Plymouth High School - Mayflower Yearbook (Plymouth, IN)

Page 27 text:

THK OLD BRASS BAM) The first musical band in Marshall county was what was called The Plymouth Sax Horn Hand, which came into existence in the winter and spring of 1853 The member at the Ume of organization os near as can be remembered were William H. Salisbury , leader. IXamel and Platt McDonald. David Vinnedge. Rufus Brown. A C Capron, Thomas K Houghton. Rufus Mert Rrown There might have been two or three others in the original organisation, but if there were their names cannot now he m ailed Later on from time to time new members were admitted until the band consisted of about sixteen faeces, among whom were Alex Thompson. John McDonald and Charles H Reeve Mr Reeve was not a permanent member, but met with the boys frequently and was useful in writing music and in helping them to learn to play. “Old Joe Iherson. as he was familiarly called, who resided somewhere in l.aPartr county, was employed as teacher and bandmaster He had but one eye, the other having, in some way. heen put out He came at stated Intervals by stage from laiPorte to Plymouth, and generally remained two or three days He was not a very brilliant or accomplished musician but as a teacher, as rhe boy» used to put it, be was onto his job ' In those days there was no printed hand musicas now. and the music for the different instruments was all written with a quill pen on blank music puper by Old Jor He first selected the melody and then composed the accompaniments and various parts to fit the several instruments Among the pieces remembered are Wood-up Quickstep, Old Dog Tray. Lilly Dale.” Old Kentucky Home. Ben Bolt. TKd Uncle Ned. ‘Old Folks at Home. Number 14, and many mere that were popular in those days There was no foolishness about1 •« ld Joe. When the time came for practice every member was supposed to be on hand ready to do his part If he found a member particularly weak he would give him special attention until he was able to master the difficulties Then all the in- «(rumenLx would be started, and such music as was made in the beginning was not such as is said to have charms to soothe the wvaRt beast. to rend the rock, or split the knotted oak But it was not long before the members became quite proficient and • ere able to follow the score fairly well The leader of the band as William II. Salisbury, who was an accomplished cornetist. who had learned the mysteries of that instrument at La Porte before coming hrrr He was employed as bookkeeper for the firm erf Pomeroy. Houghton. Barber, the principal business firm in Plymouth at that time. He was a most pleasant, genial gen tlcman. and has many delightful memories clustering around his ife while a resident there The band began to play in the political campaign of 1854, but did vot get down to real business until the memorable presidential ampuign of 1856 and I860, and it played for moot of the local •ntcrtuinrnents and picnics, of which there were many in those lays, nearly always without money, or any thing else but thanks' Hiring the wartime the band went to pieces, many of those «•longing to it enlisting In some of the several companies nrruited in Plymouth the instruments, which belonged to the ndivukial members were sold or given away — at least none of hem have ever been seen since Stiver then many hands have wen organized, flourished for a time, and gone to pieces as their jredecessors have done In 1900 Bea M Seybold organized a band, vhich has developed into the best one Plymouth ever had Music is the grandest und most sublime of the sev en liberal arts ind sciences It u the only thing earthly of which there is any icrount of tn heaven Shakrxprarr put it none too strongly when w said: TT e man that hath no music in his soul And is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, la fit for treasons, stratagems and spoilt • The motions of his sptnt are dull as night And his affections dark m Erebus • let no such man be trusted '' Music is the only universal language in existence The con ounding of the languages at the tower I of Babel did not destroy PHS 1876-1976 the language of music It speaks the same language to every inhabitant of the earth that it did when the loud timbrels sounded the grand chorus o'er Egypt ’s dark seas The German who cannot understand a word of English will go into ccstacies over the playing of The Blue Danube or The Watch on the Rhine. and the Frenchmen in a strange land will weep tears rf )oy on hearing The Marseillaise Hymn, and our own American, when among peoples whose language he cannot understand, will shout for joy when he hears played America. The Star Spangled Banner. Hall Columbia. or Yankee Doodle, because they speak to him a language which he understands Life b motion, and motion, or vibration, is music. The whole world is full of music. The gentle zephyrs that stir the leaves of the trees; the tornado that fells the forests in its mad career; the roar of the ocean's waves as they dash against the rock-bound coast; the cannonading and rumble and crash of the thunder, the dashing of the raindrops on the roof; the continual hum of the great cities, all these In one b the basis and foundation of the music as we have it in its present form The universe b a magnificent operahouse in which the combined music of the earth and air is the grand anthem that b continually being heard by all the inhabitants of the world The standard keynote, the tonic on which all instruments are keyed, b derived from the basic sound of all thb music of nature and of the spheres ORATORY An orator b one who delivers an oration; or, one who b skilled in public speaking To a considerable extent it is a gift the gin of knowing what to say. and how to say it The orator must un- derstand thoroughly the science of rhetoric, for. as it has been well said, 'It teaches him to speak copiously and fluently on any subject, not merely with propriety alone, but with all the ad- vantages of force and elegance; wisely contriving (o captivate the hearer by strength of argument and beauty of expression whrthrr It be to entreat or exhort, to admonnh or applaud Closely allied with this b logic, without a thorough knowledge of which he can never expect to become an accomplished orator, because it teaches us to guide our inquiries after truth It consists of a regular train of argument. whence we infer, deduce and conclude, according to certain premises laid down, admitted or granted, and in it are employed the faculties of conceiving, judging, reasoning and disposing; all of which naturally leads on from one gradation to another until the point in question b finally deter- mined What constitutes genuine oratory has never yet been definitely determined Certain It b that it b not frantic gesticulations of the arms, head or body Marshall county has produced its average share of orators, who have been trained In the courts of justice, in the pulpit, and on the political rostrum Among those who have made their mark in these lima above their fellows may be mentioned C. H Reeve. M A O Packard. John G. Osborne, of the older practitioners, and later Samuel Parker. C. P Drummond, Charles Kell bon. and several others who are still with us. who. when warmed up to the siiiject. are considered more than ordinary speechmakers Henry G. Thayer, several years before hi death, was the first to bring the subject of oratory before the school authorities, by offering 850 in gold yearly as a reward of merit for the one who should be considered the best orator in a competitive contest This was continued a number of years, when for various reasons it was discontinued About 1903 an oratorical contest between picked pupils of the LaPorte and Plymouth high schools took place in the auditorium of the Plymouth high school building, which stood on the site of what was a beautiful grove in the early times where all the public political meetings of all parties were held, and where many noted orators had made the welkin ring with their eloquence The gentleman who was selected to preside over the meeting, on taking the chair, delivered a short address, in part as follows: Tlie entertainment provided for in the program of the evening b something new along educational lines here, and in the outset it b hoped that the results of this coming together may be the means of forming an association which shall embrace the northern port of the state —21—

