MVHS Band

CHAPTER 1

Harry Steele | 1919 - 1950

August 15, 1919 I arrived in Mount Vernon from Libby, Montana on the advice of Arthur Miller of the Pacific Music Company of Seattle. We had bought all our instruments from the Libby High School Band from him and had become very good friends. He wanted me to come to the coast where he felt that I would have a better opportunity for expanding the high school band idea.

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There had not been a band of any kind in Mount Vernon for many years. My first contact was a man who owned a jewelry store. When I told him what I had in mind, he said, "Sonny Boy, you had better leave town. These people would not pay thirty dollars a month if they could get Sousa's Band." he told me Mr. Elmer Nailor, owner of the drug store of that name, had played in a band at one time, but he was sure that he also would tell me the same thing. However, Mr. Nailor proved to be very enthusiastic concerning my ideas. He was a booster in the Chamber of Commerce and introduced me to Dr. Cameron of the Mount Vernon Herald, who was also a great booster for Mount Vernon.

At length, we were able to find enough men to make up a fourteen piece band. Most of these men had played cornet. We could not make a band of all cornets so the next problem was to shift them around for band instrumentation. This we succeeded in doing and, in a few months, the people of the city began to show interest. After two years, the Camber of Commerce purchased us a set of uniforms. The band now became of some importance in the county and we picked up  a considerable amount of money from the county fair and other jobs. Most of the money was turned in to the treasurer for better instruments. We led the First Tulip Festival in Bellingham; played for the dedication of the Peace Arch at Blaine; performed every year for the island County Picnic which was fighting for the construction of the Deception Pass Bridge; and supported many other civic functions.

During this time I worked for the Carnation Condenser to support my family, which was still living in Libby, Montana. For five months I went to work at six o'clock in the morning and got off at three in the afternoon. This gave me from three until ten or eleven o'clock at night to get the city band going. My family came just before Christmas and I gave up the job to devote all of my time to music.

Now for the high school bands. Small town bands always had to depend more or less on "floating" bandsmen. Therefore, these organizations were always up one day and down the next. Just when they thought they had a band, someone would quit or get a better job and leave town. As a solution to this problem, I conceived the idea of building up music through the school system by starting a band there as a training school for the city band.

After months of work with the city band I contacted Mr. C.A. nelson, superintendent of the Mount Vernon Schools, and I presented my plan to him. He was not interested, but referred me to a member of the school board and from there I made several other unfruitful board contacts. Finally I was sent back to Mr. Nelson who consented to give me the opportunity to talk to the high school student-body-- if the principal were willing and could find time for such an assembly. After dragging along for several weeks with nothing happening, I told Mr. Nailor my troubles. He took me over to the bank where Fr. Frank Jenny had just started to work. Frank had been football coach before he entered the First World War and, after returning home, had become very influential in town. Mr. Nailor introduced me to Frank Jenny and I told him what I had in mind. He said, "I will get you an assembly right now if you wish." I did not miss that opportunity. He took the phone, called the Principal, told him what we wanted. The Principal said, "sure, bring him right up and we will have the assembly ready for him." Frank gave the students a long pep talk and then introduced me. After explaining my plan, I asked those who were interested to meet me after school. Twenty-five boys signed up. Now we faced another problem -- getting the parents to buy the right kind of instruments for good band instrumentation. The only music store in town handled mostly pianos but had been taking in band instruments of different kinds -- many of which were antiques that were high pitch, while the whole country had gone to low pitch (the difference of one-half tone). The brass instruments could be adjusted by pulling the slides, but the obsolete clarinets could not. I had to tell the students to buy the brass, but the large number of clarinets could not be used. When the dealer heard of this he called me in to the store. I explained the trouble. He said he had never heard of such a thing and would sell them anyway for the kids would never know the difference. So here was a new trouble. He would sell a student one of those clarinets and I would have to send it back. He would then tell the student that Steele wanted to sell them a more expensive one so that he could make a commission. This went on for two or three years.

Finally, to complete our original band instrumentation, I called on my old friend of the Seattle Pacific Music Company, Arthur Miller. he agreed to furnish the students all they needed at the lowest possible price if I would collect the installments and stand good for the payments. I did this and, bless their hearts, not one of the boys failed.

Having acquired the instruments, the problem was to find a place for full band rehearsal. The high school occupied the upper floor of the Rossevelt School and that was all the room they had. The Methodist Church had a gymnasium in the basement which the school had rented some time before the basketball practice. I hunted up the minister and, after explaining my problem, asked him if it would be possible for us to rehearse in the church one day a week after school. He was quite favorable, but sent me to talk to one of his board members. The Gentleman was not very friendly to the high school students. He said they had had enough trouble with them and he could not give his consent. So back I went tot he minister. I told him that, if he could arrange this for me, I would have an extra key made for the basement, would let the band in, see that everyone was out and the church locked when we left. And if there were any damage to the church I would be personally responsible. I called him the next day and permission was granted. The next thing was to find a place for individual instruction. Mr. Smith, the school janitor, was a neighbor of ours and his two sons were in the band. So he was very glad to give me a place in the school boiler room for his work (Later an oil burner was installed and we practice in the coil bin).

