The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-03

How it may be in Europe I cannot
pretend to say, but in this country a
town without a brass band of its own
must De poor thing, shamefullv lack
ing IN local pride and public spirit. a
own with no 'git-up' to it at all. do
not know that there are such. hone
not. 0p0
4 like to think that everywhere in
my country they speak in an affec-
tlonate way Of the musicians as the
Dahd boys, and brag about how much
Detter they can play than the Mt. Vie
tory band. | like TO think that all the
merchants and storekeepers in town
helped out when the band was organ
ICED and the fellows came around So
Letting subscriptions for the first paw
ment on the instruments. and that
when the other instsllments fall due
everybody buys tickets to the home tai
ent minstrel shows got up to raise the
money, not only because there will be
more run than little, but also because
they wish them good luck. And how
proud we all are OF them when the
boys turn out for the first time in their
new uniforms. Talk about Solomon in
all his glory, I have seen bandsmen
that would make him look as if he had
oVeralls on. And the drum major If
1 could be drum major for a living,
and look the part and dress up like him
and walk in front of the band. toss
ing up my silver-knObbed baton and
catching it again the way he does. I
wouldn't bother my head about being
president of the United States. Not
for minute,
II can just see the bandstand on
Main street, or perhaps in the court
house yard, where on Saturday nights
the band gives concerts by torchlight
and plays on Duty March and Hell
ter Shelter GalOp,' and maybe No. %
In the Black Book while the farmers
listen, we'll paid for the long drive
in from the country ten or fifteen
miles. Fair time, political rallies, fire.
mems tournaments. ball games, Dec
GRAFTON days, Fourth of July. 1 can see
the boys swagger along in the middle
of the street and hear the drums roll;
'Prrrrrr-rompOmr before the tune
strikes up. When they brought home
Colonel Clayburn's body and led his
rideriess horse behind the hearse, it
was the band playing Webster's Flu
neral march with handkerchief
stuffed between the snares of the tenor
drum to muffle the sharp note that
made all seem so solemn, and who can
forget how lonesome sounded the mel
ody of taps on one single cornet just
before the grave was filed in?
''Inseparable from all our civic func-
tons, the band has in the country
town nearer and more neighborly asso-
Citations. For example, when Squire
Morgan and his wife celebrated their
silver wedding anniversary, Everybody
thought the world and all of the old
/ Squire and Aunt Margaret. and so.
| for surprise, when il got dark, the
band boys slipped quietly into the front
yard and began to play When You and
I Were Young Maggie IT is d sweet
old tune, and we all stopped cur chat
/ ter TO listen. AS it fioated in on the
warm June air scented with honey
suckles, something clutched at our
/ threats and made them ache.
But now we are aged and gray, Mag
gle.
The trials of earth nearly done:
Let us sing of the days that are gone,
| Maggie,
When you and I were young.
THE two old people stood listening.
/ Their lips trembled, and the tears stole
! into their eyes. Their hands sought and
/ clasped each the others. When the
notes ceased and the old squire went
out on the front porch to thank the
boys his voice broke and he could only
/ beckOn to them And then they came
/ troOping IN Charley ROdehaver,
/ Frank and Will Pettigrew and Len
Dysart and Henry Myrice and Gilt
I Howard (Old Jim Towards boy; he's
out in Kansas now, and the whole
! posse Of them, all laughing and wish
ing many happy returns of the day
/ And how those fellows did make the
ice cream and cake vanish, You
| would have thought they were hollow
| 10 their heels. Regular cut-ups. ali OF
them. and Minnie de Wees put Cliff s
! helmet on and tried 10 blow on the
/ tuba. Such a time,
& g. .
Il like to think that in every town
in the land tonight somebody is prac-
| ticing on his tooby' out in the barr
with a lantern-a tuba makes such a
noise in the house-and going POomp-
poomp-uOom -pOOmpOompOompoO
and that out on the Melville road tht
tenor horn is slapping his foot on tbs
floor for the accented beats and tOOt-
ing on the Off beats: 'HOof-ta. hOOf-ta
h0of-tatty ta-ta' that the alto horr
! has his book on the kitchen table