The Band in the 50s
Early in the decade the board hired John Colbert to be the Director of the Music Department and it was the best move they ever made. Mr. Colbert was a gifted musician and turned out to be an even better teacher and leader. Here’s how he came to be our Band Director:
He had a seat in the Indianapolis Symphony playing trumpet and also had a few private students. Max Avery was one of his students and mentioned that the Knightstown Band Director (Virgil Hall) was leaving. Mr. Colbert was working on a PHD in music education and needed to teach at the secondary level as a prerequisite to receiving his degree. He told Margaret Avery he was interested and the rest is history.
Under his tutelage the band began playing music on a higher plane than most high school bands attempt. For example, one year we played Dvorak’s 9th symphony (”The New World”) in concert. Boy, did he ever work to get us playing at that level and he could throw a wicked baton if you weren’t paying attention. He even started a program of instruction in strings in the lower grades to begin the process of developing a high school orchestra at KHS. He also got us marching pretty darn well as our consistent good results at the state fair band competitions proved. We usually placed in the top ten against schools with ten or twenty times our enrollment and were even in the top five a few years. Second place out of 60 bands was our highpoint, but that ain’t bad…..!!! We were beaten out of first by Muncie Central, a school at least 15 times our size. Mr. Colbert, having fulfilled his requirements for a doctorate, left us in the spring of 1954 to further his career in music. He was badly missed but the duties of band director were passed to the very able and very likeable Wilburn (Bud) Elrod.
Once again the board and administration had found us a winner. Mr. Elrod was strict when he had to be and worked us like dogs but I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t really like and respect him. He had us playing some pretty tough stuff too. Like when we played the Warsaw Concerto with Linda Forst doing a professional job as pianist. Mr. Elrod left Knightstown in 1959 and went on to earn a PHD in music at the University of Illinois in 1969.
As well as having two fine Directors for most of the decade we were also lucky to have some outstanding young musicians among us and they were the backbone of the band. A few I can think of are Al Grimm-trumpet, Nugen Hall-oboe, Jack Cooper-trombone, Walter Bush-timpani, Sally Bush-flute and piccolo, Max Avery-cornet, Jerry Cooper-saxophone, Jack Avery-baritone. That’s all I can recall of right now but I’m sure there are a lot more. I don’t think there was ever a district competition in the 1950s when our band didn’t come away with a first. It was a forgone conclusion. The highpoint of the decade was probably our trip to New York City and our participation in a parade down 5th Avenue. (See Patsy Nicholas’ post on the BLOG page.)
Here are some more memories of the Band trip to New York sent to me by Barbara Paul Craft:
I’ll never forget marching down Fifth Avenue in NYC with the KHS band under the direction of Wilburn Elrod who by the way was at our ‘56 class reunion and still looks and acts much as he did when he directed us. We were invited to be in the New York parade by Willard Avery and the Knightstown Commandery Drill Team. Also we were one of the top bands in the Indiana State Fair Contest and practiced very early in the norning and every evening for months to prepare. Another thing I have never forgotten about the trip to New York was the bus breaking down somewhere in Pennsylvania and my good friend Linda Forst making the comment that “The bus was too pooped to putt.” The bus may have run out of energy, but we didn’t and were wide eyed at the sights and lights of a really big city, and I will never forget the thrill of marching down Fifth Avenue.
Thanks Barbara…!!
We were playing this while the other bands were marching to Washington Post. I remember what a great job Sally Bush did on the piccolo solo..
I’ve put some clippings from the Banner about the achievements of the Band in a photo album.
The Girls Up Front The task of leading the Band on the march was a difficult one and called for a lot of skill and stamina. We had four excellent Drum Major(ette)s who took us through the 1950s. Betty Conner when the decade started, Sara Bartle in the early part, Patsy Sorrell in the middle years and Nancy McNew into the early 60s. Here are some pictures: ( I hope someone can loan me a picture of Betty Conner to put here. ) 
The Majorettes added a lot of class and beauty to the Marching Band. Those girls also worked very hard perfecting their skills and what honeys they were, they were gorgeous….!!! 
*****I going to indulge in a little commentary here: If you have read this you’ve probably figured out why we had such success in our K.H.S. Band programs in the 50s. The answer is simple: we had adults who demanded excellence and were all over the school board to make sure we had it. We don’t need private schools today to assure that kids receive a good education. All we need are adults who care enough to demand that the Public Schools provide it.*****
Here are some random pictures of the KHS Band in the 1950s.
I’m working on a lot more stuff to go here but could use some help. I would really like to find some pictures taken during the trip to N.Y. City. I know there must be some out there. Nobody throws away old pictures…!!! If anyone has any info about the band in those days or any pictures send me an email… simman@charter.net
Strange that nothing was said about the string orchestra that Colbert started which had 2 cello’s, 1 viola, 2 base viols and 4 or 5 violins from 1954 until 1956 which Elrod inherited. The group sorta of disbanded but I cannot remember when. The funny thing about Colbert was that he was always chewing on his baton, and would periodically take it to the pencil sharpener and restore the tip. I cannot remember how many he chewed up but it was many, I was the viola player for 3 years.
Comment by Bradley Strickland — July 24, 2008 @ 2:24 pm