History Knox
Mark Sebastian Jordan takes us on a stroll through the community's past each Saturday in his History Knox column.
FREDERICKTOWN — One hundred and forty-six years ago this week, amateur musicians in Fredericktown threw a fundraiser to help sponsor a community band.
An anonymous correspondent writing in to the June 19, 1879, Mount Vernon Republican had fun teasing the band members, noting that family and near neighbors of the band members may suffer “many hours of bitter anguish” from the enthusiastic but unskilled practicing of the musicians.
He added that those sufferers might wish that “someone could have got at those horns and smashed them beyond all hope.”
The wag concludes that people should nonetheless attend the fundraising ice cream social — tickets 10 cents each—and that “even they who suffer the most will nev — hardly
ever — think of the earlier melancholy solos in the aftertime, when the sweet strains of ‘Sweet Bye and Bye’ are heard.”
This was one of many movements which began in the post-Civil War era to create community bands, some of which survive in one form or another to this day.
It’s a worthwhile cause, because it has been proven over and over again that learning to play music as part of a group boosts brain processing power.
With luck, it also gives one the sense of humor to deal with smart-aleck wags who tease you about climbing the Everest of practice.
Let’s face it, there will always be those who do, and those who sit on the sidelines making wisecracks. But if you don’t play, there’s still great joy in listening to a band in the summertime, and I encourage everyone to do so whenever they get the chance.
So, let’s salute the start of summer, and acknowledge another labor of love: This column, which begins it’s eighth year at the end of this month. Thanks to those who follow it and give the feedback that keeps me going.
Also, a gentle reminder that I am a columnist, not a reporter, so if you need immediate coverage of a story, contact the editors of this fine publication. If you can put up with my busy schedule, I will work on story ideas as I can.
Those of you who have contacted me in recent months can feel free to touch base again so we can work on those story ideas!