Page 26 text:

Story of the l.ibrarv The flint suggestion of a public library came at a meeting of the CYvic club shortly after it» organization in December. 190 The meeting was held at the Plymouth Inn and the matter was brought up by Mrv C W Metsker Rev Warring and Professor Randall (ell in with the Idea Editor MtSakrr was delegated to comult the stair librarian and ascertain the method of procedtr and law relative to instituting a library Intereat In the project did not materialize and thr matter rested far about eight months when Mrs Winnie Humnchouser took It up with the business men and citizen» Finally. the ladies divided the city into sections and canvassed for subscriptions In a short time, over $2.000 had been subscribed to insure the purchase of the Cleveland lot After considerable correspondence with Mr Carnegie, a statement was made that he would make available $15.000 for the project. A hoard was selected by the Common Council Serving on the first board were L J. Hess. George Marks. C. A Reeve. John R Jones. Mrs Harry tlumiichouser. Mrs. A. R. Underwood, and Mrs J W Smith After the Common Council passed a resolution to levy sufficient funds to maintain the library, they notified Mr Carnegie the amount needed to build the building After much discussion, the board made a contract with W S Kaufman and Son. of Richmond, to make plans and specifications for the building In April of 1913 the contract (or the construction of the building was aw arded to Arthur W O’Keefe of Plymouth for the sum of $12,15937. The corner stone was laid on 7-7-13 The ceremones Included a parade with several Masonic Lodge groups from the surroumkng areas participating The main speaker was Hon. Samuel Parker. The board members then were C. A Reeve. President, K Frank Brooke. V»ce-Pres . Winnie L Humnchouser. Secretary. George D Marks. Trees . Eva L Underwood. F W Boa worth, Rena F, Armstrong, John Richard, and Ralph R. Jacoby. The copper box in the comer stone contains: copies of the Plymouth Republican. Plymouth Democrat. Culver Citizen Argo Reflector, Bremen Enquirer. Bourbon New» Mirror, and . copy of the Industrial Edition of the Republican of Nov 50. 1911 the Yearbook of the Saturday Chib, and the Yearbook of th Wythougan Chapter of D A R The first librarian was Miss Gordon who began her duties o December 1. 1911 The library opened with 3.000 books for UM The total cost of the library was $21.«« 50 of which Mr Camegi paid $15.000 As the years have progressed, so has the library The volume now total 34.605 and an additional 2.000 items tn periodicals record», film», etc Now. in this BCcntrnrsal year, after 63 year we are again approaching another building program, to rnaht the public library to efficiently and effectively serve its patroni The present board members are: Wm Lar amore. Presidrn Neil Sherwood. Vice-President. Lyn Ramsbey, Secretary Dominic Bnziolara. Treasurer. William Fortin. Shirley Morrow and Sylvia Bieghler The present librarian is Dennis luiwson an his assistant is Hilda Williams EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE SCHOOLS Since the early schools concerned themselves with hasi education various music group were formed in the area and it in this interest that we record many cf these group . As school programs developed to include these as part of for mi education they seem to dwindle In importance The following is list of these organizations The Old Brass Band The Mozart Musical Club Plymouth Skiver Cornet Band Oratory The Plymouth Glee Club The Old Tone Fiddlers —20- i'HS 1876 'V7,

