Barb also mentioned our tour of duty in the Brownies and Girl Scouts. We
met at the Girl Scout Little House at the northeast corner of 19th & Main.
It was a charming little house, although in drastic need of repair even then.
It's long-gone now, a vacant lot stands vigil. But I know many of you girls are
smiling right now, with memories of the Girl Scout Little House.
And while we are on this sentimental buildings journey, Barb's brother
Duncan '60 Lee checks in on the "LHS Arms":
Here's a topic that
might elicit some memories from the TLC roster. With
the talk of turning the
old LHS building into an apartment complex, if each of
us could choose a room
for living quarters, which would it be?
I choose the Band
Room as my first choice. I have lots of good memories from
that room and the
band itself. From '54-'55 to '58-'59 Carroll Lewis was the
band teacher. He
was a real inspiration to me, and many others I'm sure,
and we were sad when
he left before my senior year. Carroll went to Raytown
South where he
organized a stage jazz band and in 1961 he won the Stan
Kenton Clinic's
Outstanding Stage Band Director award. He was then a
leading force in
organizing the KC Jazz Festival (which I think still exists) and
in
1965 his Raytown South jazz band performed along with the likes of
Count
Basie. WDAF Radio made a recording of the festival, an album (on vinyl,
of
course) that I treasure.
Under Lewis' direction, the LHS band won
many first place awards in
competition all the way to the state finals in
Columbia, several years in
a row. His marching band was the talk of the
state, also, when he instituted
synchronized marching instead of the usual
formation-style movements. I
remember the years when, to make up the numbers
he needed to complete the
synchronization, he drafted students to carry
instruments and act like
they were playing when they really
couldn't.
Ed. note: I was one of them! Actually,
that was begun by his predecessor. (I can see him in my mind but cannot recall
his name.) I "played" the glockenspiel! The only tune I could really
play was "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and there wasn't a great deal of
call for that. I faked the rest. But, Duncan, you got a guffaw on that
one.
When I started with
the band in the 7th grade Louis Short was the only
baritone horn player and
he was very good. I had been forced the previous
year to switch from cornet
to baritone horn by Lewis' predecessor; a
devastating blow to my 11-year-old
ego. I soon found out the reason. Louis
graduated that year, '55, and for the
next three years I was the only
baritone horn player!
Another
innovation of Carroll's was the all-girl drum corps. I don't remember the
numbers, or the names of all the members, but it was a great show. It seems to
me there were six snares and two bass drums. Maybe one of the members is a
reader here and can fill us in on the details.
Anyway, I choose
the band room as my "LHS Arms" apartment. What about the
rest of
you?
Me first! Me first!
What a fun idea! I choose Ernestine Seiter's room on the 2nd floor, with the
small stage, because that was where we met to practice songs for the minstrels.
Someone said you cannot be unhappy while you're singing, and I have found this
to be quite true. However, by some quirk, I notice other people can become quite
unhappy when I sing.
Okay, now the rest of you send your
choices. I guess even your locker would
qualify.
TLC #26: August 30, 2001