The Sandusky High School Band was Busy in 1936

In 1936 the Sandusky High School Band gave a series of free Sunday afternoon concerts, under the direction of Byron F. Aldrich. In February, the band played for the Sandusky Auto Dealers car show held at the Sandusky Junior High School.

The Sandusky Star Journal of March 13, 1936 reported that the Sandusky High School Band played for the Style Promenade put on by the M.R. Herb store at the Junior High School. Elmer Bauer also played selections on the Frohman Memorial organ at the style show. Over three thousand were in attendance. The band also provided musical entertainment for the Postmasters Convention at Cedar Point in June as well as for the district meeting of the American Legion in November.

A large concert put on by the Sandusky High School Band took place at the Sandusky Junior High School in December 11, 1936. For this concert, the admission fee was 25 cents (about $5 today). Hundred of area businesses also sponsored the band concert, and were listed in the Sandusky Star Journal on December 10, 1936.

Byron F. Aldrich directed the Sandusky High School Band from 1923 until 1955. Many Sandusky High School alumni honored Mr. Aldrich at a dinner in the fall of 1981.

The former band director is quoted in the article, from the Sandusky Register of September 20, 1981, “Maybe I can’t remember all the names, but I can remember just where each one sat when they were in the band.”

Byron F. Aldrich passed away on October 6, 1984. He and his wife Florence are buried at Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Aldrich touched the lives of many during his long tenure at Sandusky High School.

Memorial Day Celebrations in Sandusky in 1923

There were three Memorial Day celebrations in Sandusky in the year 1923. The first one took place at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home at 8:30 on Wednesday, May 30. At 10 a.m. a service was held on the deck of the steamer Chippewa. A third event began with members of patriotic organizations marching from the G.A.R. Hall to Oakland Cemetery. Commandant Perry Null of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home led the parade. Other parade participants included the Camp Fire Girls, a drum and bugle corps, members of the American Legion, and a group of Civil War Veterans, who rode in automobiles.

    

The Sandusky High School Band also took part in the parade.  The band played the song “Our Heroes” as the parade grew closer to Oakland Cemetery, where  members of the G.A.R. and the Women’s Relief Corps had gathered.                                  

     

Commodore R.G. Denig spoke about a renewal of honor for the nation’s flag. Rev. Charles Huffer gave the benediction. Adjutant of the G.A.R. W.P. Thompson, read General John Logan’s Memorial Day proclamation. Mrs. Nina Goodwin Braby read the Gettysburg Address, just prior to the address given by Elyria Mayor A.E. Jones. Mayor Jones in his address, called for greater devotion to the laws of the country, a more universal observance of Memorial Day, and greater appreciation for those who made sacrifices in military service. A firing squad salute was given by members of the American Legion and the Ohio National Guard, and taps were played by bugler Harold Mertz to conclude the services. Below, a group is seen gathering to talk at the cemetery on Memorial Day. A large crowd is visible in the background.

You can read more about how Sandusky celebrated Memorial Day in 1923 in the Sandusky Register of May 31, 1923, now on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.          

Buckeye League Band and Orchestra Festival Held in Sandusky in 1938

Bands from Sandusky High School, Fremont Ross, Tiffin Columbian, and Findlay High School all participated in a parade in Sandusky on May 6, 1938, to kick off the Buckeye League Band and Orchestra Festival. Pictured above is the Sandusky High School band marching north down Decatur Street. 

The school name of Fremont is spelled out on the tubas in the Fremont Ross band, seen below.

   

The majorette and members of the Tiffin Columbian drum corps wore conservative uniforms, typical of fashions in the 1930s.

                                         

Though this picture is not very sharp, you can see the retail shops on the street level of the Hotel Rieger, as the parade goes by.

The Sandusky Community Music Festival included a series of events between May 6 and May 12. Participants in the music festival included the Buckeye League Orchestra, the Buckeye League Bands, the Sandusky Male Chorus, the Sandusky Choral Society, Grace Church Choir, and the Senior High Choir and Choruses. The May 7, 1938 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that an estimated crowd of nine hundred listened to the Buckeye League Bands at the concert given at Jackson Junior High School on May 6.  Tickets for the entire musical series were sold for one dollar each.

Sandusky High School Band of 1935

Photographer Ernst Niebergall took this picture of the Sandusky High School Band on April 25, 1935 on the steps of the former Sandusky High School, later Adams Junior High. The band had recently purchased new uniforms for the band members, made by the Ward Company of New London, Ohio. A few days after this picture was taken, the band gave a concert at the annual Scout Circus, held at Jackson Junior High. In May the Sandusky High School band was asked to give a concert at the Bellevue Cherry Festival. The May 29, 1935 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that the band had been invited aboard one of the steamers of the Ashley and Dustin Line on opening day, June 10, 1935, when the steamer was scheduled to take an excursion trip to Detroit. Both the Sandusky High School and Shelby High School bands were asked to give concerts throughout the excursion. Several of the members of the 1935 SHS band were still in the organization when the band played at the dedication of Strobel Field (now Strobel Field at Cedar Point Stadium) on September 25, 1936.

Group Photographs on the Steps of Sandusky High School

Sandusky photographer Ernst Niebergall took many images of people and places in and around Erie County during most of the first half of the twentieth century. He was a native of Germany, and during times of war, he had his cameras confiscated, as government officials considered him a potential threat to the country. (Read more about Mr. Niebergall at the April 2004 edition of Paper Trails, from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.) 

A popular location for some of Niebergall’s group pictures was on the steps of the old Sandusky High School, later Adams Junior High School.  Below is a photograph of the War Bond Group of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce, taken on May 27, 1918. A large American flag is hanging over the middle door on the western portion of the school building.

Two more group photos of members of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce were taken by Mr. Niebergall on June 25, 1919. In the picture below, the men are all wearing hats.

It appears that Mr. Niebergall was a stickler for detail, or he had an unusual sense of humor, as another picture of the same group is nearly identical, except that the men have removed their hats.

Several years later, Niebergall took this picture of the Sandusky High School Band on the steps of Sandusky High School. Over sixty members of the band are pictured with their instruments in 1935.

The steps at the old Sandusky High School, facing the Erie County Courthouse look virtually the same today as they did when Mr. Niebergall took the group pictures many years ago.