The First Generation 1958-1959
By 1958 the Militia was performing regularly at special events, but without a fife and drum corps. A decision was made to bring a recognized New England fife and drum corps to perform during the 1958 Prelude to Independence ceremonies in May. One of the oldest and best New England corps was chosen, the Lancraft Fife and Drum Corps from North Haven, Connecticut. The Lancraft Corps put on an impressive performance with the Militia for the Prelude to Independence ceremonies. The visit demonstrated how a viable fife and drum corps could perform with the Militia and add a significant dimension to the ceremony or performance and thus improve the visitors’ experience.
Bill Geiger had two drummers, Lindsey and Teal, but he needed fifers, and there were no teenage fifers in Williamsburg. Geiger lived on the Duke of Gloucester Street in the “John Crump House” next door to John Harbour, Jr., who lived in “Burdette’s Ordinary”. Mr. Harbour was Director of Presentation for Colonial Williamsburg. In 1961 he would be promoted to Director, Division of Presentation and Vice President. The Harbours had a fifteen year old son, John (then known as Evans), who was in the ninth grade at James Blair High School and who played saxophone in the school marching band. Geiger approached Mr. Harbour to ask if John would be willing to learn to play the fife and to recruit other school band members to become fifers, and John agreed to give it a try. John (hereinafter Harbour) believes that sometime during the spring of 1958 Geiger sent his assistant Bob Reveille to the Harbour house with a half dozen fifes. The fifes were marked “Geo. Cloos, Crosby Model, Key of Bb, Penzel-Mueller, New York”. Harbour describes the fifes as follows:
The Cloos fife that we played had a rich musical heritage. German woodwind instrument makers, George and Frederick Cloos operated a factory in Brooklyn, N.Y. from 1862 to 1945. They produced a fife called the Crosby model, patterned after a popular Civil War fife made by Walter Crosby of Boston. The distinguishing characteristic of the fife is the long tapered ferrules of German silver. They were one-piece, cylindrical bore instruments with six irregularly sized and placed tone holes. After the death of founder George Cloos in 1915, his son Frederick continued to make fifes until the company was purchased by Penzel-Mueller in 1946. Penzel-Mueller operated the business for 10 years before closing it down. My Cloos fife is identical to the description of the original Cloos fife except that it is in two pieces. The mouthpiece slides into the body, thus producing a tuning slide. This must be a modification made by Penzel-Mueller. This feature would date my fife to 1946-56. Since the factory closed in 1956 and our fifes were not purchased until early 1958, there must have been excess inventory that was purchased by other musical instrument dealers.
John Harbour, on fifes
It appears the fifes were purchased on the recommendation of the Lancraft Corps. In a photo of Lancraft’s 1958 visit to Williamsburg, they appear to be playing the same fife, which is easily recognizable because of the long silver ferrules and the silver band where the fife broke apart for tuning. On April 7, 1958, Geiger sent Reveille a memo asking him to contact a New York City company, Gary Newcom and Son, for information about fifes; however, it cannot be determined if this is the company that the fifes actually came from or if they were purchased directly from Penzel-Mueller.
Geiger’s goal was to have a Colonial Williamsburg fife and drum corps perform during the July 4, 1958, special performance of the Militia.
The next step was for Harbour to learn to play the fife. He taught himself the fingering for the fife by playing the scales on his saxophone with the help of his father who played the scales on a piano. Music for the fifes also was a problem because there was none available. Harbour describes their solution as follows:
The next problem was music. We had none. Bill Geiger collected military music records and he provided them as a source. So, we did it the hard way. With my father picking out the tune on a piano and me playing the corresponding note on the fife, we successfully learned and wrote the music for our first tune – ‘Yankee Doodle.’ Next came ‘British Grenadiers’ which we did the same way, but with an interesting twist. Bob Reveille whistled it for us. The third tune was ‘Washington’s Quickstep’ which we learned using an orchestral arrangement.
John Harbour
Harbour then recruited Chuck Miller to play the fife. Miller was a James Blair senior and played clarinet in the school band. Lindsay and Teal, who had been the single drummers for the Militia, were brought in and the group began rehearsals under Harbour’s leadership. The rehearsals were in the basement of “Burdetts’ Ordinary”, the Harbour’s house on the Duke of Gloucester Street and the first “headquarters” of the Corps. Harbour recalls one of the Corps’ first practice marching sessions with the Militia as follows:
One of my most vivid memories is an early morning practice marching session on Richmond Road near the William and Mary Stadium. Chuck Miller and I were having trouble playing the fifes and although Jim Teal and Alan Lindsey were keeping a steady beat on the drums, we simply could not all play and march in step. The practice was cancelled, the militia went to work in the craft shops and we went to school.
