To be published this coming March!

In a rare detour into research and writing that is not explicitly about the history of the tuba, I was asked, gosh, almost three years ago now, if I would contribute to an academic book on American band history as a way to honor two senior musicologists, Raoul Camus and Frank Cipolla.

As luck would have it, I had recently been exploring the transition time between P. S. Gilmore and his famous band and the launch of John Philip Sousa's new civilian band, and felt there was a story there (side note: the first Sousaphonist, Herman Conrad, played in both bands). I now had a reason to really dig into that research! Bryan Proksch, the editor who reached out to me, loved the idea, and he brought me on board - even though I was not a professor or the type of scholar who normally contributes to such a work as this. I was honored.

My chapter is titled, "From Gilmore to Sousa: How One Legendary Bandmaster Gave Rise to Another." While it is not my favorite bit of writing (the constraints of academic writing take most of the fun out of telling a story!), it is, in many ways, groundbreaking research that provides a great deal of insight into a pivotal moment in American band history.

Click here if you would like to know more about the book, which is scheduled to be published in March 2024 (yes, it has been a looooong process!). While the hardcover will cost you an arm-and-a-leg (as academic books tend to do), the ebook is far more reasonable. Enjoy!

From cigars to Sousa and back again

 
John W. "Jack" Richardson (1874-1939) started working as a cigar maker in Rothsville, Pennsylvania, by at least the age of 19 or 20. Many small cigar factories were spread throughout Lancaster County in those days, so it is not surprising to discover that his first line of work was hand rolling cigars.

At the same time, Richardson started playing Eb bass in the Rothsville Cornet Band, followed by the Lititz Military Band, a few miles down the road, which was formed in late 1895, mostly of Rothsville Band members. Here's that band shortly after the time that Richardson played in it:

Two years later, in 1897, we find Richardson in Newark, New York (note, not New Jersey), working for George Croucher in his cigar factory, and playing in his newly formed "Cigar-Makers Band," officially named the Newark Band (see the photo at the top of this post, where Jack is in the middle of the back row holding a BBb helicon bass). It was while he was playing in this band that he chose to make music his career, and, apparently, picked up the nickname, "Big John" (Richardson was 6 feet 6 inches tall, or thereabouts, as you can see from the photo above!).

In the 1978 history of that region of New York, Annals of Arcadia, by Cecilia Jackson, we read the following:

Cigars in those early days were five cents and only a few reached the high price of ten cents. All were hand made. ... Newton Burrud and George W. Croucher were partners in one of the earliest of the cigar companies. They employed 20 men who were of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction, according to William Croucher, son of George Croucher. These men were all musicians and formed one of the first bands in town.

She then adds this:

Our present day band concerts were a direct result of the early band formed by those cigar makers. In those days the concerts were held from a band wagon at the four corners on Saturday nights. The cigar makers were musicians and three of them went on to play for Sousa, according to William Croucher. They were John Richardson, Arthur Bryer and Walt Shafer.

While there is no record of an Arthur Bryer ever playing with Sousa, Walt Sheaffer is said to have played Bb Clarinet on Sousa's 1911 world tour. But Richardson was with Sousa for twenty-two combined years (1904-1910, 1912-1917, 1923-1931). He was recruited by Sousa after obtaining much-needed professional experience with the 65th Regiment Band of Buffalo, New York (1900-1901), which performed at the Pan-American Exposition, and T. P. Brooke's Chicago Marine Band (1902-1903).

But for the purposes of this post, I simply want to note that when Sousa passed away in early 1932, which understandably led to Sousa's band disbanding, Richardson chose to retire to Steelton, Pennsylvania, the home town of his youngest brother, James Thomas Richardson, and return to his first love, so to speak. He purchased a cigar store there. Here's what I've learned about that . . .

"Jack Richardson's Cigar Store" opened at 2 South Front Street on August 19, 1933, directly across from the stately Peoples Bank (built in 1920). It was a prime location, at the corner of Front and Locust. Richardson had purchased the store from the estate of Robert H. Fairlamb, who had died suddenly of a heart attack, at age 45, about a month earlier.

