It's not often you meet a church organist who has been playing in public since the Second World War.
"The first time I played organ for a church service was when I was in the Navy”, said Ray MacKay, organist at Westmount United Church in Westmount, N.S. “That was in 1942. How long ago was that? My math is not that great,” he said with a chuckle.
MacKay, 99, remembers volunteering to play that day more than 80 years ago because he was the only one in the crowd who knew how.
When asked whether he recalls being nervous during his debut, MacKay answered with another clever quip.
"I don't think so. I don't think I was smart enough to be nervous."
Eight decades later, he is still playing in church.
The last dozen or so years, MacKay has sat down at the keys each Sunday at Westmount United, just kilometres from his home in the community.
Now, he has a big birthday coming up – on Feb. 19, MacKay turns 100.
MacKay says despite some carpal tunnel in his fingers, he's in pretty good shape at his age.
"I feel that I'm accomplishing something, which is kind of nice at my age, to be able to contribute a bit,” he said of his weekly church organ commitment.
As fate would have it, MacKay's 100th birthday falls on a Sunday.
That means the birthday boy will play before the congregation on his big day.
Parish members have plans in the works to throw MacKay a party at that day’s mass.
"On Feb. 19, we're going to kind of dedicate that service to Ray,” said parish member Brent MacLeod. “Anybody [who] knows Ray out in the public that has seen him somewhere else playing the organ -- because he's everywhere -- you're more than welcome to come out to our service at 11 a.m. and say hello to Ray and wish him his happy birthday."
So when MacKay celebrates his big day by doing what he does best, does he plan to play anything special?
It turns out, the soon-to-be centenarian had a witty retort for that question, too.
"I'll play Happy Birthday – to me.”
