(Host) All over Vermont today, town bands are marching in parades and playing on village greens in memory of fallen soldiers.
St. Johnsbury boasts the third oldest town band in the nation–it’s been going strong since 1830.
VPR’s Charlotte Albright visited with a few senior members to gather some of their fondest memories.
(Sound of "Dear Old Vermont State")
(Albright) That’s called "Dear Old Vermont State." It was composed by St. Johnsbury Band alumnus Gerald Aubin, who used to be a celebrated baritone horn player. Aubin is 92 and his memory is fading, but he doesn’t forget how many town bands he’s played in- St. Johnsbury, Lyndonville. . .
(Aubin) “Barre, Burlington, Vergennes, Orleans, Barton. . .”
(Albright) And the list is probably longer. There are no professional recordings of the St J Band. We borrowed this 1986 audio cassette from trombone player and retired St. Johnsbury firefighter, Richard Reed.
("Old Vermont" music fades.)
(Albright) Reed was also the MC for this 1986 concert, which included a rendition of "Remember Pearl Harbor."
(Sound of “Remember Pearl Harbor”)
(Albright) . . .and Reed remembers his first town band rehearsal when he was a freshman at St. Johnsbury Academy, over 50 years ago.
(Reed) “I think I played the first note and the last note in the entire evening but the membership there was very caring of young people and supportive of young people coming to the band and because of that I believe it made me a better musician because when I went back for my sophomore year at the academy my music teacher noticed that my playing had improved immensely.”
(Albright) St. Johnsbury’s band has played for two American presidents. Some players are highly skilled-some rank amateurs-but all are welcome, from farmers to CEOs. Trombone player Jim McGregor heads up nuclear medicine at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital. His favorite memory involves an elderly tuba player who tumbled off the back of a flat bed truck during a parade:
(McGregor) “And that’s a terrible thing but he was a showman and he was willing to chase the truck down, throw his horn back on, let us hoist him onto his seat, and continue playing stars and stripes forever, so… (chuckles)”
(Albright) Shows, after all, must go on. The CEO of Weidman Electrical Engineering says he’s never missed a Memorial Day concert since joining the band in 1978. John Goodrich– also the band’s unofficial historian-is pleased that it still draws a crowd:
(Goodrich) “Probably because we have fun ourselves, but it’s really a nice bygone pastime that still lives today.”
(Albright) A medley of patriotic tunes honors living soldiers today, as well as those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
For VPR News, I’m Charlotte Albright.