Bagpipes for life

Iowa’s 133rd Army National Guard Infantry Division returned from two years on active duty in Iraq in 2007 to a lot of exposure. It was the height of the Iraq War troop surge, and the division’s return was top news — even featured on CBS 60 Minutes documentary “Fathers, Sons and Brothers.”

Bagpipe player Ron Husted escorted the Iowa soldiers in their return ceremony. For the Newton piper, it was one of his fondest memories as a musician.

“I’ve always been passionate about the pipe. I’m not sure why. It just runs in the blood,” Husted said. “Whenever I heard a bagpipe on a record, it just stopped me in my tracks. I never had a clue why.”

If there is a bagpipe playing in Newton, chances are Husted has something to do with it. Husted is the founding Pipe Major for the Newton Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums ensemble. Formed in 2013, the group is still in its infancy, featuring four pipers and three drummers in training.

One of the pipers, Newton Firefighter Steve Ashing, is Husted’s student. The two have been playing together for several years, have led the honor guard in the Newton Fourth of July parade and played during the fire department’s 9/11 memorial services.

Husted is a third-generation Scottish American, humble and passionate about his heritage. He first heard the drone of the bagpipe in high school. Husted grew up in the Des Moines area, and during an assembly at Ankeny High School, speaker Al Bell, who would frequently delight the student body with tales of his travels, told of a recent trip to Scotland.

For Husted, the bagpipes in that assembly would become more than just a visual aid.

“He brought artifacts back and told stories of his adventures,” Husted said. “He brought a bagpipe back and wore a kilt. I heard the sound of the pipes and, boy, my blood just boiled. I knew that one day I would have to be a piper.”

But it wasn’t until a chance encounter with a Canadian World War II veteran over a decade later that Husted would pick up the pipes for himself.

While working for the Polk County road department at 29 years old, Husted met Thomas S. Coulson, a piper who served with the Essex Scottish 4th Brigade of Canada, played and marched through the streets of Groningen, Holland the day after a battle – part of the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation.

Coulson piped with the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine Band and taught Husted in the traditional military style.

“Tom taught me just like he did any other recruit. He taught me to play the bagpipes. He also taught by the British style of military drill and passed the love of piping on to me. It was magic then and it’s even more so now.”

Since retiring from day job with Alliant Energy, piping is now the 66-year-old Husted’s full-time job and full-time passion. Husted can be seen throughout Newton and central Iowa piping at weddings and military and firefighter funerals, military send-offs and return ceremonies and honor flight celebrations. The bagpiper played for veterans leaving for Washington D.C. in Newton and Story County and will soon play for the servicemen and women at the send-off for Boone County’s first honor flight.

Husted was also the featured piper at the 49th Iowa Legislature joint session to honor former lawmakers who have died. The piper said he was honored to play “Amazing Grace” at the ceremony, accompanied by a 37-voice memorial choir.

The following morning, Husted played in the House and Senate Chambers once again during the session’s opening prayer. The experience, the piper said, was “just absolutely a high I’ll never forget.”

“It’s also a way for me to give back,” Husted said. “To serve those who have served me. I’ve played in the (Iowa) capitol building numerous times. It’s just been an adventure.”

All pipers learn with a piece called the chanter. It’s the pipe which provide the instrument with melody. The practice chanter is quiet, allowing the piper to concentrate on learning the melody and intonation. Husted said it also “won’t drive your wife and cat out of the house.”

The blow stick, or mouth piece, has a one-way valve. So as the bagpiper inflates the bag, the air is trapped until directed through the reeds by the player.

“When I’m squeezing the bag with my left arm, I’m maintaining the instrument at play while I have time to take a breath,” Husted said.

Three drones that go over the bagpipers shoulder which give two tenor and a bass tone. The chanter produces the instrument’s highest pitch and melody. The chanter harmonizes with the drones to create the unforgettable sound of a bagpipe. Air passes over reeds in both the drones and chanter. It’s like four instruments in one, Husted said.

A performer and teacher, Husted is also a bagpipe entrepreneur. He built the website iowabagpipe.com nearly eight years ago to sell bagpipe supplies. Aspiring and seasoned players can find pipes, reeds, bags, kilts and anything bagpipe related.

Iowa Bagpipe Supply has sold equipment, instruments and traditional Scottish clothing abroad in Germany, Ireland and England, but Husted said he sells mainly to domestic U.S. markets.

“I dearly love the sound of the instrument. It’s a way of giving of myself to others,” he said. “If you play at a funeral or a wedding, anybody present at the funeral or wedding, if they ever hear a bagpipe in the future it takes you right back. They’ll remember exactly where they were. They’ll think of the bride and groom or the deceased. They’ll never forget it.”

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com