An old Sarnia rock band has taken centre stage at a new exhibit at the Lambton Heritage Museum.
Members of The Volcanoes, a group of teens who played shows around the region during the 1960s, visited the permanent display earlier this month. Wayne Dennis, a rhythm guitarist with the group, said he was very impressed.
"It gave me goosebumps," said the 73-year-old Dennis. "It's hard to believe that all of that happened in the 60s, and here we are 60 years later, it's hard to believe we're that old and in a museum now."
The display features an audio station, a poster from one of the band's shows, a vinyl enlargement of the group, and some information about their history.
Dennis was just 13-years-old when the band got together in 1963 -- they played together until 1969. Other members of the group include Brad Dudley, Harry Olsen, Ron Neilson, Al Thompson, and Tom Jefferson.
Dennis said being a performer is not an easy road.
"You do it for the love of music and the adrenaline rush of playing on stage," he said. "But it's not a heavy duty money-maker unless you're very, very fortunate."
After graduating high school, Dennis decided to work for his dad's roofing company instead of pursuing a career in music. Other members of the group, including Dudley, Olsen and Neilson continued their musical careers.
Dennis recalled some of his favourite memories with the group, including performing at local fairs, the old Rose Garden roller skating rink, they were featured on the Robin Seymour show, and they were a warm-up band for Diana Ross and The Supremes.
"It's amazing how many people my age, in their 70s, still come up to me with a great big smile on their face when they realize I was part of that band and living some of their memories," he said.
Heritage Museum Curator/Supervisor Dana Thorne said the exhibit has received positive reviews, including from the former band members who got their pictures taken in front of the display.
"So you can see what they looked like back in 1966 versus what they look like now," she said. "So it's been really fun, especially to have those old band members have their reunion at the museum."
Thorne added that prior to creating the exhibit, community member Kip Cuthbert had digitized a lot of the old Volcanoes records and scanned a lot of pictures of them.
"So I knew that a lot of the information about The Volcanoes was readily available, and they made such an impact in the community," she said. "And they just seemed like such a wonderful choice to choose to highlight what was happening in the music scene in the 1960s in Sarnia."
With files from Natalia Vega