Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
February 22, 2005
"The Old Man Who Played the Saw”
by George Denise, Scoutmaster
(adapted from an e-mail from Philip Westover)
I attended the National Jamboree in 2001 as a member of the contingent from Santa Clara County Council. The weather in July in the Washington DC area can be very unpredictable, to say the least. The jamboree usually begins with a giant opening program for all 60,000 participants and attendees. It is a huge undertaking, with three giant stages, two 50’ screens, one on each side of the main stage, flyovers by US Navy and Airforce jets, ski divers, and literally hundreds of performers and entertainers. It takes over two hours just to get everyone into the arena!
In 2001, however, a huge lightening and thunder storm came up and they had to cancel the opening. They rescheduled it for two nights later, but as you can imagine, most of the performers had other commitments and couldn’t’ come back, so a call went out for volunteers from those attending the jamboree. Most of the volunteer talent was pretty good, but then this folksy old man with a saw came out, indicated that he played the saw like a violin, made a few other comments, and then sat down to play with a couple of accompanists.
A lot of people moaned, thinking this was going to be really corny. Then the guy began to play, holding the saw against his chest, as I recall, kind of like a violin, and playing it with a violin bow. He controlled the tune by flexing the saw blade. When he first started to play, a large part of the crowd was still talking and laughing. As soon as those first few notes came out, however, people started commenting, “Hey, this guy is not bad!” Then, as the audience became quiet, you could here a few “This guy is good!” Then 60,000 people, mostly kids like yourselves, fell silent as the guy made that saw “sing” in a way none of us had ever heard any instrument sound before. At the end of his set, he received about a five minute standing ovation.
I never heard of him again, until just the other day when I received the following e-mail. The guy that played the saw at the jamboree in 2001 died recently. But he left behind quite a legacy. I thought I would share it with you.
“I've seen several mentions about the guy who played the saw in 2001.
He was the personal friend of many of us in the Cascade Pacific Council. I thought you'd like to know what was printed in the Portland Oregonian newspaper on January 19th, 2005:
"Allan Joseph deLay, longtime Portland photographer, world-class age-group swimmer and diver, player of the singing saw, Boy Scout, adventurer and father of bluesman Paul deLay, has died.
Mr. deLay was found dead at his Milwaukee home Sunday, Jan. 16, 2005. He was 89.
Mr. deLay was born May 4, 1915, in Topeka, Kan. He first heard the musical saw as a boy and played a 30-inch Sandvik saw he bought years ago in Mendocino, Calif.
When he was 12 and sold newspapers, he bought his first folding Kodak camera, learned to shoot and develop pictures and earned a Boy Scout merit badge, the first of many.
In 1931, he moved west with his mother, who was by then divorced from his father, and he lived with his mother in Hollywood, Calif., for a while. He then moved to Oregon where he harvested cranberries, worked as an elevator attendant and delivery boy and at a dental supply house.
Mr. DeLay attended Franklin High School, later earned a GED and served in the Air Force. After the service, he landed a job in a photo studio and in 1947 was hired as a photographer by The Oregonian. He photographed everything from the Vanport flood to landscapes and action shots. His portraits include Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Lucille Ball, Archie Moore, Bela Lugosi, Katherine Hepburn, and Presidents Eisenhower, Hoover and Nixon. He left the paper in 1959, setting up his own photography business.
In 2002, he was honored for 75 years of Scouting, the first person in the Cascade Pacific Council to be so recognized. He was famous for his fire-by-friction kits. Over 74 years all over the world, he played thousands of concerts on the musical saw: for service clubs, fraternal organizations and grange halls; several with the Oregon Symphony; one for King Karl Gustav of Sweden; and another for 60,000 Boy Scouts. He opened Blazer games and played with his son, Paul.
In 2003, he made a CD, "Sawing Through the Memories," on MAH (Michael Allen Harrison) Records with pianist and composer Harrison. He played a full set of concerts with Harrison the past holiday season.
At age 72, Mr. deLay became involved in the World Masters Aquatic Championships, winning awards in swimming and diving. In 1993, at age 78, he took the top award in the United States for the 50-meter freestyle course, posting 38.4 seconds. In 1996, at age 81, he traveled to Sheffield, England, to compete in the World Masters Aquatic Championship in swimming and diving. At the 1998 Nike World Championships in Portland, now 83, Mr. deLay took two silvers -- in 1 meter and platform diving -- and the gold in the 3 meter diving competition.
In 2000, at the State Games of Oregon, 85 year-old Mr. deLay took gold and set new records in the 1 meter and 3 meter diving events as well as the 50 meter swimming event. At the World Masters Championships in Munich, Germany, Mr. deLay took gold in the 1 meter, 3 meter and platform diving events and won bronze medals in the 50 meter breaststroke and freestyle. He told friends and family that he was looking forward to turning 90 this May and competing alone in the over-90 age group at the world championships this summer in Edmonton, Alberta.
He traveled extensively with the New Oregon Singers and lived by himself on a deserted atoll in Tahiti in the late 1970s, where he foraged for fruit and speared fish. He took numerous transcontinental trips in a '68 VW Squareback.
His first marriage ended in divorce. In 1945, he married Mary Kate White; she died in 1994.
Mr. deLay is survived by daughters Laura deLay-Morris of Oregon City and Donna deLay of Battle Ground, Wash.; son, Paul of Portland; and two grandchildren. Memorial services are tentatively scheduled for his birthday in May. Arrangements by Crown Memorial.
Allan was quite a guy. Although I haven't verified it, I understand he was possibly in the top 5 of people being registered the longest in the Boy Scouts of America. I've got my 1974 Wood Badge photos that he took, and they are beautiful. He taught me how to start a fire by friction in under 60 seconds. I, and more people than I can count, will miss him.
He's "up there" right now, looking down upon us with his big grin poking through that wonderful gray beard, making sure we do everything we can to make Scouting a fun experience for our youth.”
- Phil Westover
'05 K2BSA Staff
'01 SM, Troop 622
'97 SM, Troop 743
(Cascade Pacific Council, Portland, Oregon)”
Thank you for listening; and God be with you!