100 Years Ago: Alton High Band Completes an Active Summer

ALTON - The Alton High School Band had a very busy 1925 summer break. Despite the fact that the band had only been in existence for less than a year, they were very much in demand and travelled all over the area to perform. (The first Alton High School Band concert was on September 19, 1924, which you can read more about here:https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/100-years-ago-alton-high-school-band-plays-first-concert-75932.cfm). An Alton Evening Telegraph article on August 26, 1925, described the band’s various recent activities. Director B.L. Johnson was gone on an all-summer honeymoon tour of the West, and so originally the band had decided to pause playing together during the summer and resume at the start of school in the fall. But there were so many opportunities to perform that George A. Reider, choir director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, stepped in as leader for the summer. They had regular practices at the high school and then, when repairs in the high school gymnasium forced them out, at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Parish House.

The Alton High School Band was the only band to march in the parade through the streets of St. Louis when the Cardinals celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the National League on June 18. Following the parade, the band members attended the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cardinals. The next week, the band watched the Cardinals game against the Chicago Cubs with the Alton Knothole Gang (you can read about that here:https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/100-years-ago-the-knot-hole-gang-catches-a-cardinalscubs-game-83815.cfm).

In July, the band played for the Fosterburg hard roads picnic fundraiser at Rock Spring Park and at Camp Warren Levis. In August, they played at the West Alton Picnic, the Children’s Day at Chautauqua, the Piasa Fish Fry (the White Hussars played the other day of the fish fry), and in the Alton merchants’ parade. Johnson and his wife, the former Florence Yoxall (who had been the girls’ physical education instructor at Alton High School), arrived back in Alton on September 2, and Johnson resumed direction of the band so they could begin preparing for the Illinois High School Band Tournament at the state fair in Springfield later in September.

Sources

“Alton High Band Completes an Active Summer.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), August 28, 1925.

“High Band Joins With Cardinals in Celebration.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 19, 1925.

“High School Band at West Alton and Chautauqua This Week.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), August 12, 1925.

“High School Band In National League Golden Jubilee Fete.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 17, 1925.

“High School Band Plays at Chautauqua.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), August 17, 1925.

“High School Band Rehearsal Tonight.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 8, 1925.

“Large Crowd Attends Hard Roads Outing.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 23, 1925.

“Large Program for High School Band This Year.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), September 3, 1925.

“Regular Rehearsals for High School Band.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 25, 1925.

The Tatler. Alton High School (Alton, Ill). 1925.https://archive.org/details/AltonHS_Tatler_1925

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