TO GOD BE ALL THE PRAISE & GLORY!
THE STORY OF HARRY RUSK
INTRODUCTION:
From a boy who was in a hospital for terminally ill
patients to a country singer in Nashville, Tennessee, this is the story of
Harry Rusk. This is a walk through of
Harry’s life, dealing with discrimination and overcoming the boundary of
race. We will talk about the way Harry
Rusk used music and his voice to bring healing and the wisdom we can find in
it.
Background and
history of Harry Rusk:
Harry Rusk was born in Kahntah Slavey nation, 70 miles
east of Fort Nelson on a trap-line and spoke Slavey language (now called
Dene). At age 11, he ended up in the
Charles Camsell Indian Hospital in Edmonton with Tuberculosis. People who end up in this hospital would
spend months or even years, and a majority of them would die. He was a fan of Hank Snow when Hank wrote the
song “I’m Moving On.”
Hank Snow’s song “I’m Moving On” became number one on
the country charts when Harry was in the hospital in 1949 - 1953. In 1952 when Hank Snow did a show in Edmonton
the nurses got him to come to the hospital.
Hank left a deep impression on Harry, so much so that his mom saved up
her money to buy and send him a guitar.
After 4 years of his stay in the hospital, Harry Rusk
miraculously made it out alive. He
learned Hank Snow’s music from a gramophone.
In 1966 Harry got his first television break with Gaby Haas on the Noon
Show on CFRN CTV. Then Harry attended a
Hank Snow show and shared with Hank how Hank had inspired him to become a
country music singer and guitar player.
Then Harry also shared with Hank that he wanted to record. Upon that note, Hank advised Harry to send
him his recording when that happened.
Then on June 13, 1972, which was 20 years after his visit in the
hospital, Hank invited Harry to be on the Grand Ole Opry with him on June 30,
1972. This started numerous appearances
on the Opry for the next 22 years and opened many doors for Harry in the USA,
and many other countries such as Norway, Poland, Israel, Mexico, etc.
Now moving on later in life he has many stories of the
discrimination he has encountered. These
2 stories are just a fraction of what he has faced in his life. When he was leaving the drugstore in
Edmonton, 2 police officers grabbed him by his arms and pinned him to a wall
telling him to empty his pockets because they believed he stole something
because he is Indigenous. His friend
Omar and he pleaded that they should be able to ask the lady at the till to
prove they didn’t steal anything. The
lady at the till concurred with their story and the police officers let them
go. The fact that they were accused of
stealing solely based on race is unjust.
Another story Harry Rusk has is when he walked into a café in Edmonton
with friends of his. He was told to
leave the restaurant because they didn’t serve Indigenous people. The cook who was kicking them out noticed
that Harry Rusk was a famous country singer and gave him the exception to
stay. Harry chose not to stay and joined
his friends in another nearby café.
What is Harry
most known for and what great achievements:
Harry Rusk is most known for his debut at the Grand
Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee performing alongside Hank Snow. He play the Don Messer Show, Country Time,
the Noon Show and many other famous T.V. outlets. Harry Rusk did shows in Hawaii during the
Vietnam War, and also performed in various shows with his wife Gladys during
the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Highway.
Rusk has recorded 55 albums and sold over 2 million records. To name a few, My Northern Memories, Rose of
Mexico, Red Man and the Train plus others.
Harry Rusk has met many influential people throughout his years as a
country singer. Some of these people
include Hank Snow, Johnny Cash, George Foreman, a 2-time heavy-weight champion,
and many other musicians and notable people.
What skills
does he possess that help him effectively bring healing:
Harry switched to Gospel music and took ministerial
training at ORU, Oklahoma. He relied on
the Holy Spirit for correct spiritual guidance.
Harry was a big influence in breaking the barrier between Indigenous and
white people. He was the first full
Indigenous musician on the stage at the Grand Ole Opry and was treated
equally. The Americans loved him and
vice versa. Harry Rusk says that there
has been a lot of discrimination towards him and his people. He remembers seeing many Indigenous people
quit because they were scared to stand up for their rights, and also some
getting fired when they were innocent.
Harry’s story of perseverance through discrimination and getting his
voice heard can be a big inspiration to other Indigenous people to get their
stories heard and help bring peace and healing.
Harry gives all the glory to the Lord for all his positive achievements.
What wisdom can
we find from Harry’s life that we can apply in our own lives moving forward:
There was a story that Harry Rusk told me in a
personal telephone interview about a man who died and they prayed for him. He was dead for 9 minutes and he came back to
life. The faith that Harry and others
around him had was strong, and God answered their prayers. If we can have this strong faith in God and
reliance on him in our day to day lives, we can see miracles happen.
Another story of how we can learn from Rusk’s life is
when he got shot at and had to hide in the bush for 2 days. He learned to forgive and helped these same
people, showing the love that Jesus had for others and being a good
example. Although we all have times when
we are under fire and persecuted you should always return it with love and
kindness. We will not grow individually
and as a community if we return anger with anger. Even through all his toils he would pray for
his enemies. “One of the prayers was
that God would bless them with good health, peace, joys and happiness, with
their families, loved ones, friends and neighbours, that He would give them
better wages, promotions, whatever they were seeking, yet didn’t seem to find.”
Rusk also says in his book, “No matter what they threw
at me maliciously, I returned it all with kindness.”
Conclusion:
To conclude, Harry Rusk was quite the influence not
only in music, but also by showing others that you can stand up to prejudice
and yet your voice heard. Harry Rusk is
the perfect example of an underdog story because he grew up on a trap-line in
Northern B.C. and made it to the big stage in Tenessee and played with the top
country artists of his generation.
In closing, Harry has 5 children that he’s thankful
for, and here’s one for Fort Nelson.
Harry was the first to be inducted into the North American Country Music
Hall of Fame in 2006. To all of this Harry
says, “I give all the praise and glory to the living Son of God, Jesus.”
__________________________________________________________
Written by a grade 12 school student,
Joel Lorensen – Abottsford, B.C.
