A camera sees only the light.
But a photographer sees the faces.
With so much white fabric and shiny brass
getting the contrast right is a challenge.
The lens focuses on highlights and radiance.
But a photographer's attention is drawn to a single moment
From just a small smile or a little head tilt
they instantly recognize it and click the shutter.
A moment of time is preserved on film.
The little girls, surely twins. sit attentively in front of a band of twenty women and one man. The women, all in white dresses, hold mostly brass instruments with a few drums and four clarinets. Though there are a few teenage faces, most of the women look older in their 20s and 30s. It's an engaging group photo only marred by a slightly fuzzy print which I have sharpened and corrected for fading.
The man has no instrument but is positioned in the back row center, the usual place for a band's director. A woman standing next to him holds a long staff with a bow tied to the end, a common parade mace seen in other women's bands of this era. There is no caption to identify the ensemble but an unexpected bonus is having three names written on the postcard photo—Pearl, Lena, Mama.
The postcard was sent from Watsonville, California on December 22, 1910. It was addressed to Mrs. Birdie Stuart of Nampa, Idaho, just 20 miles west of Boise.
Merry Christmas
from Hattie
117 First St.
Watsonville Calif.
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, on the coast of Monterey Bay. In 1910 it had a population of 4,446 and a well-established newspaper which provided answers about this group. The ladies of Watsonville first organized a brass band in the summer of 1910. By June they had 18 members, both single and married women, and had engaged Mr. Edgar A. Ball, a talented cornetist and employee of the "Ford Company", a local business, to be their leader. A report in the Watsonville newspaper listed the officers of the new band and the secretary was Miss Pearl Mather. Surely this might be the young woman with the euphonium that is identified on the photo. This clue inspired me to do some detective work to solve the other names on the post card.
In August 1910 the ladies held a supper party following one of their band's practice sessions. It was just the type of local social event to get noticed by Watsonville's newspaper, The Pajaronian, (named after Watsonville's location in the Pajaro Valley south of Santa Cruz.) Reports like this always contain long lists of guests, which is always a useful resource for photo detectives like myself.
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Watsonville CA Pajaronian
18 August 1910 |
BAND BANQUETTE.
Bright Bazooists Behave Beautifully
Besides Blowing Bravely.
(From Thursday's daily.)
The Ladies' Band held practice at their last meeting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Peckham, and when business was concluded Mrs. Peckham opened the dining room and there was discovered a feast of a la Fairmount ready to be consumed, and the way those band ladies consumed it indicated that the business of blowing bugles is not such a soft snap as some suppose and that there is more or less appetite producing exercise in the practice.
Miss Pearl Mather was toastmistress, and all of the young ladies contributed to the fun of the event with a short story or a joke.
The participating members, host and guests were:
Pearl Mather, Edna Jefsen, Myrtle Byer, Lena Mather, Alice Byer, Mildred Sandberg, Lois Jefsen, Dorothy Butterfield, Carmen Mortizia, Frances Fowler, Ray Fowler, Irma Kapherner,Marie Rudebeck, Agnes Case, Irene Hopkins, Hattie George, Mrs. Byer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peckham, Mr. and Mrs. Ball, Elwood G. Lammiman and Mrs. George.
Pearl Mather was 21 and worked as a bookkeeper for the telephone company. Lena, the clarinetist back row center, was her sister Magdalene Mather, three years younger. In the 1910 census Pearl and Lena were listed as living in Alameda, California with their parents, about 90 miles north of Watsonville next to Oakland. But Pearl also appeared in the Watsonville census as a boarder so perhaps the sisters lived together that summer.
The writer who wished Mrs. Stuart a Merry Christmas was named Hattie, and I think it is Hattie George, another member of this band at the party. In the 1910 census for Watsonville, Hattie was age 26 and employed as a "stenographer" for a "packing company". She lived in Watsonville with just her mother Sadie George, age 51. In other reports of the band Hattie is listed as a trombonist, so she might be the young woman standing behind Pearl or the other trombonist standing on the right. It seems likely that Hattie would assume that Mrs. Stuart would recognize her in the photo but not her two friends, Pearl and Lena, and possibly not her mother—"Mama"—Sadie George.
I think this makes a promising hypothesis, but I may have it wrong. In 1910 Mrs. George and Hattie lived at 36 Jefferson St. not on First Street. Today First Street is more of a trade and industry area, so Hattie may have used a business address where she worked. Then again, Pearl and Lena's mother was also named Hattie, so perhaps she was staying in Watsonville that winter and sent the postcard of her daughter's new band to her friend in Idaho. Maybe it's another Hattie altogether. In which case, who is "Mama" behind the bass drum? Is she the mother of the twins? That woman's serious gaze does appear to be directed towards them. And what are their names? Oh, well. Not every mystery can be solved.
