John Harbour believes that sometime during the spring of 1958 Bill 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:
Continue reading “Chapter 7”
In the spring of 1968, Herb Watson joined the staff full time as the Administrator to take over the duties of George Kusel. Watson had joined the Band of Musick in 1967. He was studying music at Old Dominion University in Norfolk and played in a recorder ensemble with Charles Hardin, who was a member of the Band of Musick. Hardin had introduced him to George Carroll. Herb’s innumerable duties over the years included administrator, music arranger and instructor. He remembers “there was a lot of administration when I started.” One of his most difficult duties was scheduling. As the number of performances grew over the years he had to keep track of all the scheduling while striving to assign jobs fairly.
Continue reading “Chapter 8”After Bill Geiger’s death in 1970, Earl Soles was appointed Director of Craft Shops. When George Carroll resigned in 1971, Soles, as supervisor of the Corps, was faced with a potential crisis of leadership for the Corps. Carroll’s replacement would be hard to find but the search began immediately.
Continue reading “Chapter 9”Bill White recalls the growth of the Corps in the 1970’s. He says “the waiting list was getting quite long and parents began putting names on the list when the kids were born. There also was a big explosion in programs: the Militia came under John Moon; the Musick Teacher’s room was inaugurated; African American programs were started; and there were many special events.”
Continue reading “Chapter 10”Editor’s Note. During the Revolutionary War, there was only one so-called national regiment of American Troops called “Congress’ One,” or the “First Canadian” regiment. All others were raised and paid by the various 13 colonies. Although Gen. George Washington was the commander-in-chief, the Continental Army was a loose-knit affair. This article pertains to one of those regiments, the Virginia State Garrison, which was designed for Virginia’s internal defense, and not under Washington’s direct command.
Continue reading “Chapter 11”