Robert H. had come to own the store when his father, Robert V. Fairlamb, suddenly died in 1921, at the age of 61. The obituary for the latter reveals that he had been in the tobacco business (and other interests) in Harrisburg and Steelton for the previous 35 years. Prior to that, he had worked at the Steelton Post Office for a time, which, interestingly, was in the very same space that became Jack's Cigar Store in 1933. Here's a photo, reportedly from 1871 (the corner unit on the right):

While the elder Fairlamb had maintained a cigar store for years in Steelton on Market Street, by 1902, if not a bit earlier, he had another cigar shop at 1 South Front Street, directly across from where the post office was (or had been). Here's an old postcard, created by Fairlamb, showing his shop at that location (note the brown sign on the right, at the corner, hanging over the sidewalk on a horizontal pole, that says "Cigars"):

When the plan for building the Peoples Bank was settled, Fairlamb moved his cigar store directly across the street, to 2 South Front St. (again, the old post office space), as noted in the August 1, 1919 edition of the Harrisburg Telegraph:

Fourteen years later, in 1933, shortly after the death of Fairlamb's son, Richardson purchased the shop and slapped his well-known name on it:

I don't smoke, but if I was alive at that time, I would definitely have made a pilgrimage to that cigar store to talk to the owner and get him sharing stories about his time with Sousa!

As it turned out, barely five years later, Richardson was in the hospital, reportedly related to his struggles with arthritis (but bone cancer may have been an issue as well), and he never went home again. Entering the Geisinger Memorial Hospital in Danville, PA, on May 5, 1938, he was eventually transferred to the Keystone Hospital in Harrisburg, where he passed on August 12, 1939.

I wonder if he enjoyed one last smoke of a 5-cent hand-rolled cigar?

Oh, and that building, where Jack had his cigar shop for those handful of years, remains standing today. It currently houses a skateshop, according to Google maps!

*            *            *

One last bit of trivia to include here, having to do with Fairlamb the elder, as it adds some color to his career back in those early days of the twentieth century. This is from the January 16, 1902 edition of the Harrisburg Daily Independent:

My latest article on the Sousaphone

 

Here is the title page for my article in the Fall 2023 edition of the ITEA Journal, which will be coming out shortly (I just received the final proof).

As I've meandered along in my research on the Sousaphone over these past 11 years, I've had it in the back of my mind to write the definitive history of that unique instrument in the context of the band led by the one who dreamed up the horn - John Philip Sousa. But, as typically happens with me, I get happily sidetracked by other projects, and pour myself into those.

Finally, however, while occasionally assisting Douglas Yeo this past year with his research on John Kuhn, who briefly played Sousaphone in Sousa's Band, my motivation to pursue this topic was re-awakened, and I gladly jumped back into the research. The result is this article, of which I am very pleased!

But don't miss Doug's fabulous article on Kuhn in the Winter edition of the ITEA Journal. I only briefly touch on Kuhn in my article, but Doug, in his characteristically thorough fashion, tells the whole story of this amazing musician. I hope to do something similar for Jack Richardson and Herman Conrad in the near future - unless I get distracted again, which I probably will!

Original Sousaphone Sighting, 1902!

The Iroquois Band of Lancaster, PA, in 1902

As often happens, while rummaging through historical archives the other day to try to find one specific thing, I stumbled upon something significant that I wasn't even looking for! Let me explain . . .

I'm neck-deep in researching John Philip Sousa's longest tenured tubist, John W. "Jack" Richardson (1874-1939), and because he was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I've been learning about the band scene in that region during his lifetime. One of those bands, formed in late 1888, was the Iroquois Cornet Band, or simply the Iroquois Band.

Here's the notice of its formation in the August 29, 1888 edition of the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer:

Within a few weeks, their snappy new blue uniforms had been ordered, as noted in the September 12, 1888 edition of Lancaster's Daily New Era:

This local band proved to be quite successful over many years, and various images of it can be found in the archives at Lancaster History. But what caught my eye was the photo at the top of this post, from 1902. That raincatcher Sousaphone in the front row, with its upright bell pitched forward, looked very familiar to me!