John Harbour
On July 4, 1958, the efforts of Geiger and other Colonial Williamsburg officials, and of the first four Corps members – Harbour and Miller on fifes and Lindsey and Teal on drums – was realized. The Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums made their debut performance on July 4, 1958. The payroll for the performance lists: Allen Lindsey… $7.00; Charles Miller … $7.00; James Teal… $7.00; and Evans Harbour…$9.00.
From the very beginning the single drummers, and later the Corps, were paid for their performances. This practice would prove to be a very important factor in the growth of the Corps. Compensating the young musicians conveyed to them the importance of their jobs and provided a financial incentive for them to remain with the Corps and thus provide experienced fifers and drummers who could be counted on to attend the musters and special events and to train younger replacements.
While Geiger was the driving force behind the Militia and the Corps, he had the support of both his boss, John Harbour, Jr., and Carlisle Humelsine, the President of Colonial Williamsburg. Without their support the Corps would not have been possible. Humelsine’s support of the Corps would remain steadfast over the years, including an important part in the Corps’ history thirteen years later, when Humelsine gave unconditional support to John Moon in 1972 upon Moon’s employment as Music Master.
The support of others in the Colonial Williamsburg family also was important, including Lloyd “Nick” Payne, “Captain” of the Militia, and Luther Mitchell, Harbour’s assistant and the “Ensign” of the Militia, who is seen carrying the flag in many of the early photos. Earl Soles, Geiger’s assistant, also was an early supporter of the Corps. In 1971 he succeeded Geiger as Director of the Craft Shops, which included responsibility for the Corps.
Chuck Miller graduated from James Blair High School in June of 1958, and he would be leaving to enter college that fall. To fill the position Harbour recruited a classmate, Linc Peters, to be Miller’s replacement. The Corps remained at four members during the fall of 1958 and spring 1959. During this time, they appeared several times with the Militia including performances over the Christmas holidays.
On February 26, 1959, Harbour, Peters, Lindsey and Teal were included in an organizational meeting of the Militia. There was a total of 25 participants, including the four fifers and drummers. Topics included organization of the Militia, drill schedules, rules and regulations, special events, plans for the future, presentation of drill manual and pay procedures. Inclusion of the Corps at this meeting recognized its success and gave a signal that it was here to stay. The Militia, with the Corps, was about to begin a program of regularly scheduled Tuesday and Friday Militia musters, from April through August.
Colonial Williamsburg officials continued to communicate with leaders in the fife and drum field, including the renowned drum instructor and drum maker S.A. (“Gus”) Moeller. In a February 12, 1959, letter to Reveille, Moeller refers to “our visit next Wednesday” in Mount Vernon, New York, at his shop “where Grand Republic Drums are created.” The Corps did not purchase drums from Moeller because he became ill (he passed away in 1960). However, in 1960, Colonial Williamsburg purchased its first drums from Buck Soistman.
In a March 23, 1959, memorandum, Geiger wrote:
I was very much pleased with the initial practice and was quite satisfied with the large crowd who assembled at the Magazine in order to observe the Militia. However, I believe a number of things could be done immediately in order to improve this presentation. I should like to suggest the following things:
1. … We should march from the Magazine to Market Square with drums and music playing, march once around the Green and then form a Rank Entire.
2. I believe we should make as much use of the fife and drum corps in actually playing as is possible during our ceremony. After we disperse for individual drill, the officer in charge of the music should see that his unit drills and plays fairly constantly while we are on the field. The music and drums add a lot of color to this event.
3. I had a chance on the afternoon of the drill to discuss such matters as these with both Mr. Goodbody and our Treasurer, Mr. Jones. While they were very pleased with the first show, they did feel that steps such as those I described in this memorandum would keep the program moving more quickly and provide more color. I hope that you will incorporate these slight modifications to the very excellent program you worked out for the next drill.
Memorandum from Bill Geiger, March 23, 1959
As can be seen in this memo, Geiger was a very hands-on manager of the Militia and the Corps. According to Mrs. Lloyd Payne, Captain Payne’s widow, Geiger also loved to perform in costume with the early Militia and Corps, and he can be seen carrying a flag in many of the early photos of the Corps.
The spring of 1959 saw the first expansion of the Corps. Fifers Alan Ringgold and Robert Wellman and drummer Lynn Sharp joined in April and fifers Johnny Ruffin and Fred Savage and drummer Talmadge Alphin joined in June, bringing the corps to 10 members – six fifers and four drummers. The next expansion of the Corps would occur a year later in the spring of 1960.
