Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-03-12
BLOWING HE u
(By EARLE =, TosTEv1N)s

the First army corps school, called
the band together upon the occasion
Of its leaving Gondrecourt and paid
the North Dakota musicians a splen.
men for their willingness to respond
at n or all times, saying: THE Of
ficers and instructors Of the school
have appreciated your work. Too,
there have been times when the work
and worries were almost too much,
but through an open window would
come floating the music strains and I
wish to tell Q that more than once
alton to carry on. I have read,
somewhere, of a commanding oficer
who placed a price of a million dol
lars on q certain band. 1t would be
impossible to place a physical valu-
alton on your organization"
Picked for Germany.
At the officers training school at
Langres, the band was under the or
ders of General H. A. Smith, COM
mander of the schools. When he was
ordered to duty in the army of occu-
patton as chief officer in charge Of
the civilian government under United
States occupation, he selected the
his command.
| ~ Od1u oGdEtSV 1OI SOO1cUZs
reached Toul and remained there for
three weeks, when orders came to
return to the 164th infantry organiza-
ton for return to the states. The
trip to Germany was abandoned.
Being on the move, uncertain as
to whether we would get anywhere or
not wasn't much fun two days before
Thanksgiving when we landed in
Toul," said Leader Macdonald.
"Some of the boys stole a stove.
and with Sgt. Bill Jones as cook pro
tack in u 'hommey' a in the
freight yards. But we weren't salts
fed.
Harmon had a toothache so we
started out looking for some place
where we could get a tooth out and a
handout as we'll. We tackled base
hospital SIS. and offered to play for
them in return for Thanksgiving din
ner. We got it, turkey and all to-
work to keep us busy for the rest of
our three weeks stay there-concert
or dance every afternoon and e
ming. And the way the boys in those
half dozen hospitals at Toul appreci-
ated our music was worth a lot of
hard rubs."
Kept Busy.
From May 80 to November rs.
while the band was stationed at
Langres, 1t was kept busy constantly.
Dances and concerts were played
Y. NJ. c. A. huts. Every Sunday after
noon there was a concert in the big
park for the general public.
Excellent renditions Of standard
musical selections won the approba-
ton of the music loving and under
standing French, but often came re-
quests.
play re what you call trombone
muzeek," some Frenchman would ad.
dress the leader. And the band would
start off on the peppiest jazz in its
repertoire.
An innovation that won for the or.
ganization the name of the "Singine
Band" was the fact that instruments
would give way>to- voices for the
choruses Of popular songs. Many
officers would drive to Langres from
1Chaumont,. the general headquarters
OF the A. e. F. staff, to hear the sing.
ing band.
There have been few changes in the
personnel Of the band since it left the
state other than the constant ad-
ditions made. Band Sgt. Cuthbert S
Moore, Lisbon. baritone player, went
to the officers training camp and be.
came one Of the third lieutenants'
who lost commissions only through
the order preventing the making OF
more officers after the signing of the
armistice. George Raines, Lisbon,
abandoned his clarinet in the band al
Camp Green to become a color SER
(. geant and later regimental sergeant
major. He received a commission as