Marshall County History: Culture comes to MC

Due mostly to European traditions, immigrants coming to America brought with them the tradition of community bands. Immigrants organized bands in towns wherever they settled and offered both secular and religious music selections. Many community bands also emerged from militia or military bands.

Community or Booster bands usually have an intimacy with the community or town that professional orchestras or bands cannot achieve. Community bands are not motivated by profit. They are motivated by their love and pride of their community, friendship and comradery and patriotism.

Community bands have been labeled many things, including adult bands, civic or town bands, industrial bands, fraternal bands, and booster bands. While they were mostly adult bands many community bands, also included high school and college students in their memberships. Scholars and historians have labeled these bands as ones providing “the music of the great middle class” or “the music of the ‘common people.”

One of the hallmarks of most community bands was that they were made up of unpaid citizen members who supplied their own instruments paid for their own uniforms and covered the costs of travel. On some occasions, a business or group of businesses sponsored the band, but usually that sponsorship only covered the cost of director. Most community band directors were provided a salary for their services. For the most part, all the men in thegroupwerebusinessowners or their employees who worked all day and practiced at night.

The popularity of early community bands can be attributed to the participation of thousands of ordinary citizens in these ensembles and the patriotic appeal of the music and performance. It is estimated that in 1889, there were roughly 10,000 community bands in the United States. Today that number is about 650 and there appear to be no community bands left in Oklahoma.

In 1907, shortly after the incorporation of Kingston, I.T., and with sponsorship from the new First National Bank of Kingston, the town organized a “Booster Band.” The Kingston Band had roughly 24 members. Professor, A.E. Findley of Gordonville, Texas was hired to be the bandmaster and instructor. As soon as they began to play, the town decided to build a band stand in the center of Main Street, just south of what is now Hwy 70. The bandstand was between the First National Bank and the Owens-Willis-Wheeler Company Store. The band performed a concert each Saturday evening during the summer months.

The original band was comprised of the following men: Pete Landram, Will Sterling, B.B. Steel, R.D. Murphy, Grant Lauchner, Wid Landram, John Landram, Walton Landram, Will Rollins, Harry Teel, Claud Maxey, Jud Jennings, Gus Byrd, Oscar Williams, Coot Byrd, Howard Ringle, Lem Little, Amos Littrell, Hiram Jones, Holmes Willis, Dr.Lewis,W.S.Courtneyand W.S. Lasiter.

Two months after it was formed, the group held its first concert on February 22, 1908, in the school building, to honor George Washington’s birthday. Then on March 6, 1908, they played their first street concert. It was this concert that was the genesis of the plan to build a band stand on Main Street. On August 28-29, 1908, a two-day picnic was held at the Kingston picnic grounds south of town. People from all over the county came with baskets of food and enjoyed two days of concerts, visiting with friends, riding a steampowered merry-go-round, ball games and pony races. Soon the band was not only giving weekly concerts, but they were included in almost every community program.

The bandmaster, Erwin Findley eventually was hired to be the band director for the Kingston schools, a position he held for decades.

By 1908, community or bosterbandshadbeenformed inKingston,Woodville,Lebanon, and Mannsville as well as most communities surrounding Marshall County. While efforts to create a Madill band had begun in August of 1904, a band was notinexistenceby1908when othercommunitybandswere formed.

In August of 1904, a group of Madill citizens had formed a committee and begun efforts to solicit funds for the purchase of band instruments. Most believed a band should be formed and there appeared to be a fair amount of interest.

In the August 26, 1904, edition of the Madill News, it was stated that “the town should have a band. It would derive many benefits from same. It would not only be a great advertisement for the town, but a great source of entertainment for the people of the town and county as well. The advantage of the townowningtheinstruments is this: should some of the members of the band move away the band piece would not go, and someone could muchmoreeasilybefoundfor the vacancy in as much as the new member would not have tobuyanewinstrument. Too, in this way the band could hold together much better.”

Sadly, it was the desire of community ownership of the instruments that stalled the formation of a Madill Booster Band. The situation was a frustration for many in Madill. In the March 12, 1908, issue of the Madill News, the editor of the paper complained “other towns not half so large as Madill boast of good music by home talent. These bands speak much for towns. Why not one for Madill.”