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Watsonville CA Pajaronian
18 August 1910 |
In the same edition as the newspaper's report on their party, the Watsonville Ladies Concert Band also announced their first concert would be on October 3rd at the Watsonville Opera House.
On that day the theater was packed with friends and families. The Opera House was also equipped with a projector and screen, a relatively new entertainment medium, so short films were shown too. The musical program began with a national air, "America"; followed by a march, "Plantation'; an overture "The Valley of Apples"; a song and dance schottische, "Watermelon Vine"; a cornet solo played by their bandleader E. A. Ball; an "illustrated song" accompanied by a silent film; a waltz, "Moonlight on the Pajaro"; and the finale, "Victory'; ending with the "Star Spangled Banner".
The newspaper's review gave fulsome praise to the soloists and especially to the band's musicians. "Their training and practice has been thorough and exacting yet of short duration and their work last evening was more than creditable. It was almost perfect. Each and every member of the band handled the various musical instruments as do artists and not once did the band falter or lag in the rendition of a selection."
From this success a second concert of the Watsonville Ladies Concert Band was scheduled for February 1911. That performance was equally well received, despite a few blemishes, but it encouraged the women to strive for even more. The band took on some new members and ordered "natty uniforms". In June they announced that henceforth they would be called the Lady Hussars Concert Band.
For that summer of 1911 the band's business manager secured dates at theaters and parks outside of Watsonville in towns around the area. They played for a beach park in Capitola; accompanied a road trip of Watsonville town boosters; and were featured at a county apple festival. The band's roster was often listed and Hattie George, trombonist, was with the band, but Pearl and Lena Mather seem to have dropped from the group.
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Hollister CA Free Lance
6 September 1911 |
In September they were booked at the Opal Theatre in Hollister. A new photo of the band was printed in the theater notice, with the women all dressed in wonderful "hussar" uniforms (though Hussars, originally a Hungarian light cavalry unit, seldom wore skirts). The program was 2 hours long with vocal and instrumental solos, dances, and marches played around a feature picture show: "Capt. Kate, the Animal Trainer's Daughter", one of Tom Mix's first films. Ticket prices were 25, 35, and 50 cents.
Here is another photo of the Lady Hussars Concert Band, a variation of the one printed for the theater notice, from the archives of the Pajaro Valley historical society. Arranged around a plaza are 24 women wearing dark uniforms with hussar style capes, tunics with military braid, and white fur busbies with tall plumes. Mr. Ball is similarly dressed but with a taller white busby. At first I missed him in this photo as he's a bit camouflaged in a black and white print. See if you can spot him. He is better positioned on the left in the newspaper photo. This quasi Central European military fashion was imitated in this era by numerous women's bands. But in August 1914 they quickly disappeared as the Great War in Europe made such imperial Germanic traditions very politically incorrect.
Despite several rave reports of the band's concerts that summer, there must have been a hidden tension between the band's director, Mr. Edgar Atholburt Ball, and the business manager, Mr. J. D. Madaugh. By November 1911 their disagreements reached a flash point and both Madaugh and Ball abruptly resigned. Ball had also been engaged by a boys band in Watsonville which he dropped at the same time. By December he was hired to form a traditional men's band in Santa Barbara.
The Watsonville Lady Hussars Concert Band engaged another man, Elmer J. Whipple, as a replacement. Elmer was a pianist at the Watsonville opera house and his wife played in the band, too. But the band was now reduced to only 15 members and Mr. Whipple failed to inspire new members. By the end of the year the Lady Hussars Band had folded.
= * = * =
A story like this happens all the time with musical groups. A daydream is shared with friends and coalesces into a idea. Enthusiasm drives a plan forward, perhaps helped by a trained guide. Practice builds teamwork which is often its own reward. And accomplishments bring praise and recognition. But acclaim sparks ambitions and fuels egos. Conflict incites division and without a resolution that first dream disintegrates.
Women in the olden times endured many severe strictures in society, many that limited their personal freedom, dignity, and potential. Music became one of their few outlets for individual expression and creativity. On my blog I've featured several stories on photos of women's bands and orchestras like the Watsonville Ladies Concert Band. They all share similar bright faces with often happy smiles. In this era starting a band for young women or girls was more than just an outlet for recreation. It offered an opportunity for young ladies to share a love of music with other women. It was surely fun while it lasted.
I like to believe that somewhere in California, stored away in a forgotten trunk in a dusty old attic, is a fancy embroidered cape and a fuzzy white fur hat. A memento of a long ago summer of making music with friends.
where every Saturday is Mother's Day.