Page 28 text:

 Right here, on the grounds where this school building now stands. something over forty years ago occurred a scries of among the greatest political debates in the history erf the United States Schuyler Colfax, several times elected a member of congress from this district, also speaker of the United States house of representatives, and later vice president of the senate of the United States from Indiana, sere the contestants for congressional honors No more brilliant display of forensic oratory was ever heard than was shown in these memorable joint political debates ‘The faint rumblit of the coming storm of the great rebellion was just then beginning to be heard in the southern horizon, and the ey es of the whole country were turned toward these political gladiators, the trend of the discussion being national in It bearing These debates became the most widely known, and have been the lowest remembered of any political discussions, excepting, always the never-lobe-forgotten debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A Douglas in Illinois In 1858 Here, also in these beautiful grounds and in sight of them, have been heard such superb Indiana orators as Gov. Ashbel P. Willard. Senator. Gov and Vice-Pres Thomas A. Hendricks; Gov Isaac P Gray. Gov James D Williams. Senators D W. Voorhees and Joseph E McDonald. Senator and Pres Benjamin Harrison. Stephen A Douglas. Ban) F Shively. Gen and Lieut- Gov M D Mar son. and the most polished orator of them all, William Jennings Bryan All can call to mind sublime oratorical efforts that almost moved the workl and became immortal As illustration I need only refer to Paul s Appeal to King Agnppa.' and In our own time to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 1 which standi singly and alone as the ora lone a I gem of the age THE MOZART MUSICAL CLUB On the evening of September 13. IM. twenty ladies of Plymouth met at the home of Mrs James McDonald to organize a class in vocal music For a number of years the vocal chorus music of Plymouth had been in rather backward shape and the various church choir felt the effect in a marked decree A number of la krs had talked tht mutter over and this meeting w» held with a view to organize I society with the object of creating a sentiment in the city lha would encourage music of a high class and take the place of thi walled rag time trash that was rooting out all classica music The Mozart Musical Club was a success from the start Mrs Stella Drummood was the first president, serving until hei removal to South Bend Mrs Olive Soice then served a term o year and Mrs Eva L Underwood has since been at the head o the society Mrs James McDonald was the first Arector. am since then they have had Prof Franks, of South Bend, and Prof McHenry, and now Prof H W Owens, of Chicago, has jus commenced his fourth year with this club Each year since the organization the club has given one or twi concert , which have been well received by those who bean them No attempt has been made to amass money by these per for manors, the object only being to giv r to the public an exhibitus of the progress made and to bring m noted soloists who could bi heard here in no other way. When San Francisco was destroy» by earthquake this club sent the entire proceed of one concert ti the relief of the sufferers During these ears this club has given, among others, the Hoi; City. by Gaul; Roue Maiden. by Cowm. Messiah. b Handel and this year the work » Creation. by Haydn That thi club, started by a small company of laAes who were simply hen on self improvement and un earnest desire to elev ate the taste c the community for thr highest class of music, should succrssfull give Handel s Messiah. which is acknowledged to be one of th very best and most Afficult of the standard oratorios, speaks we for the individual membership and the directors they have hac Prof Owens, who drills the club once each week, has latel returned from England, where he went the past summer to gc what was new and useful for h» work, and under las supervisio the work on Creation is being enthusiastically pushed, an whrn the club is ready to give this oratorio it is expected to be th finest musical production the club has ever given For several years this club was composed entirely of ladies, bt now the gentlemen are taken into full membership, and the futur of the club looks very bright —22- PHS 1076-197