Now we were in business!! The students were very enthusiastic about their band and worked hard. Because they were not satisfied with what they got in school, many of them came to our house evenings and Saturdays. By Spring Commencement, which was held in the Mission Theatre, we played three pieces which were accepted very favorably by the parents.

My Service this first year were without cost to the school. The Chamber of Commerce paid me seventy-five dollars a month, and, by playing in a dance orchestra and taking a few pay students out side the school district, I was able to support my family. In the summer of 1920 a committee from the Chamber of Commerce called on the school board and requested them to pay me seventy-five dollars per month for nine months. This committee, consisting of Carl Jones, Harry Hammer, and Elmer Nailor, made their statement and then introduced me. I gave the board my idea of building up community music through the school system. At this point, Mr. C.A. Nelson, who was opposed to the idea in the beginning, got up and told the committee, "Mr. Steele told me he had played in a regular army band for three years. I figured that any man who would stay in the army that long was no good. But, now that he has proven himself, it is all right with me to spend this amount of money."

Our first job was to play for the Knights of Pythias convention in Mount Vernon. The lodge gave us a banquet and twenty-five dollars. The next year their convention was held in Bellingham and they wanted us to play. They gave us a start on uniforms with a set of caps to which the students added green and white sweaters. The music letter was designed by my wife's sister, Velma Bess, who graduated in the first class from the new high school in 1922. This was the first music letter awarded in the state and was copied, more or less, by many schools as they began to develop bands. It was worn as part of the uniform until 1936-40. After that the band members purchased their own double breasted blue serge suits for the boys and skirts for the girls. Mr. Harry Hammer of Molstad company sold these suits to the students at cost and the school purchased white Navy Officer caps and shoulder cords. These uniforms lasted us until 1949-50, the year in which I retired from the band.

We were much in need of new uniforms by then. Mr. Joe Reeves conceived the idea of having the student body put on a magazine sale to get money for new ones. This venture was successful and we had the new uniforms for my last concert.

Through the years the band was involved in several challenging ventures. About the year 1938 we entered the Vancouver B.C. High School Band contest at the provincial fair. The ratings were first, second, and third. We were given first rating over all of their bands and were awarded the large three year trophy. Their contests were held in the fall -- which required maintaining the band all summer, which we could not do. So we kept the trophy for one year, engraved it with a big "Mount Vernon High School Band" and sent it back to Vancouver. When the State Fair was in Yakima, we played one day and received one hundred dollars and one night's lodging. The boys and girls had a great time. In 1940 we were on the Rotary International Convention program in Bellingham. We also played in the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Parade in 1946. There we received honorable mention and a blue ribbon. So much for the city and high school bands.

At the beginning of 1920-21 school year we started the high school orchestra which was quite an easy task because we had the band wind instruments and there were several violin players in school, including two teachers. At this time an old apple orchard was torn out and the new high school building was started. The band played for the dedication -- which was a grand affair and started all the other cities in the county building schools. To supply players for the high school orchestra, we started an orchestra in the Lincoln Elementary School. Miss Shurwood, the school principal, was a great booster for music. Until the new Lincoln was built, we went back to the boiler room for the private instruction.

This orchestra started a demand in all the grade schools in the Union High District. First came Conway, then Avon, and all the other small schools in the district. They continued in the program until the schools were consolidated. Mount Vernon's success with instrumental music also started a demand for the same in all the high schools in the county. First was Burlington where I started both the band and orchestra, and directed them for twelve years. In Concrete I taught, but did not direct, for four years. The La Conner Indians got interested when they built their American hail. I organized and trained an orchestra for them every Sunday afternoon until the depression came. In 1930-31 we organized a fine orchestra at Edison High which lasted three years.

After the crash in 1929, school boards began to say, "we have got to cut the frills out of the schools and music is one of them." One school after another dropped out of the music program until Mount Vernon and Burlington were all that were left. Burlington turned their organization over to one of my best students. Some of the Mount Vernon board members wanted to eliminate our organization also as the depression deepened. I told Mr. Joe Reeves that I would keep the students together without pay as long as we could get enough to live on. He finally managed to get me a salary for one hundred and twenty-five dollars per month from Mount Vernon and Conway. When the worst of the depression was over Joe put me on full salary for all schools in the Union High District. Then we had daily rehearsals for the high school band and orchestra. The rest of my time was given to grade schools. During that time I did all but the major instrument repair for the schools and students free of charge except for extra parts. Since moving to Everett, I have done all of the school string instrument repairs for the Welk Music Company. Which collects repair work from as far away as Sedro-Woolley. After doing this for over thirty years free of charge, it is hard for me to get accustomed to being paid.

Looking back over the years in Skagit County, we are impressed with the fact that Mount Vernon is a music loving community and that it was only through the efforts of the people there that the music program in the schools is what it has come to be. We are proud to have been a part of the organization of such a program.

Sincerely,

Harry S, Steele. 1966