OCR Text |
Show LETTERS TO THE EDITOR i TO THE EDITOR: Your editorial last week chastizing chas-tizing Cedar City school groups for nonsupport was received by our schools with mixed feelings. On behalf of the bands, I have been asked by the administration administra-tion to clarify our position concerning con-cerning the Santa Claus parade. I speak only for the school bands, not the merchants' floats, the pep club or any other entries that disappointed the Jaycee-Ettes. Jaycee-Ettes. Our school bands are fundamentally funda-mentally an educational force as are our English and mathematics classes. However, each year we receive from 23 to 35 requests to j participate In parades from as, far north as Logan, Salt Lake, I Orem, Provo, Richfield, Nephl.j Fillmore, and Parowan and as far j south as Hurricane, St. George,1 Las Vegas and Pasadena. This is i In addition to a request coming! to me two or three times each month for parades In Cedar City. I May I assure your readers that each of these parades is import-, ant, particularly to the organlza-1 tion sponsoring the parade. I It Is Impossible to ask our school musicians to continually, sacrifice Saturday Jobs and vacations va-cations for parades, but this still does not mean that one parage is more important than the other. Some parades come at more opportune op-portune times than olhers. Your editorial demanded reasons rea-sons why we failed to particl- pate in this particular parade, Nov. 30. 1. The high school band was( in concert season, having prepared pre-pared a student body concert and Is preparing a guest artist conceit. This is comparable to having a footoail team for a Fourth of July events or a baseball base-ball game on a crisp December afternoon. In other words, marching march-ing season ends after the first snow. 2. Our Junior high band could, have participated in this parade; save the fact that it was during the Thanksgiving vacation and I a large portion of the band was out of town. This included the drum majoriette and several key, players. j 3. Inclement weather made It impossible for the remaining j members to practice. Remember these Instruments are mechanical mechani-cal in nature and freezing weather weath-er causes the oil and grease in valves and keys to become sluggish slug-gish and not allow the mechanisms mechan-isms to respond. Even the band that participat-ed participat-ed experienced difficulty owing to the cold. A final word as to the chagrin of having Hurricane High School band march in a Cedar City parade. pa-rade. I can only say, more power to them and all our other fine bands in this area who do not receive the opportunities to march that we do. Parades of this type will stimulate and inspire in-spire them to greater efforts. May I remind our readers that no one wrote to the editor when the Cedar band marched in Hur ricane for Peach Days ana no ! band from Washington County i participated. In closing may I say that It is unfortunate that this Incident . has received this much criticism. Our bands have endeavored to support our community functions, whenrver possible, in addition to our school obligations. I It's not lose sight of the fact that our school music groups mal-re an Important contribution to our community life and let's not let one unpleasant Incident overshadow the many fine appearances ap-pearances our bands make in Cedar Ce-dar City nnd throughout the West each year. We sincerely appreciate apprec-iate the unqualified support we receive from our community and we have always endeavored to make an appearance whenever AS I SEC IT The world Is so changed, that I know the Pilgrims who caine over here have turned over In their graves. For when they came over, their hearts and minds were free. They had no fear of doing anything; but believed in pushing forward. They had very little money to worry about and had no syndicate looking down their necks. They Just kept pushing push-ing forward with hope and high spirits. But now what have we got? A government full of fear-fear fear-fear of Inflation, fear of depression, depres-sion, fear of unemployment, fear of war; fear of sputnik, fear of drought, fear of floods. I am amazed, at the line of thinking that some of our big shots who run the government have in times when we should have sound thinking and good common com-mon sense. As I see it, this sputnik scare did give Ike and the big shots in Washington a break. They get the OK to send more billions cf dollars over to foreign lands. And now I see where Ike Is going to cut our tariff protection another 25 which will Just about wipe out all the protection that we have had. However, he did raise the tariff on safety pins. The bank and loan companies have sure tightened their belt. They must be expecting to hit an air pocket. For in my opinion there isn't anything else that could happen. Tt would sure he nice If we had a real Farmers and Live Stock bank somewhere in this vicinity. A bank that has confidence in the future of the livestock and farming business. With the business conditions as they are today they are as bad as in 1932. I think this is another anoth-er case of fear. Clarence Laxnoreaux |