St. Mark's Episcopal church in Montesano.
	Mr. Parker died oil June 8, 1990 at the age of 94. Always considered a gentleman by those who knew him, Mr. Parker left behind his legacy of musical talent which he used to entertain thousands of people during his lifetime.--The Montesano Vidette, October 14, 1999