'Don't know how we're going to fill his shoes': Cape Breton's 'Men of the Deeps' honour Yogi Muise
Cape Breton's 'Men of the Deeps' are mourning the loss of one of their strongest voices.
Yogi Muise, who was 85, was a member of the singing miners' choir for more than 50 years.
He's also being remembered as a teacher, a volunteer, a gentle giant, and a community icon in New Waterford.
Stephen Muise is Yogi Muise's youngest son. He is also the business manager for the singing miners- a role passed down by his dad.
He says Yogi first joined the men of the deeps in 1969 and was an active member right up until his death from melanoma on Thursday.
He attended his last practice with the group on July 13.
"Yogi's a great loss to our family…our extended family … and of course, the Men of the Deeps," says Stephen Muise.
"Everybody remembers Yogi as a gentle teddy bear. He had a loving punch. He'd throw one at your shoulder and it would knock you over but he'd pick you up at the same time."
Fellow choir member Nipper MacLeod says his friend was a gentle giant.
"Well, Yogi was a big presence wherever he went," says Macleod.
"Although powerful, he was gentle, and he had the proper name – Yogi, named after a bear. He was a teddy bear, but he was also a grizzly bear and when he was defending the Men of the Deeps, he was a grizzly bear."
While his time with the Men of the Deeps took him all over the world, Yogi was a community icon in his home of New Waterford.
He was an original board member for the famed Coal Bowl basketball tournament and served for years as the event's media director.
He was also a teacher in his hometown for more than 30 years.
Mickey MacIntyre of the Men of the Deeps, remembers Yogi as an infectious personality who brought people together.
"A brother… a pioneer… a great friend," says MacIntyre
"Anytime (there was) somebody new on the bus, Yogi would be down teaching them how to play Tarabish, we even had Rita MacNeil in the game."
With the group set to get back into swing post-pandemic, they say not having Yogi around will be a big loss.
"It's going to be tough to look around and not have that big, bass voice and his big presence," says MacLeod.
"Don't know how we're going to fill his shoes, but he would want his legacies to continue. So when we talk about the Men of the Deeps, we're ready to go for another 50 years," says Muise.
The family says Yogi Muise's funeral will be livestreamed online on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.