In May 1959, the Lancraft Corps appeared for the second time in Williamsburg to perform during the Prelude to Independence Ceremonies. They put on another first-class performance, which further aided Geiger’s efforts to grow and improve the Corps. The 1958 and 1959 performances by the Lancraft Corps helped to galvanize plans to build the Corps. The Lancraft Corps’ website contains a reference to their 1958 and 1959 performances: “One of the outstanding events in the history of the Corps occurred in May 1958 when Lancraft was selected to attend a celebration in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. This affair was called “The Prelude to Independence” and lasted one week. The Corps was invited back in 1959 to be the official host Corps.”
Interest in the Militia and the Corps was growing. In a June 2, 1959, memorandum to John Goodbody, Vice President, Division of Presentation, Geiger wrote:
Recent requests for the appearance of our colonial Militia have clearly indicated the increasing popularity of this group. In 1954 and 1955, I pointed out the value of organizing such a group on a permanent basis. Our experience since that time has reinforced this contention.
The present organization of the Militia represents the first step in creating a unit which can appear twice a week on a regular basis and participate in our own special programs. This organization does not give us, however, the flexibility to utilize this truly unique organization in order to gain maximum value from the program.
The use of the Militia on any occasion and at any place desired by Colonial Williamsburg would appear a natural and logical extension of the roll of the Colonial Militia. The Militia could be one of our most effective public relations and promotion projects if it were utilized outside of Williamsburg on appropriate occasions. The appeal of the military is universal and our organization is today truly unusual when compared to any other group. The fact that its personnel are drawn from the same areas as the citizen soldier of the 18th century gives it a basic appeal. The authenticity of its drill, showmanship, and equipment are in keeping with the standards of Colonial Williamsburg. Its basic organization within Colonial Williamsburg is a guarantee that it will continue to provide an authentic picture of the citizen soldier of our early period. This picture lies somewhere between the rather comical organization we started with and the crack drill teams we sometimes see today.
The problem of an extended use of the Militia in Williamsburg and outside of Williamsburg is complicated by the primary responsibility of the majority of its members, the craftsmen. The Militia is a craft shop project and I should hope that it would so remain. The high morale of the craftsmen has made it possible and will continue to make the unit authentic.
It is proposed that we develop a larger and improved fife and drum group. We would work through the music director at James Blair High School paying a fee to him, to work with young boys in developing an authentic music program. We have enough information at the present time to permit this project. The boys would be paid for drills they participated in but not practice time. This system would provide continuity in our musical group, improve and expand our program, and provide the local high school with a unique musical group that the school could utilize in its band program.
Bill Geiger memorandum to John Goodbody, June 2, 1959
Throughout the spring, summer and fall of 1959, the Corps rehearsed on Saturdays and performed with the Militia at the twice weekly musters and for special events, including the Prelude to Independence, Independence Day, Public Times Ceremony and Christmas events. During this time the Corps acquired three small British Army drums with their distinctive “worm” design on the hoops. No record could be found of where these drums came from. According to George Carroll, one of them was sold almost immediately. The other two were replaced by drums purchased from Buck Soistman in 1960-1961. Soistman also loaned drums to the Corps during this period. The two remaining British Army Drums were sold in 1961 to Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas, a drummer who would remain active in fifing and drumming and spend nearly thirty years with the United States Marine Corps historical program. In 2008, he loaned the drums to the Corps alumni for a display of drums at the 50th anniversary banquet. In 2013 he sold one of these drums to a group of alumni who donated it to the Corps, and it is on display at the Fife and Drum Building.
In a November 9, 1959, memorandum to the Corps, Geiger advises them that they will be performing in the Public Times Ceremony on December 1, 1959. He then directs them to hold two special afternoon practice sessions. He adds “these two sessions should be devoted to the December 1st performance and to brushing up on the three songs we already know, and to learning a fourth if possible”. He then directs them to report to the Magazine on November 28th for an additional practice.
On December 18, 1959, the Corps performed in Colonial Williamsburg’s first Christmas season “Grand Illumination” of the city and also for the Christmas Guns program.
One can surmise that Geiger and others were well aware that the high school musicians could only progress so far. They had school studies and activities to deal with and they were not trained researchers. They only knew three or four tunes. The drummers did not have any training in 18th century style drumming. Harbour had become the leader of the Corps and they were good high school musicians with abundant talent, but without professional help they could not be expected to progress into a truly authentic 18th century fife and drum corps. That help would arrive in 1960.
© WHC 2018