The Kempsmith Mfg Co. Band

Once upon a time, it seems every village, town, and city in America had a band. And often more than just one band. There were military bands, municipal bands, fraternal lodge bands, church bands, school bands, ladies bands, orphanage bands, and bands like this one - the factory band. Lined up in neat order on a workshop bench is the Kempsmith Band, the company band for the Kempsmith Mfg. Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Very similar to the brass band tradition in Britain, many industrial companies in the 19th and early 20th century started musical groups to foster employee teamwork and company pride. Some were associated with unions but most were used for the local promotion of the company name.

This 8"x10" format photo is undated and unmarked but the unique name on the bass drum was enough to narrow the search. There is no town with this name in the U.S., but in Milwaukee there is a manufacturer of industrial machinery named Kempsmith, established in 1888 by Frank Kempsmith. Milwaukee has long been a center for high skills industry, especially with automotive, machine tool, and engine manufacturers, and these men are likely trained as metalworking machinists.

Kempsmith Machine Co. advert
1942 Milwaukee city directory

The company specialized in metal tooling machinery used by various industries, like the milling machine pictured here from a 1922 ad. Basically making very large and heavy things that could hurt you if you didn't follow the directions. In 1916 they had a payroll of 450 workers. The current company makes tool and die machinery for the paper product industry.

The front row of  the Kempsmith band shows a clear difference between a horn (seated 3rd L) and  two mellophones next to it. There are also several upright low brass, with two different sized tubas, a euphonium, and an alto horn. They don't seem to have a conductor, so perhaps they were led by the first trumpet. The style of uniforms and haircuts suggest 1920's, perhaps as late as 1935, but certainly some years before WW II. 

Bismark ND Daily Tribune
April 1907

 

I could not find an actual reference citation for this band, but I did find an article from 1907 in the business section of the Bismark North Dakota Tribune. 

With a title Doubling in Brass, it describes how many businesses were recruiting men with extra musical skills to augment their company bands.

"Here is an advertisement from a place up the state calling for machinists, lathe, bench, and planer hands, who must be musicians and play cornet, trombone or B bass.." it says.

_ _ _

 

 

Another Milwaukee machine manufacturer also maintained a company band, and their musicians played every Tuesday for the other employees. In the days before radio, when music was handcrafted and consumed slowly in moderation, a company band must have been a real source of worker pride. All the company activities like picnic socials, baseball games, holiday parades, all needed music and what better way to give back to the staff and community than to have a company band.

 

What kind of music did they play? And when did the powerful forces of canned recorded music force the demise of factory bands like this?

My contribution to Sepia Saturday

Click the link to find more enthusiasts of vintage photos.