By Mike Ford
Well, it is rainy & cold in Wisconsin today so I will take the opportunity to expound on music as I had promised. I’m sure you were also a part of most of the band and orchestra highlights since you generally sat right behind me with your trombone.
The 1950’s were a time of change in music. The early part of the decade was pretty much a continuation of the music from the previous decades. Smooth harmonies & little pop ditties like “How Much is That Doggie in the Window” by Patti Page which I heard so many times on the radio that it still is stuck in my brain. Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, & Doris Day were popular artists. Then came Buddy Holly, Elvis, Roy Orbison & the Rock N’ Roll that swept up the youngsters. There was also progression in the world of jazz as cool jazz replaced the big band sound – Duke Ellington was fading while Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck were on the rise. There was not much attention to classical music although Van Cliburn’s in-your-face first place finish at the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition in Moscow in 1958 was widely publicized. Broadway musicals like “My Fair Lady”, “The Sound of Music”, & “West Side Story” introduced music that has become a legacy. Of course in Fond du Lac it was always possible on weekend television to find a polka band exuding gemütlichkeit.
My own experience in music began in about 1952 when I met Joseph Schmitz for the first time in a storefront on Main Street and was outfitted with a trumpet. For the next nine years I was to continue to take private lessons with Mr. Schmitz at first at the Main Street office but later in the basement of his home near Elizabeth Waters School. I’m not sure my embouchere was ideal for playing the trumpet or cornet but I was insistent on playing that instrument.
From 1952 to 1956 I played in the band at Elizabeth Waters School. Until 1955 Joseph Schmitz was the band leader & music instructor at that school (and, I believe, at all Fond du Lac Schools). The band actually had capes and hats to wear in the way of a uniform (see the photo of me from 1954). The uniforms were handy when we produced a play in fourth grade in which other members of the band provided a fanfare for me as I played the part of the King. In 1955 band members were disappointed to find out that Mr. Schmitz was retiring from his duties as music director. Mike McFerren and I initiated an effort to collect nickels & dimes to provide Mr. Schmitz with a parting gift. The two of us went to the music store downtown and were able to purchase a metal conducting baton which we had engraved. Near the end of the school year an assembly was gathered in the basement at Elizabeth Waters School and the baton was presented to Mr. Schmitz. Joseph Schmitz did continue to direct the Military Band in Fond du Lac for many years after that. Joseph Schmitz passed away in 1971.
When my parents moved and I attended Pier School from 1956 to 1958 there was no band or music instruction other than singing along with a teacher who played the piano. During that time Mr Schmitz took extra time and effort to have me go to Oakfield with him and play in their band so I would not lose out on that experience. There was an opportunity at Pier School to play instruments at musical events like Christmas programs. The most memorable performance that I was involved in was in 1956 when the Christmas program was held at the Roosevelt Junior High School auditorium. Danny Scherck and I teamed up for a duet of “Silver Bells” with Danny on the Hawaiian guitar and me on the trumpet. That combo just didn’t jibe real well but the audience gave polite applause anyway.
From 1958 until 1961 I participated in band and orchestra at Roosevelt Junior High School and at Goodrich High School. At Roosevelt the band director was Calvin Moely who was just out of college and brought a lot of enthusiasm to his job. (By the way, Jon, Jill Wagner was a pianist with the orchestra at Roosevelt. She was also with us in our sophomore year when she was to accompany us in our legendary “Old Black Joe” duet. She does not appear in our 1960 yearbook so she may have moved away.) Roosevelt had a really nice auditorium for performances – much better than the stage above the gym floor at Goodrich. In our class’s sophomore and junior years at Goodrich Paul Scharfenberg led both the band and the orchestra. Band and orchestra were lunch hour activities so that kept we musicians slender. The marching band performed at home football games and in a few parades during the year. The pep band at basketball games was a lot of fun – we had the best seats in the house and got to jam a little bit with some Dixieland standards. I particularly remember a game I think was in my sophomore year against Manitowoc which was back and forth into overtime – we lost but it was a great game. There were also a few trips for the pep band to away football games. I particularly remember going up to a game with Green Bay East at the old City Stadium which the Packers had used as their home field until 1956.
In our senior year Calvin Moely became the band leader at Goodrich. Mr. Moely was very encouraging of the young musicians. It was the beginning of a distinguished career. “During his tenure, the Goodrich Bands represented Fond du Lac and Wisconsin in two Presidential Inaugurals, and numerous concert band tours domestic and abroad. Goodrich Bands and the Fond du Lac Music Department hosted visits, clinics, and collaborative performances by many world-famous musicians and composers. Cal was instrumental in making those visits occur, much to the benefit of the students and the greater community. During his summers, he was a rehearsal director and tour director for Performing Arts Abroad. He chaperoned thousands of high school students from all over the United States throughout Europe for over 20 summers.” Calvin Moely passed away in 2018 – the quote is from his obituary.
During our senior year one of the highlights was the brass choir which received a superior rating at both the regional and State competitions and was selected from 30 brass choirs in the State to perform at a recording session at the WHA studio on the UW-Madison campus.