Mother, my harshest critic and biggest whip-cracker, took me to task this morning because I didn’t run pictures of the Advance High School Band with the Advance photos I posted.
I tried to explain that I like to hold some stuff back for a slow day. To keep from getting cut out of the will, though, I thought I’d better feature the band and the 1936-1937 Glee Club.
(I put Glee in the headline, hoping that people who are searching for the TV show might land here by mistake, boosting my traffic stats.)
That’s Mother on the right side, holding a clarinet. (Click on any image to make it larger.)
Southeast Missouri High School Band
In the fall of 1937, students from all over the region and their teachers gathered at the State Teachers College to form the Southeast Missouri High School Band. W.A. Shivelbine from Cape was one of the conductors.
Cape Central was well represented
Much to my surprise, I found out that she was one of only two Advance students listed as playing in the band. She was on the clarinet and Thornton Jenkins played the trombone. Cape Central was well represented by some familiar names.
1937 Glee Club
The 1937 Glee Club doesn’t look particularly gleeful. Mother’s in the front row on the left. “I couldn’t sing,” she confessed.
I don’t know if she’s being honest about not being able to sing, but she certainly adds a touch of class to the group! I guess the boys were either banned for rowdiness, or they considered the glee club to be for sissies.
In later years, the Advance band was all the rage. I remember my youngest son saying to a new friend, “Everybody’s in the band.” He was right–the school was so small and the band was so big that no other classes were offered that hour. All the sports kids were in the band, too, so nothing else went on in Advance if the band was playing! It’s still that way–to a certain extent.
Would love to see a close up of those shoes! Fourth from left–She was ahead of her time, for sure!
Your mom has certainly preserved a lot of history there. I was able to recognize her in the last photo before I looked at the names! I have seen her now enough times that I can pick her out of the crowd. From the comments you quote from her, it sounds like she has a fantastic sense of humor, which you have obviously inherited. You make me laugh almost every day.
Is that Claudine Tippitt Lorch on the top row, second from the left? And maybe Mary Jo Tippitt Lorch on the top row, on the right next to the end?