Rosalee Peppard was close to her mother-in-law, Maisie, with whom she shared a love of spinning and knitting. Then Maisie told Peppard a story about how in 1929, her hometown on the Burin in Newfoundland was hit by a tsunami and how that community came together to help each other. Peppard put Maisie’s recollections of the tragedy into her song, Tidal Wave.
For almost 20 years, singer-songwriter Peppard has been chronicling the stories of women through her music. Peppard, who calls herself a “herstorian,” spends months and years researching these women’s stories, which have often gone unnoticed.
“I felt women’s voices weren’t equally represented,” Peppard says. “My whole deal is to tell how the strength and impact of a woman’s story had on other women and society. It’s very scholarly done and I’m almost channelling people after a while.”
Over the years, Peppard has told the stories of well-known Canadian women like Laura Secord, whose story she wrote into a song for her Women of War of 1812 collection. She wrote Evangeline to remember the stories of the Acadian people. That song was featured at the Congrès Mondial Acadien in 2004.
Another song shares the story of Nova Scotian Joyce Barkhouse, aunt to Margaret Atwood and the author of Pit Pony, the historical children’s novel that was eventually made into a CBC series.
“It was wonderful to interview her as she’s a well-known Nova Scotian,” Peppard says.
Other names may be lesser known, like Hilda Mary Slayter Lacon, a debutant from Halifax who was the only Atlantic Canadian survivor of the Titanic. Peppard tells her story in the 2012 musicale, Living Titanic. Peppard was recently invited to Arts Denman in British Columbia to perform Living Titanic.
Peppard says when she talks to women about their stories, they often don’t believe they have something of value to share.
“I address that by asking, ‘What is your passion?’ and from there it starts to unravel.”
In 2017, Peppard wrote Rosalee Sings Maud, a song that was commissioned by the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society. Her song was endorsed by the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. And the Helen Creighton Folklore Society nominated Peppard as their heritage ambassador.
“It’s really been humbling work,” she says.
Peppard’s style includes opera, blues and jazz. Her vocals soar as she sings these women’s stories and the performances are theatrical and feel personal and compelling.
She has three CDs of work: No Place Like Home released in 2001, Legacy in 2004 and Voices in 2011.
Peppard says she was raised in an environment nurtured by strong women like her mother, Greta, who had polio in 1951 and taught her how to sing and dance. She wrote her first poem at age three. Her other mentors included her Grade 6 teacher Stan Barnhill and her grandfather Mosher MacPhee. She spent her early years in Truro until her family moved to the South Shore. She went to Bridgewater High School and Liverpool High School. She and her best friends in high school were members of Triple Trio, which was directed by Ruth Ernst.
She and her husband, Allan, lived in Blandford for eight years with their young sons. They founded The Lighthouse Food Bank in Chester and she used her music to raise awareness for the organization and cause.
These days, Peppard splits her time between Ontario and Prospect where she and Allan still have a home. She says she’d return any time with an invitation to share her stories. For Peppard, telling the stories of these women is “telling our own stories, too.
“I would like to encourage everyone to reach out and listen to one elder woman and take down what she says,” Peppard says. “We are strong women because of the strong women before us.”
For more information on Rosalee Peppard, visit www.rosalee.ca.
