A Quartet of Boys' Bands

 

They called themselves Black's Juvenile Band of Nowata, Oklahoma. While there are certainly a good number of youngsters in this band of 26 musicians, for a half dozen or so it's been a few years since they were called juvenile. The photographer followed a tradition of small studios to arrange everyone very compactly with all the instruments and faces neatly visible. The bandleader, Mr. Black, is surely the older gentleman with a cornet  seated center behind the bass drum with his hat cocked back on his head. I also suspect there are a few fathers and sons in this group. The half-tone image means this postcard was likely printed by a local newspaper which put the caption in a fancy Gothic calligraphy font to add a touch of class.

Nowata is a small city in Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States where it is also the county seat. The origin of the town's name is a bit of a mystery as it was originally named Metz, after its first postmaster, Fred Metzner. From 1834–1907 this part of the United States was officially Indian Territory, and became Oklahoma Territory in 1890. The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw language phrase okla, 'people', and humma, translated as 'red'. 

In 1828 a treaty with the Cherokee Nation assigned the area of Nowata County to the Cherokee people. Later the placename became Nowata, possibly from a Delaware or Lenape word "noweta" meaning "friendly" or "welcome". However in the Cherokee language, the town was called ᎠᎹᏗᎧᏂᎬᎬ (A-ma-di-ka-ni-gunh-gunh, roughly), which means, "water is all gone," crudely translated into what the word meant: "No Water".

The postmark on this card is from Coffeyville, Oklahoma dated 16 November 1908, exactly one year after Oklahoma achieved statehood. It was sent to someone in Nowata but the pencil handwriting has faded the name. In 1900 Nowata had a population of 498 but in 1910 it expanded 637.3% to 3,672 citizens, which is close to its current population of 3,517.

Dear Sis  Had a very
good night rest
Many thanks
all O.K.  I have
a headake this
morning. good
bye  Lola

* * *

In this next postcard "The Kids Band of High Point, N. C." stand outside of an ivy-covered brick building, perhaps a church as is has stained glass windows. The boys in the band are dressed in matching white shirts and knee length pants with dark forager caps reminiscent of a Civil War soldier's hat. The image is very grainy and I think the original photo had limited contrast as it looks like the figures' outlines were improved with penciled lines and thatching before it was printed. It is a typical brass band of 14 musicians with a single clarinetist and two drummers. Their band director stands behind them on the right. I would judge their ages to be around 12 to 17. 

The city of High Point is one-third of North Carolina's northcentral Piedmont Triade along with Greensboro and Winston-Salem. It presently has a population of around 116,926 in 2023 but in 1910 it was still a small town with only 9,525 residents. 

This postcard was sent on 9 June 1910 from High Point to Mr. Joe F. Robbins of Hendersonville, NC, a city about 25 miles south of where I live in Asheville, NC.  

Hello Mr. Robbins
How is the mountains?
So glad to hear
from you.  Will
write to you
tonight.
Best wishes
                D. B.
6/9/10

* * *

The 25 musicians in this next boys' band also stood outside of a building for their photo. A caption identifies them as the Mullan School Band of Mullan, Idaho. They are dressed in a style of military cadet uniforms with mostly brass instruments with a few clarinets and drums. I don't see an adult band director but the boys' ages seem to range from 8 to 18. I found a photo online of the Mullan School taken in 1904 with a line of students outside standing in snow. It's an imposing two story brick building and the entrance matches the brickwork behind the band. 

Mullan School in Mullan, Idaho, 1904
Source: Barnard-Stockbridge Photograph Collection

 

Mullan is located in Shoshone County, in the northern panhandle of Idaho, east of Spokane, Washington. The town was established in 1884 at the east end of the Silver Valley in between two mines, which initially produced gold and then mainly lead-silver ore. Mullan's current population is just 646 residents but in the year this photo of the Mullan School Band was taken it had around 1,600.

The postcard was sent from Mullan on 29 November 1908 to Mrs. Mae Risley of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Thanks for the big
turkey,  He's a dandy
Call again
          Phil. J. Starcks (?)

* * *

My final boys' band is a large group of 25 boys seated outdoors next to a park bandstand. The location is unknown as this postcard was never mailed. But the photographer did provide a simple caption: Whites Cadet Band. Presumably Mr. White is their leader, the man seated center behind the bass drum, which, sadly, does not have the usual stenciled band logo with a town name. 

The boys are roughly aged 8 to 16 and are dressed in simple white shirt, long tie, and military hats. Their instrumentation is a nice balance of brass instruments with clarinets and drums. I would date them to around 1910. Most boys bands of this size would usually not be part of a school but would be a separate ensemble with their instruments and music provided by a sponsor, usually a local merchant in the community. 

In my story last week, The Ladies' Band of Foxhome, Minnesota, I featured a brass band from a very small rural town. My collection has many examples of similar postcards of both boys' and girls' bands from 1890 to 1920. These musical groups were often connected to family bands by being lead by an enterprising adult musician in their communities whose children were in the band. They also were often sponsored by a town band of adult amateurs, almost always men. 

The children's bands rarely mixed boys and girls as America's society conventions were strict in this era. The popularity of brass bands for boys and girls across America was driven by a combination of fads. One was the way music in this time could only be heard live. Professional bands and celebrated instrumentalists were becoming very well known through their concert tours. It created an enthusiasm in both adults and children to pick up an instrument and make music themselves. 

The second driver of making bands popular in America was from band instrument manufacturers who sponsored professional bands and soloists to promote their instruments. They used newspapers and catalogs to market bargain sets of instruments of all kinds, delivered anywhere. The music instrument industry was also aligned with publishers of sheet music who similarly promoted the latest trends of songs, marches, and dances. 

Another important motivator for starting a band for girls and boys was to develop wholesome activities for children. In this era most team sports were not included in school programs and there were no outside organizations that provided physical recreation like Little Leagues or Scouting either. Music was considered a worthy year-round activity that kept children occupied and taught them a useful skill. Every community wanted the best for their children. Otherwise, as Professor Harold Hill said, "Ya Got Trouble."

The classic 1957 musical The Music Man 
was written and composed by Meredith Willson (1902-1984),
who based the story on his own experience growing up in Mason City, Iowa.
Willson was also an accomplished flutist who got his start playing in a small town band.

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where good pals are treasures for life.