Well, sure enough, when I compared it to photos I have of the original Sousaphone, built by J. W. Pepper in 1895, it's a dead-ringer! Make particular note of the valve cluster and lead pipe:

Given that Pepper only ever made that one Sousaphone, it is virtually certain that the instrument used in the Iroquois Band in 1902 is indeed that original one-of-a-kind treasure! And this begins to fill in one of the most curious gaps in that historic horn's history.

After being played by Herman Conrad on the 1896 cross-country tour of Sousa's Band, the instrument seems to have quietly disappeared. From that point on, it is never seen in that famous band again, and by the beginning of 1898, the Sousaphone that does appear is C. G. Conn's first.

So, where did the world's first Sousaphone go after 1896? Until now, I had no evidence to put forth a definitive answer.

However, having examined and played this horn myself, it clearly has a lot of miles on it, so I knew it had been played somewhere - probably for years. And now we can say with almost absolute certainty that, for a time at least, it was played in the Iroquois Band of Lancaster! And it most likely remained in that area for the rest of its active life, until it was discovered in 1973 at Renninger's Flea Market in Lancaster County - a story I have told earlier in this blog.

Here's to hoping that another sighting of this historic horn will show up in my research!
 

Bands at the World's Fair in Buffalo

As I continue to research John W. "Jack" Richardson, who ended up playing Sousaphone for a combined 22 years in John Philip Sousa's famous band, I'm learning more about his earliest years as a professional musician. In 1900, he moved from Newark, NJ, to Buffalo, NY, where he played with various groups, including the 65th Regiment Band (shown above - and that may be Richardson with the helicon bass directly behind John Powell, the band leader).

In 1901, from May 1 to November 2, Buffalo hosted the Pan-American Exposition, and many of the best bands in the country were featured for this World's Fair, including this hometown ensemble. But the headliners were Brooke, Innes, and especially Sousa, who had just toured Europe for the first time the previous year. Shortly after the Exposition, Richardson was recruited by Brooke to play in his Chicago Marine Band, and two years later, after the tubist had returned to Buffalo, Sousa plucked him up to fill the band's iconic Sousaphone post that had recently been vacated by Herman Conrad.

I have a sneaking suspicion that both Brooke and Sousa heard about, or perhaps literally heard, Richardson performing with the 65th Regiment Band at the Exposition, leading them to entice this outstanding bass player to join their bands when they needed a top player.

Here are the relevant pages from a little booklet published in 1901 to help people get excited about the great music they would hear if they made their way to the Exposition (images courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation):

Don't know Jack? You will very soon!

See that tall guy, all the way to the left, holding a Sousaphone? His name is John Welsh Richardson, although he went by "Jack," and it turns out I've been driving right by him for years now! That is, he is buried in Brownstown, PA, which I pass through on the latter part of my weekly commute from Harleysville to Manheim:

When it comes to the history of the Sousaphone, I seem to be geographically blessed! 

As I have shared earlier in this blog, the original Sousaphone, built by J. W. Pepper in Philadelphia, currently resides at the Pepper headquarters in Exton, which is also right along my weekly commute. The first Sousaphonist, Herman Conrad, spent the latter part of his illustrious music career based in Philadelphia, and then Camden - I pass right by his Ridley Park home every time I go to the airport. And his daughter and son are both buried in nearby Conshohocken (Conrad himself is buried in Detroit, MI, but that's another story).

Even the namesake of the Sousaphone, John Philip Sousa, spent his entire music career out my way: from 1880-1892, he led the United States Marine Band, based in Washington D. C., just a few hours south of me (I've done extensive research in their wonderful library); and from 1892 until his death in 1932, he led his famous civilian band, based in New York City, just a few hours northeast of me. Oh, and Sousa is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in D. C.

I'm not sure if I would have dove in so deeply to this hobby were it not for my geography! But back to Jack . . .

