Joliet high school band celebrating centennial this year

Holding a typical director's uniform, Tony Contos, (left) executive director of the Joliet Area Historical Museum, watches as Heather Bigeck (right), collection and exhibits manager, displays a 1960 Joliet Township drum major uniform that will be in the Strike Up the Band exhibit on the centennial of the Joliet Township High School band as seen Friday, June 15, 2012, at 204 N. Ottawa St. in Joliet. The exhibit opens to the public on July 27. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media

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All memorabilia loaned to the Joliet Area Historical Museum will be handled professionally. It will be documented, signed for, insured and returned at the time specified by the lender. If you have artifacts for display, contact Heather Bigeck at h.bigeck@jolietmuseum.org.

If you want to make a financial donation, contact Tony Contos at t.contos@jolietmuseum.org, or contact Development Director Mike Brick at m.brick@jolietmuseum.org.

For more details about the DreamMakers Ball, contact Alethia Marx, special events manager, at a.marx@jolietmuseum.org.

For general information, call the museum at 815-723-5201, or visit online at www.jolietmuseum.org.

To read Lichtenauer’s band history, visit www.jths.org.

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Updated: July 25, 2012 6:40AM

JOLIET — The Joliet Township High School band thundered to national championships again and again in the 20th century, and its song resounds in many memories, echoing between the limestone walls of its home city.

Now, the Joliet Area Historical Museum is seeking the public’s help in creating its exhibit on 100 years of band history.

Tony Contos, executive director of the museum, is seeking donations to create a permanent band exhibit, including an oral history kiosk and audio-visual kiosk. Contos also is in the closing stages of seeking band memorabilia to add to an already impressive collection. Assembly of the exhibit has begun.

The exhibit — “Strike Up the Band” — will open July 27 at the museum, 204 N. Ottawa St. in Joliet. The exhibit will run for a year, and will continue to accept band memorabilia for display.

“Once people see a physical exhibit, they are going to step up with things we never imagined,” he said.

Contos is specifically seeking items from the band’s 1964 performance at the New York World’s Fair. This was the band’s last trip as Joliet Township High School, before the school district created East, West and Central campuses.

Upcoming events

In addition to the museum display, several events are planned for band fans this summer and fall.

October gala: The Joliet Township High School band program has been named the DreamMaker to be featured at the annual gala for the Joliet Area Historical Museum. The gala, the DreamMakers Ball, will be Oct. 6.

Summer concert: Around 120 alumni — from a variety of years and from throughout the country — will perform a centennial concert for the community July 29 at Joliet Central High School.

The concert will include alumni from the Joliet Central, West and East campuses and the old Joliet Township High School.

Dinner: The Band Alumni Association will present a celebratory dinner on July 28 at the Carpenters Hall, 1407 Essington Road. Cost is $35.

Band beginnings

Joliet Township High School was founded in 1901. A.R. McAllister became the band’s full-time director in December 1913.

“By 1917, it was recognized as the finest high school band in the state. In 1923, the band was invited to St. Louis as the official band of the 40th district Rotary convention,” wrote Lynne Lichtenauer, director of alumni relations, in her history of the band.

Under McAllister’s leadership, the band won state championships in 1924, 1925 and 1926, and national championships in 1926, 1927 and 1928.

The band took national titles again in 1931, 1933, 1935, 1938 and 1940. McAllister led the band until his death in October 1944.

Museum display

Heather Bigeck, collections and exhibits manager at the museum, showed The Herald-News an array of donated and loaned items from a century of band history.

1953 baton: The late Art Coote donated his drum major baton, used in the band’s performance in the inauguration parade of President Eisenhower in 1953 in Washington, D.C.

Bigeck said of the baton: “I believe at one time it was actually battery operated, because there’s a little toggle switch here, but unfortunately the bottom part of the pole is missing. But it does lead me to believe that it had a strobe light effect. That’s really neat.”

McAllister medal: Coote also had a collection of medals that he had acquired from the band.

Bigeck believes that one of those medals actually belonged to McAllister. The medal has McAllister’s name engraved on the back, and on the top is the word “Director.”

Drum major uniform: Rich Larson has loaned the museum his drum major uniform from 1960. The museum also is displaying his school jacket, with the same blue and gold colors.

McAllister horn: A donor has given the museum an E flat alto horn, which Bigeck believes McAllister used during his early career with the band.

“We’re not quite sure of the dates. The donor paperwork didn’t list any further information,” Bigeck said.

McAllister cornet: A relative of McAllister has loaned the museum a gold-colored cornet, which has an interesting legend behind it.

“McAllister, as a young child, actually sold his prize-winning pig at the Will County Fair. I believe it was an $8 profit that he had received, and he traded that money in to buy this cornet,” Bigeck said.

“I’ve heard that story as a rumor. It’s been in some music journal articles and band programs,” she said. “But when his relative actually contacted me, a descendant, he even reiterated that story. So it must be a family tradition story as well. As you can see, it’s a beautiful piece, working keys and everything.”

Bigeck believes the patent date on the cornet is 1886.

“So we think he probably played this around the turn of the century, probably 1900 to 1910, something like that,” Bigeck said.

McAllister picture: The museum is displaying a prominent picture of McAllister, probably from the 30s or early 40s, from the collection of Joliet historian Dr. Robert Sterling.

This picture is included in many old music programs. It also is on display in the band room at Joliet Central High School.

Early band photo: One band photo has proven to be somewhat of an enigma for the museum. It has to be from the band’s formative years, but exactly which year is a question.

“This would have been one of the earliest bands that ever performed at the school,” Bigeck said.

“I’ve seen copies of this photo in anniversary programs and brochures that were put out for the school, that actually had the caption underneath there: ‘Original 1914 Band,’ or something along those lines,” Bigeck said.

“But I’ve also seen this picture going back to the old yearbooks in 1916,” she said. “So we’re not 100 percent sure where this photo came from.”

There were no yearbooks published during the 1913-14 or the 1914-15 school year, because of a scarlet fever epidemic, Bigeck said.

“It’s hard to place where this actual photograph came from, but it does appear for the first time in the 1916 yearbook — same background, same setup, with the gentlemen holding their instruments and everything. So we do know it’s within about that two-year timespan.”

Contact information

Contos said all memorabilia loaned to the museum will be handled professionally. It will be documented, signed for, insured and returned at the time specified by the lender, he said. The museum is equipped with alarms and security to protect exhibits, he said.

The museum is often able to make reproductions of archival materials on site and return originals to the lender as soon as possible, Contos said.

If you have artifacts that you would like to see displayed, contact Heather Bigeck at h.bigeck@jolietmuseum.org.

If you are interested in making a financial donation, contact Tony Contos at t.contos@jolietmuseum.org, or contact Development Director Mike Brick at m.brick@jolietmuseum.org.

For more details about the DreamMakers Ball, contact Alethia Marx, special events manager, at a.marx@jolietmuseum.org.

For general information, call the museum at 815-723-5201, or visit online at www.jolietmuseum.org.

To read Lichtenauer’s band history, visit www.jths.org.

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