The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1907-10-17
Johns lack of strenuousness and perse-
verance, but simply because the from
bone was the larger.

the small drum, and he made good
j drummer. Too ambitious to be heard
on the silent parts, perhaps, and almost
sure to run away with the tempo on the
march, he usually came out about the
same time as the rest of us, though
now and then he finished while the
balance Of the gang were just entering
the home stretch.
Our leader, Doctor Kelley, most
enthusiastic bandsman, led the band on
an E fiat cornet, and was never able to
raise &c" above the staff, but he told
the boys "how it ought to CO." and
spent many hours drilling and instruct
ing that gang of riotous youngsters, and
well indeed we Juniors loved him.
AS pause, and let memory get busy
with the long ago, recall other friends
and artists who belonged to the Juniors.
There was Willard Clark, who essayed
an alto, and usually Jagged several
yards behind the procession when we
marched, and the flag sometimes drop
ped before he reached the distance
pole, and he finished alone. And Geo.
Hurst, who footed cornet, got red in
the face, and put up d strong bluff that
the lead all devolved upon him, and
there was Charlie Mills, who had q
tenor horn that had seemingly mex
haustible variety of tones, and confused
his sharps and flats. About the first
public appearance Of the Junior Band,
as remember it, was at wedding out
on Eden Prairie. The boys went to
the scene of their early crime on hay
rack, and stopped in the little hollow
back of where Dennis Daughton now
lives, to run over the repertory, which
consisted of two numbers, bonnie
Eloise" @. IS. and "Whoa Emma" Waltz,
both ''arr by Kelley"
We had another piece with us, but
couldn't handle it we'll enough to win
Kelley's fastidious appreciation, though
the rest of the gang thought it sounded
real good.
Arriving at our destination, we silent
~ formed a circle around flower bed,
and after few preliminary false toots,
cut loose on Bonnie" When the smoke
cleared away, and the astouished wed.
ding party came out, every semblance
of a flower bad had disappeared. Robin
son was always believed to have been
in the main responsible for this devasta-
tion, for in his efforts to get his after
beats in on time, and avoid Kelley's
caustic criticisms, he beat time with
both feet, his antics resembling the
movements of the danceing turkeys L
once saw at side-show, where they
solemly pranced up and down on hot
iron plate.
The band got through the first selec-
tion with only one trivial breakdown,
and did fairly we'll with "Whoa Emma"
only the lead being weak by that time,
The tromhnnes, aided by the first alto,
| got much the best of it.
Really, Uncle Will Cannon would
have been justified in booting the whole
bunch out of his front yard, but instead,
he stopped the noise by inviting the
band into the house, and gave all of us
white meat off of a lot OF young turkeys,
and passed, and re-passed cake and a
whole lot of other good things many
| times. Every one OF those band boys
keenly appreciated this kind treatment,
all the more perhaps as they didn't de-
! serve it, and Uncle Will and his gentle
wife have ever since had sincere
friend in each member of the Junior
band.
This has strung out longer than
INTENDED. There is much more that
could be told of strange things that
happened to the old Juniors, and am
frank enough to say that there are
things that should not be even remem-
bered- only take time, in closing, to
add that this band did acquire proficien-
cy, and after some months handled high
grade music in a creditable manner
1t was the pleasing, and correct inter-
pretation Of high grade music by this
Organization that enabled the people to
appreciate Pinafore, and other Operatic
efforts, in latter years. Any original
member of The Leon Junior Cornet Band
will testify that this assertion is both
logical and true, and certainly there
could be no higher authority.
IAN ORIGINAL JUNIOR