Old Missoula

The Sound of Music by James Eversole

The pioneers who first settled Missoula a hundred years ago were a hardy lot. They had to be for the type of life they elected to live was a rough one. But even they recognized that entertainment and relaxation were vitally important for their wellbeing.

Music was a part of Missoula from the time the town was first built. The first band to be organized was Bob Pelkey’s String Band formed in the mid-1860s. It consisted of seven or eight pieces and played quite frequently for balls and dances around town. The December 1, 1870 issue of the Missoula Pioneer had this to say about this august group: “The chivalric members of the Missoula String Band are tendered the thanks of the editor . . . for the delicious strains.” Mr. Pelkey was also sheriff of Missoula at the time, though we cannot assume any connection between his high office and the editor’s glowing comments.

The Gem Theater Band was another organization in activity during this early part of Missoula’s history. The members of this group also played in the Missoula City Band which was formed during the 1880s.

Dancing came to Missoula early, also. The first dancing school was opened in Missoula in 1870 by J. B. Cavan who provided lute and mandolin lessons for his pupils. The school was a great success and lasted quite a few years.

The saloons and bars provided entertainment for heir patrons. The programs varied from the common dancing girl and honky-tonk players to lady artists executing the can-can with different variations.

Missoula’s First Piano

The first piano came to Missoula in 1875. It was an old square Steinway that was shipped by rail from Galena, Illinois, to Helena. Since there was no railroad to Missoula in those days, it had to be shipped from Helena by other means. A wagon was tried but the roads were too rough and steep for it. Finally, the instrument was strapped to the backs of mules and brought over the mountains that way. It was delivered unharmed to its new Missoula owner.

Music in the Schools

The first school in Missoula was a public school established in 1869 and the Sacred Heart Academy established in 1873. The first school band was organized in 1895 and consisted of fifteen boys. It was considered improper for a girl to toot a horn in those days.

The leaders of the all brass band were M. R. C. Smith and John Barneycoat. Horace Warden, Bill Dickinson and Gil Heyfron were among the early members.

Music became a definite part of the high school curriculum in 1906. Records of 1911 show that three students, Lawton Beckwith, Earl Denel and Bernice Berry (Ramskill) performed musically for various events. An extra-curricular activity at the high school in 1915 was the forty-member all-girl vocal organization called the Farrarian Club. By 1929 the high school had an orchestra, a band, the Aeolian Glee Club, the Accelerando Glee Club and the Presto Glee Club.

The depression made its mark on music in Missoula. The high school band was discontinued until 1935 when the MSU Band gave a benefit concert to raise funds to start again the high school band. The late Stanley Teel served as the first director of the reformed band, and it has since continued and grown to its present eminence.

At Sacred Heart music was first taught by Sister Donat who came to Missoula from Boston in 1866[1]. Sister Donat was a fine musician who received her training from the New England Conservatory before entering the novitiate. She was widely known for her musical accomplishments and was honored by special concerts throughout her career. An item in the Daily Missoulian in a 1915 issue notes that the ladies of Missoula who had been pioneers and leaders in making the musical talent included Mrs. Agnes Lombard, Mrs. J. E. Power, Mrs. Blanche Whitaker, Mrs. T. A. Price and Sister Donat.

Music had its place in the University life from the time the University first opened its doors in 1893. Previews and reviews in The Daily Missoulian of that era show that University music was held in high esteem. Ethel Orvis, Zona Shull, Bernice Berry and Dorothy Green were some of the important performers during the first 20 years of the University. Mrs. Whitaker was the first director of the University music department. Leo Weisburg, who later became the University orchestra director, was a constant performer on University programs. Another early University music professor who figured prominently in University and town performances was Professor Gustav Fisher. In 1911 Deloss and Florence Smith joined the University staff and began to contribute many programs and recitals.

The City Band

The city band began quite early in Missoula’s history. The members of aforementioned Gem Theater Band for many years formed the nucleus of the city band. The local Moose organization gave the band a helping hand in the early 20^th century and in the 1920s the city itself started the millage-based levy on which the band presently exists.

The band was quite active in the 1880s. One report from that decade tells of an Independence Day celebration that started at 9 a.m. with a parade, led by the city band. It was followed by a concert given by the city band on the town “Lawn.” At 2 the band became involved in a political rally and at 8 that evening the band started playing for dancing. The dance continued until three the following morning (our forbears were great for carousing, it seems). The bandsmen were paid $3 each for their work during the day and night.

Music – Private and Public

By 1910 Missoula had a population of over 5,000 people and judging from the newspapers and saved programs, many of them studied with the various local music teachers. Music became a permanent part of all the schools in Missoula after World War I and many of the public performances given by young students were held in the schools after then rather than in the teachers’ homes.

The playbills of Missoula between 1890 and 1915 carry the names of the great and near great actors and musicians of the time. Booth and Barrett, Modjeska, the Cohan’s, Anna Held and many others played and sang in Missoula at the Evans Opera House and later the old Union Hall. Still later another building was dedicated for use by the Primrose Minstrels and at the opening performance Missoula hears for the first time “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.” The Harnois Theater was opened in 1908 and many great artists were seen on its stage.

Thus the early Missoulians were entertained and taught. From these beginnings we have a high level of culture today.

Thanks are due to MSU graduate student Ursula Davis whose notes and papers on Missoula music and history have been invaluable in assembling this column.

 

The above article appeared in The Sunday Missoulian on July 17, 1960.

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