Richardson was the second Sousaphonist that Sousa featured in his touring concert band. Conrad held that conspicuous post from 1895-1903, and when he left the band, Richardson succeeded him as the centerpiece of Sousa's bass section. Here's the notice, from April 1904, in a local Lancaster County, PA, paper, that celebrated this towering tubist (he was six-and-a-half-feet tall!) reaching the top of his profession:

Once I finish my long-awaited article on Conrad, I hope to write a similarly definitive article on Richardson. Meanwhile, both men are briefly highlighted in my upcoming article, "Sousaphone Milestones in Sousa's Incredible Band," which will appear in the Fall 2023 issue of the ITEA Journal.

But my goodness - Richardson's history was (almost) all played out right here where I live and work! Knowing that, I visited the Ringgold Band room in Reading last Friday, in the hopes of seeing if they had a photo of Sousa's Band from 1904, which a contact at the Library of Congress told me they did. And if they had it,  was it possibly clear enough to get a good look at Richardson, at age 29, right after he was recruited by Sousa?

Well, I struck gold (okay, Ringgold)! Not only did I get a good shot of the whole bass section (seen at the top of this post), but check this out:

So, lots more digging to do, in order to tell his whole story (and again, Conrad comes first!), but this is a great start. I have never seen so clearly this image of Richardson in the very year he started playing with Sousa (and he went on to serve a combined 22 years in that famous band - the longest tenure of any tuba player).

Stay tuned for lots more on this once famous, but now largely forgotten, "Lancaster Countian"!

P. S. Here are a few photos of the Evangelical Cemetery of Brownstown (est. 1918), where Richardson is buried, along with the location of his gravestone:

Exactly why there is a huge Carpenter gravestone sitting almost on top of the Richardson stones is a question I am trying to get answered. The four Richardson stones, from right to left, are: John W. (my guy), Samuel W. (behind the Carpenter gravestone), F. Alma (also partially eclipsed), and then J. Thomas (far left; those two were married). Eight or so feet behind the Carpenter gravestone is the wedge-shaped Richardson stone, marking the family plot.

However, elsewhere in this cemetery, rather than as part of this plot, are those brother's parents, Adam F. and Mary J., as well as another brother, Adam B., and a sister, Susie W. Wolf. Yet one more brother, Aaron W., and sister, Amanda Hahn are not buried here.

Sousa Dies Suddenly in Reading, PA

Looking at the photo above - the last taken of Sousa before his death - one is tempted to wonder if the bandmaster knew what was coming, especially when you read below that he had "laughed and joked" for a good part of that evening, at the banquet in his honor, making wisecracks as he was being lauded! 

Having completed 40 years of touring with his incredible band, the evening of March 5, 1932, would be the last time this beloved bandmaster would lead a musical group. Here is the story, as it was told in local newspapers, of the days surrounding the sudden death of John Philip Sousa.

The Friday, March 4, 1932, edition of the Ephrata Review summarized what was going to be happening in Reading the next couple of days:

That previous Monday, the Reading Times said this:

Sousa arrived in Reading on Saturday, as planned, rehearsing the band, and then speaking briefly at the banquet, and then returned to his hotel. But the Sunday morning papers ran this shocking headline:

Here is the brief account of what happened, in the Morning Call of Allentown:

And here is the extensive article that was run in the Reading Times the following day (Monday, March 7):

That same edition also included this feature:

And further included these reports:

The following day, Tuesday, March 8, that same paper ran this:

As well as this:

Then, this came out on Wednesday, March 9:

And then this, on Thursday, March 10:

These two articles appeared on Friday, March 11:

Then this, on Saturday, March 12:

Then, two days later, on Monday, March 14:

And finally, this on Wednesday, March 16:

I thought about simply writing out the story, but decided it might be worth taking everything in exactly as those who were hit with this news in 1932.

Yesterday, August 18, 2023, I visited the Ringgold Band room to conduct some research related to tuba history, and among the many other wonderful things hanging on their walls, there is this historical marker: