Musical family strikes community chord
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RONAN — The Pettit family insist they’re ordinary people, but with just one look at their yard, it’s clear that that isn’t the case.
Vegetable and flower gardens fill the grassy area with every flower and vegetable that is able to grow in northwestern Montana. The perfectly-manicured area is shrouded in woods and protected by a fence, built to keep wild animals from helping themselves to the delicious goods the gardens produce.
The Pettits welcome their guests with the unbelievably fresh fruits and vegetables that their gardens produce.
A peek inside their house discloses a unique log cabin with an old-fashioned table and chairs and an antique piano.
But it’s not until the family picks up their instruments and begins to play that their true colors shine through.
The family is indeed extraordinary.
Comprised of four talented musicians who play a total of 14 instruments, parents Jim and Shirley and children Rachael and Josiah love music and are lucky enough to share their talents with each other.
Rachael, 15, and Josiah, 13, come by their musical ability naturally. They are surrounded by the sound of music in their home, with their parents and the talent runs in their blood.
“One of things that struck us about each other was our strong desire to play music,” Jim said. “(Shirley) could play and I could sing, so it was a match.
With a lineage on both Jim and Shirley’s that tended to be musically inclined, their musical abilities added to the mutual attraction of each other when they were dating.
Since age 5, both children have also taken lessons to foster their natural ability. But the brother and sister are as different as night and day.
Rachael is proficient at sight-reading music, while her brother can listen to a tune his sister plays and memorize the piece quickly.
So the question of ‘Who is the best musician?’ could become an ongoing debate. As they sit around the table and discuss the question, the family finds that both children are musically gifted but have developed different abilities in the learning process.
Though there are many common threads woven through the family, connecting them and shaping their daily lives, the musical thread beats vibrantly.
The children, who are homeschooled, practice their instruments for an hour or two each morning and, like their parents, are perfectionists.
They are shy to perform unless the piece is played in its purest form, but the pair have plenty of experience playing in front of crowds.
The family plays in a band called the Little Big Band and besides their monthly gig at the Dixon Senior Center, the band plays in Missoula and Bigfork, and sometimes are asked to donate their time and talent to local events such as the Harvest Fest.
The Little Big Band is an eclectic group, both musically and artist-wise.
Their tunes range from the waltz to swing music, and besides the Pettit family, Jolynn Garvagno, Julia Maughan, Joe Mathes and Tony Mathes play in the band.
“It just makes you feel good. It’s uplifting, moving and sentimental,” Jim explained.
He said that the band has the feeling of an orchestra, playing the Fox Trot, the Rumba and the Cha-Cha— their music is timeless.
But the dances are something that Jim wishes the younger crowd would consider partaking in.
“We have got to get people to unplug,” Jim said. “And put all social, political and ethnic issues aside. We have got to reconnect.”
Implying that a community that plays together, stays together, Jim also applies that logic to his own family.
“Music can carry with you for the rest of your life,” Jim explained.
Although they are a uniquely talented family, Jim explained that like any family, tempers can flare and feelings can be damaged so the family has to remember to give as much praise as criticism.
They also know that the music they play enriches the family and brings them closer together to each other — and the entire community.
“It’s just something that our family can do that makes us unique,” Jim added humbly.
“We are making a joyful noise, and people like what we do,” he added.
