John "Dibby" Braidic
by Ed Sarley
One of the finest Croatian-American gentlemen I have ever known was my Uncle "Dibby". His influence upon my music, my guitar playing, and in my life cannot be underestimated. He has been, and continues to be an inspiration to me every day; and I am grateful for the things he showed and taught me.
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(l-r: Greg Sarley-bass, Ed Sarley-clarinet, Dibby-guitar >1964)
Dibby was born July 6, 1915, the seventh child of 8 children of George and Mary Braidic, who immigrated to America from Croatia in the early 1900s. He received the nickname "Dibby", because there was a baseball player named Dibby Williams and he was a good baseball player, shortstop. His love for music started as a teenager, when he saw a guitar in a pawn shop window for $2.00 that had a crack down the back. He scraped some money together, bought it, taped up the back and taught himself how to play. In the mid 1930's, he and 3 other friends joined together to form the Round-Up Boys, who played in the Cleveland, Ohio area. There were two guitars, a bass, and a "jug blower"; they wore black cowboy shirts and white kerchiefs around their necks. They won first place on a radio amateur hour and received a watch as first prize. The story Dibby always told was that since there were four of them, they put the watch on the railroad track, watched the train go by, and celebrated!
He married my father's sister Rosie on October 28, 1939. My father was in the wedding, as he had introduced his sister to Dibby at St. Paul's Croatian Church in Cleveland. In 1941 The United States was not drafting married men; but Dibby volunteered in 1943, because he felt he had to. Just as he was getting ready to ship over in 1945, WW II ended. He was proud of serving his country and always wore a flag on his jacket. He felt proud that as one of the oldest guys in camp, he could keep up with all the young guys. He was still doing exercises and push ups from the army into his late 70's. He survived throat cancer, multiple chemotherapies and surgeries on his throat over the years, (beginning when he was 44); and was diagnosed with bladder cancer when he was 82. Dibby never complained and was an inspiration to all.
(l-r: Dibby, Ed , Greg)
A few years ago (when he was 80 years old), he was at Jerman's Cafe on E. 37th St. in Cleveland and met some young musicians. He showed them his photo of the Round-Up Boys (which he carried in his wallet all the time). They asked him if they could use his photo, and they put that picture on the back of their CD.
(Cats On Holiday "Shake This" Coh-Tone Records P.O.Box 19409 Cleveland, Ohio)
Go To > Cats On Holiday.com
Dibby passed on in 2004 - just short of his 89th birthday. I will always remember the songs and the chords he taught me as a young musician, and I hope that my music and my life will inspire others as he has inspired me.
Special thanks to Dibby's daughter Georgine Wolohan for helping me to assemble this tribute.
Thanks also to Patrick Wolohan for info about Cats On Holiday
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