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Show H WHEN WILLIAMS JOINED ! THE VILLAGE BAND L H In tho September American Maga- H zlne George Fitch, the well known H Illinois humorist, writes an amusing H piece entitled "The Homeburg Ma- 1 rlne Band," a truo and yet comical B report of the activities of a 'village 9 band. Following Is an extract tho I truth of which can bo corroborated I by imyone at all familiar with tho, H subject: "Wo used to watch every now cltl-H cltl-H zon like Russian detectives, only wo H searched them for horns Instead of H dynamlto. Soveral times a trombon-H trombon-H 1st came to town and then music ie-H ie-H vlved noticeably. But nono of them H lasted. Trombonists seem to bo tern-H tern-H peruraental, and when they nro not H changing Jobs thoy aro resigning from H the band because they aro not nl-H nl-H lowed to play enough solos. Our M greatest bonanza was b quiet chap 1 named Williams, who camo to town to work in the molding room of the M plow factory. At tor he had been 1 there a week we discovered that M he could play tho saxophone. No ono, M had over heard or eaten a saxophone H but wo looked It up and when we H found out what It was wo mndo it H rush for htm. At tho next prnctlco 1 he appeared with a bright sllvor in- B strument covered with two bushels H of koys and played a solo which H sounded llko three clarionets with H tho croup. Wo wopt for Joy and H elected him leader on tho spot. H "This caused Sim Atkinson to ro- B sign, of course, nnd ho took Ad and H Ed Smith with him nnd thoy romnln- H cd in dignified and nwful sllcnco for H two years. Hut wo did. not enro. Ono H saxophone was worth flvo baritones H and whllo Williams was in town wo' H were an objectof onvy to all of.tho H other bands around. Wo changed our namo to tho Homeburg Saxophono Rand, nnd tho way wo rubbed it into H Taynesvlllo was pitiful. Ho was a Uttlo fellow, Williams was, and short "r of wind, which caused him to gasp H n good deal during tho variation parts Hut ho was "Willing. Thoro was no shirk about him. Aftor a year our program usually consisted of cloven H saxophono solos nnd somo other pleco which could bo dono nlmost ontlroly on tho saxophono, and tho Jealous Pnyncsvlllnlns used to OBk why wo H "scd nineteen men to play tho rests . when ono man could hnvo produced H Js much Bllcnco nt far Iosb oxpoudo." 9 |