Conrad Depot

Conrad Depot (1921-2008) was born in Quebec and learned his French Canadian musical repertoire from his mother in the 1920s, at the age of 5. Mr. Depot moved to the Blackstone Valley in Rhode Island in the mid 1950s for employment reasons. He was the last fiddler of several who once played for quadrilles in the Woonsocket area. The quadrilles were once popular in the Franco-American community that settled around the mills in Rhode Island and other New England states. Mr. Depot became known for organizing the quadrilles at which he played with the assistance of callers; these community dances took place mostly in the town of Manville in the Blackstone Valley, adjacent to the French-American communities of Woonsocket and Cumberland. The quadrilles almost died out about thirty-five years ago. Fortunately, with the encouragement of the Folk/Traditional Arts Program of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the dances experienced a revival in the late 1990s, which placed Conrad Depot once again at the center of a musical tradition that was dear to his heart. Along with caller George Menard, Conrad and his daughters with occasional musical guests from Connecticut sponsored quadrilles at the Blackstone Valley Theatre every Sunday. Conrad and George wanted to involve experienced square dance caller Bob Livingstone from Connecticut in learning to call the English language quadrille set dances.