The "Starlighters"

My music education started in the fifth grade at Winfield. As a student of promise I was given special lessons in trombone at Southwestern College and singularly advanced to the high school band and orchestra as a seventh grader. In October of my eighth grade year transferal was made to Cedar Vale and I remained there until October of my senior year when Dexter was my high school destination. It was my good fortune to have had good instrumental instruction throughout those years ... and to have been associated with some good musicians.

It has been my experience that friendships are sometimes difficult to categorize as they seem to change as fortunes ebb and flow. Though I feel that I was friendly with most everyone in high school, I would probably classify my better friends in Cedar Vale to have been Don Shaffer and Tom Gordon. Dexter's friends would possibly highlight Bill Marker and Howard Gray. My first "real" kiss was with Thayce Townsend and life for me forever changed. Prior to my marriage I quite naturally had an attraction for many fine young women. A list of those names would have indeed been lengthy and only now am I ready to bare my soul (to those young feelings) and provide more information than you would most likely wish to know. Those to whom I was especially attracted during my years at Winfield, Cedar Vale, and Dexter would have included Nancy Hankins, Virginia Craig, Donna Champlin, Elizabeth Robinson, Wilma Radcliff, and (of course) Pat Oltjen.

Following high school graduation my next concern was education as my maturity level was (finally) catching up to my age. My interest was in business and my dream was to attend Kansas University. After performing a trombone solo at the league sports banquet the speaker (Glen Cunningham, a former world class miler at KU) asked that my coach relay information that he be contacted should I be interested in attending KU. My mother was having serious mental difficulties (later professionally diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia) and she wanted me to attend school "close to home". The band instructor at Dexter (Mr. Lilly) was a graduate of Central Oklahoma State just outside Oklahoma City. He took me there for an audition and I was granted a scholarship which would result in no cost for Dad who was steadily being enveloped in major problems due to my mother's developing difficulties.

Mom continued her insistence that I stay closer to home so I had an audition with the instrumental music director at Southwestern. He offered a scholarship which allowed some tuition reduction along with a job as band librarian that would "take care of my room and board". After I agreed to the offer the instructor later that summer accepted a position at another school. After enrolling at Southwestern it was found that in fact the wages of the job did not come close to what was agreed. I met with the dean of men but he did not rectify the situation. Under the circumstances I decided to delay my educational pursuits.

The Air Force was my destination and I was excited toward the possibility of being placed in a career field that would lead to a good job in civilian life along with the future benefits of the "GI Bill". The Lackland Air Force Band, (Basic Training), allowed me to keep my trombone involved to actually somewhat lessen extra duty chores. The Captain of this organization encouraged me to apply to the Air Force Band as a service career. Though I was never a good musician per se', I was a good trombone player and was accepted into the band program. At this time during the Korean War many professional musicians had been joining the Air Force rather than be drafted. I was sent to Savannah, Georgia to be a trombonist in a top Air Force Dance Band serving the Southeastern part of the United States. The "Starlighters" was the name of our excellent band for which I was to spend the next four years performing. This dance band was composed of many of those said professional musicians and I was delighted at my good fortune to be part of this elite group. We traveled and performed at Air Force functions and were a recruitment tool which allowed us to perform at many more private affairs.

We were routinely provided with dance band arrangements. They were not used but instead we had two excellent arrangers within the band. They arranged the numbers for concerts and dances with the sound of Count Basie or other "Big Bands" of the era. At times, I brought the unused "stock" arrangements that were provided us to Mr. Beggs for his use. One of our arrangers went on the road with the McGuire Sisters as their arranger (and piano player) following his tour of duty. As the professional musicians filtered out of the service the quality of our band diminished as top replacements did not continue to enlist in the Air Force.

Though primarily a dance band performing at service clubs and officer's clubs we also played urban civic centers as part of recruitment dances or concerts along with a multitude of other activities. We performed at a dance in Florida honoring newly crowned Miss America (Lee Ann Meriweather). We spent a week at Daytona Beach playing for dances and events around what later was to become the "Daytona 500". Our conductor at one of those events was Paul Whiteman. During this time I was also a member of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra. Our conductor was Chauncey Kelley (formerly the conductor of the ABC Orchestra) and many of our members were of the disbanded "Longines Symphonette". This was a different experience from the dance band and at times I would almost completely lose myself in being part of such beautiful and soul enriching compositions. This wonderful organization provided an attractive piece of silver for Pat and me as our wedding gift.

None of the earlier mentioned ladies of my youth seemed to "positively" notice my attention. Some of them likely never realized my interest and those that did politely managed to give me avoidance. Certainly, none of them took pity upon me as did poor Pat Oltjen. During a leave from my Air Force duties I proposed to her and presented her an engagement ring. Her dad was very dubious of the ring's qualities (and probably his daughter's choice of a mate). Nevertheless we were married on May 29, 1955 and my life forever took a quite positive direction.

The Chief Warrant Officer of the band in Savannah knew of my lack of interest in being a professional musician but was aware of my desire for an education to help in the journey of life. He was a graduate of Central Oklahoma State and had a small acreage close to the school. He offered my small family a place to live without cost with our obligation only to "keep the place up". A fellow musician was a close friend of the director of music at a university in Louisiana and offered an outstanding and unbelievable opportunity. Instead, I accepted an offer to work at the Cedar Vale National Bank. A future in business awaited me as Pat, young son Graham and I "headed home" in November 1957.