Youngtown
Museum
Season
Five!
2012
Rock 'n' roll has a home and it's closer than you think
Youngtown in Omemee pays homage to rock 'n' roll via numerous rare artifacts
Date: 2009-04-28 By Paul Rellinger
The trouble with best-kept secrets is they should never be a secret in the first place.
In Omemee at 45 King St. E., in one of the village's oldest buildings, Trevor Hosier's secret is out of the bag and not a moment too soon for anyone who has even the slightest interest in rock 'n' roll history.
To say the Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum is a labour of love for the 53-year-old Lindsay resident is not saying nearly enough. Rather, Hosier's unabashed passion for the music of his life has transformed itself into a remarkable seven rooms of very rare artifacts, clothing items and instruments obtained by him over the years, in person initially but at auctions as of more recently.
Need an example? Try a 45 record, circa 1963, of Neil Young's first recording. It's one of less than 200 copies of The Sultan recorded by the former Omemee resident with The Squires. In a word, it's priceless -- much like the hat owned and worn by John Lennon, the flowing black dress that adorned the lithe frame of Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks and the jacket worn by a young Reginald Dwight -- a.k.a. Elton John -- during an early 1970s tour of North America.
"I guess it all started in 1964," notes Hosier of his initial interest in all things rock 'n' roll.
"Like most young people of that time, when The Beatles hit North America, that was it for me. Over the years, I just added to my collection, meeting many artists in person. There was never a plan for a museum of any kind. It just sort of evolved."
Now in its second year of operation, open 11 a.m. to 5;30 p.m. each Friday, Saturday and Sunday through to November, Youngtown's exhibits can be broken down into three basic groupings -- autographed pieces, be they photos or album covers; memorabilia, such as lunch boxes, buttons, patches or concert ticket stubs; and historic artifacts, such as sheet music signed by Lennon and Yoko Ono, or the Hawaiian print shirt autographed by Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame.
And then there's Johnny Cash's black leather vest, Jerry Lee Lewis' shoes and a shirt worn by Elvis in 1961. The list goes on and on.
"One of my greatest joys is listening to people's stories as they tour the museum...hearing their memories of their younger years as it relates to music and artists," notes Hosier, a counsellor when he's not indulging his passion.
"It really is a nice retreat; a place that takes people back to a much different time, a carefree time.
"There really is no long-range plan for the museum. I'm going on a year-by-year basis. As long as there's an interest, it'll be here."
Having said that, Hosier is anxious for the man the museum pays homage to the most to walk through the doors.
"He's aware of it....we'll see," he says, a twinkle in his eye doing to little to hide that such a visit would be the ultimate thrill for a man who has had countless encounters with rock 'n' roll's royalty.
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