The Girls' Band of Williamston, Michigan

 The big hats and giant bows
definitely attracted my attention
but it was the smiles
of these young women
that sold me on the postcard of their band.

 

 

Unfortunately I didn't know who they were.
Or even where or when
they posed for a photograph.

But a few years later I found
a second postcard
that answered all my questions.

 

 

Their expressions were more serious
but the hats and bows were the same.

They were the Girls' Band of Williamston, Michigan.

 

 

It seems now like a century ago, but in January 2010 I featured the first postcard on my blog. It was only my tenth story, so I gave it a simple title, A Ladies Band. I estimated their photo, 21 musicians, mostly brass players, a few clarinetists, and two drummers, was taken roughly between 1910 and 1915, and a "ladies band"  was the common term then used for an all-female band like this. Since then, I have featured over 25 similar female bands and I have added dozens more in my collection. According to Blogger's statistics over the past 12 years, my very short story about this lovely photo has received only 42 page views total and zero comments. Blogging can be a lonely obsession.

 

The photo shows the young women posed under a tree next to a street. They all wear identical summer weight suit dresses with big floppy hats. There is a gleam of sunshine on the brass instruments but it is their smiles that really lights up the photo. Surprisingly the band's name is not stenciled onto the bass drum as it almost always is with other bands, so their name and location was a mystery.

 

But year later when I acquired the second postcard it was because I recognized those hats and bows. This time the band's bass drum had a triangular pendant with Williamston written on it and the card had a postmark and date too. So armed with new clues I was able to quickly establish that they were the Williamston Girl's Band, first organized in 1911 by J. W. Loranger. By 1913 they were gaining a reputation in Michigan as a "fine musical organization."

 

 

Lansing MI State Journal
30 January 1913

 

The band's leader was not pictured in the photos but he was Josiah William Loranger (1848-1926), a music teacher and musical instrument dealer in Williamston. In May of 1913 he appeared in a studio photo of the band published in the Lansing State Journal. Only 20 girls are pictured, but even though they are without their hats, their big bow uniform dresses are are same as in the postcards. What made it especially interesting is that the newspaper listed their names too.

 

 

Lansing MI State Journal
28 May 1913

  

 Williamston Girls Band, Only One of Kind In State.

   Top row, left to right— Io Gaylord, clarinet; Hattie Williams, second clarinet; Minnie Wells, first clarinet; Ethel Liverance, trombone; Alma Gorsline, trombone; Bernice Steadman, trombone; Bernice Lawlar, solo alto; Irene Gorsline, alto,
   Second row, left to right— Lila Gaylord, baritone; Grace Stewart, clarinet; Frances Rockwell, tuba; Martha Speers, tuba; Bess Pennock, solo cornet; Beth Bennett, second cornet; Mildred Rix, first cornet; Lora Gaylord, solo cornet,
   Third row, left to right—Helen Hornsberger, trap drummer; Nina Speers, alto; Nina Ranney, alto; Ruth Trask, bass drummer.  J. W. Loranger, instructor and leader in center.

The occasion that got the band's picture into the paper was a full page promotion on a homecoming celebration for Williamston, a small village 15 east of the capital city Lansing. In 1913 Williamston had a population of only 1,000, but this booster event promised to bring thousands of former residents and family members back for a big community party. Every school, church, business, and social groups was involved and the Williamston Girls' Band were to be the featured entertainment.

Williamston Girls Band, Williamston, Mich.
Source: Historical Society of Greater Lansing Facebook Group

This colorized postcard is the same image as used in the Lansing State Journal. I found it on a Facebook page for the Historical Society of Greater Lansing. It shows that the girls' suits were white with red bows and Mr. Loranger's fancy band uniform was green. It seems very likely that the band sold these cards at the homecoming. Earlier that month it was reported that the money the band earned from concerts would pay for new uniforms for the homecoming, but I'm uncertain if the band ever purchased a new fashion.

 

 

The second photo of the Williamston Girls' Band was also taken outdoors. The band has 19 musicians here, all arranged in a more traditional group line. The photographer wrote his name under the bass drum, Meader, the same name captioned on the newspaper photo.  It was sent from Williamston on 1 July 1912 to Larkin and Kruger of Howell, Michigan.

 

 

This is the latest.
Am ready to
come to Howell
any time.
Hows your
little care.
Come down.

Bernice Steadman

 

Bernice was the tallest trombonist in the newspaper photo and is, I think, the tallest girl standing far right in this photo and the girl kneeling on the right in the first photo. The daughter of a farmer in Williamston, Bernice Steadman was born in 1895 and would be about age 16-17 in these photos. In 1914 she married Ford Van Dervoort. She died in 1970.

 

In July 1913 the Williamston Girls' Band was scheduled to play a park concert for the glorious 4th. Unfortunately the young ladies were indisposed, and Mr. Loranger instead brought in the Perry City band to replace them. It was a public health situation involving a dreaded disease and vaccinations that doesn't seem at all unusual a century later.  

 

Lansing MI State Journal
4 July 1913

The last report I found on the Williamston Girl's Band was a Memorial Day concert they performed in 1917. Like many organizations with youthful membership, these girls moved on to other pursuits. And America's entry to the Great War also changed the public's taste for entertainment, even in small communities like Williamston. Jazz, radio, and pop music became the new attraction. Yet for a few summers at least, the music these girls played got star attention.

 

 

 

 * * *

 

 

As I've learned from collecting old photos and writing this blog, a photo with names and dates is the best kind of treasure. Images take on a personal quality when individuals are identified, and events are better placed in historical context with a simple date. I consider it a special achievement to be able to do that for these young women, and I like to think I did it because of those smiles.  

 

A smile is a rare jewel to find in old photos. A bright expression communicates joy, delight, and amusement without knowing anything about a person. Even across an ocean of time it invites us to share their enthusiasm for music and hats and become their friend. If only we could hear them play.

 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where ladies in hats with bicycles keeps repeating.

where ladies in hats with bicycles keeps repeating..
where ladies in hats with bicycles keeps repeating...
where ladies in hats with bicycles keeps repeating...