Finally, in the summer of 1911, work began to create a Madill Booster Band. By August of 1911, Roy Ingle, A.O. Pelsue, N.W. Welch, Arthur Alsup, Edwin Cooper, Edgar Reid, Hayden Creekmore, Grady Rollins, H.E. Fitch, Fred Whitsel and Paul Reid had come together to form a band. This band was, like most, originally a brass band with most members playing trumpets or cornets.

The first performance of the Madill Cornet Band occurred January 20, 1912, with a concert on the Square. The news announcing this inaugural concert appeared in an article in the January 18, 1912, edition of the Madill Times. In that article, it was announced that “Madill has been without a band for lo these many years but from now on we are assured that she can have band music when needed.”

The director of the Madill Band was Professor Ernest Hamilton of Bochito. Professor Hamilton had been involved with the Kingston Band and was the director of the Woodville Band. In the June 28, 1912, issue of the Marshall County News Democrat, it was reported that after formation of the band, it was without a director. Because of the need of a director, “the band boys and businessmen of the city got busy and raised a fund for the salary of a director and secured the services of Professor Hamilton.” Hamilton was reported to be “one of the most talented musicians in thissectionofthecountryand as a director has had years of experience which fully qualifies him for this position.” Professor Hamilton traveled to Madill twice a week to rehearse with the band. Hamilton would eventually move to Madill.

In the spring of 1915, the Madill Cornet Band was renamed the Madill Booster Band. By that time, more men had joined and the membership consisted of Will Franks, Harry Kelly, Edd Porter, Patt Laird, Fred Whitsel, John Laird, Edwin Cooper, Roy Ingle, E.E. Ehort, S.F. Morris, Luther Smathers, Everett Munday, Joe Laird, Hayden Creekmore, Harry Hinkle, Arthur Allsup, E.E. Addison, and Wes Smathers.

In May of 1917, the Madill Booster Band added uniforms. Each member purchased their own, having “dug up the money” from “their own pockets.” The Madill Record reported that the uniforms were “beauties, first class in every respect” and that they “make a wonderful difference in the appearance of the boys who are as fine specimensofyoungmanhood to be encountered in any community.”

By 1920, the Madill Booster Band was reported to be “the largest municipal band in the state save one or two.” The Madill Record reported that at that time the band had thirty-two members. Yet, the November 25, 1920, edition of the Madill Record reported that Madill “has never supported” the band with a “concerted effort.” The paper reported that the only reason Professor Hamilton remained director of the band was because he had moved to Madill and bought a home and his wife did not want to leave. The paper further reported that Hamilton had received offers from larger towns to direct their bands. Those offers were in some cases substantially more than he was being paid in Madill.

Because of this lack of communityfinancialsupport, in mid-1920, The American Legion entered talks with the band members to take over sponsorship and control of the band. On January 1, 1921, the Madill Booster Band was renamed the American Legion Band, under theCharlesB.BurkePost 99, of the American Legion. Thereafter, Post 99 and the Madill Merchants association banded together to raise money for the band. Sadly, within the next year, Professor Hamiltonwashiredbythe town of Hollis to direct their community band.

After the United States entry into World War II, booster bands began to disappear from most communities and Marshall County was not immune. Of the many reasons for the decline in community bands, one of the biggest was that very few new instruments were being made because of the scarcity of brass and other metals needed for the war effort, and the few instruments thatwerebeingmadeusually went to military bands. The other major reason was that most schools had incorporated band into their standard curriculum and community support was directed to the school bands and away from the community bands.

For over three decades though, Madill, Kingston, Woodville, Lebanon and the rest of Marshall County enjoyed themusicofcommunity bandsmadeupoftheirfamily members, friend and neighbors. The bands instilled pride in the communities and they entertained thousands. They were a vital part of each community in the early days and they each played a big role in the growth of Marshall County.

So, those that bank at the BancFirst branch in Madill are banking with the successor of the first bank in Marshall County, the Cotton National Bank. Plus, the first bank of Madill, the First National Bank of Madill.

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