After 72 years, Ogilvy’s bagpipes finally go silent

‘Lunchtime concerts’ drew mixed reviews

MONTREAL • Virtually every day at lunchtime for 72 years, a bagpiper has wandered through the upscale boutiques of the Ogilvy store on Montreal’s Ste-Catherine Street, serenading customers from the fifth floor to street level for about 20 minutes.

The tradition, which has delighted some customers and irritated others, ended Wednesday.

“After careful consideration, the decision was made to discontinue lunchtime concerts by the Ogilvy piper,” said Normand Ciarlo, divisional vice-president of Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy. (The Selfridges Group, which includes Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd., acquired Ogilvy in 2011. A $60-million expansion of the Ste-Catherine St. building to merge the two stores is underway.)

“We would like to thank all Ogilvy pipers, past and present, for their contribution to the historical character of the store. As we work to bring Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy together, we will continue to establish new traditions and events that are inspired by both brands and honour Montreal’s rich fashion heritage.”

Bagpiper Jeff McCarthy, who was first hired by Ogilvy back in 1992 and whose last day was Wednesday, posted a farewell comment on his Facebook page. In it, he pays tribute to James Aird Nesbitt, whose family owned Ogilvy from 1927 to 1985 and under whose management the lunchtime tradition of a bagpipe serenade was born.

“Thank you all for your support,” McCarthy writes. “As a customer said to me two days ago, ‘It’s a shame. It was so beautiful; it was one of the truly genuine things in the store.’ I appreciate those sentiments and would have to fully agree.

“There is nothing more genuine than a piper pouring his heart and soul into his music,” McCarthy continues. “Brig.-Gen. Aird Nesbitt knew it was a sound that comes and grabs you, a sound that lifts hearts and spirits. A sound that inspires people to great things. A sound that was deliciously and irrevocably Scottish.”

Ogilvy was founded in 1866 by James A. Ogilvy, and was originally a linen shop located on Mountain Street just north of what is now called St-Jacques St. The store was relocated to the corner of Mountain and StAntoine streets in 1884, and then to its current location in 1896. Piper Jeffrey McCarthy has played bagpipes at Ogilvy’s Department Store in Montreal since 1992.