MEMORIES OF JOHN T. HAIGHT'S BANDS FROM THE 1930s

Written by Jim Ring


During Mr. Haight's time as band director, his top requirement from all boys in the band was discipline and respect. You learned how to march, stay in step with straight lines, and obey all the rules. One rule that was strictly enforced was no band member smoked at any time, even away from the band. Anyone caught smoking was immediately dismissed from the band. There were no second chances. It was said that Mr. Haight examined the instruments and cases of anyone suspected of smoking.

Those days basketball and football teams were known as light weights and heavy weights. The band always played at Beyer Field for football, and in later years at the new National Guard Armory on N. Main St. Everyone played and there were no excuses except for illness. The band played before the light weight game, and then at the light weight half time some minor formations on the field, then between games, then major formations at the heavy weight half time, then a march or two at the end of the game. No band player was allowed to eat any treats during the evening. One winter night, it was so cold, Mr. Haight advised us before hand to wrap newspaper around our chest and mid-section under the band uniform to keep warm. Overcoats were allowed that night, but they had to be removed when the band performed on the field.

Mr. Haight's Bands were a boy's band only. No girls and rightly so. On good days, when things went well, Mr. Haight always had a story or some sense of humor for the band. His stories could be told anywhere but mainly for an all boys band.

The story goes, in Mr. Haight's early career, his high school band, one of the first in the nation, was invited out of state to march in a parade. John Phillip Sousa's band was also in the parade and scheduled to lead the parade. Sousa stepped aside and allowed Mr. Haight's high school to lead the parade. Quite an honor! Mr. Haight did not allow many alto saxophones in the band. Sometimes only two. He preferred baritone saxes. To stay in the band many boys had to switch from alto to baritones. Many years ago, a wealthy Rockford man (name unknown) was a heavy financial contributor to the band. His son was caught in a wrongdoing and dismissed from the band. No second chance. Not a pleasant situation.

In early days, safe-cracking and robbing of a safe was quite common. To quote Mr. Haight, "Any boy that blows a horn, will never blow a safe."

Once a year Mr. Haight took the entire band to Lake Ripley, Wis., for an overnight weekend. That weekend the band played a concert in the town square at Cambridge, Wis.

Once a week certain sections of the band were required to practice before school started. Nobody was ever late or missed these practices.

The band room at old Central High school must have been an afterthought. As I recall it was the only room on the fourth floor, with one rather narrow stairway leading to it. One door for in and out! By today's standard, a real fire trap. Once a year the band had a banquet planned by Mr. Haight. It was a dress up girl and boy date affair. The last years at Rockford Central, the banquet was held at Schrom's Restaurant on S. Main St., Rockford. All boys paid their own way.

My years in the Rockford Central High School Band were fun and enjoyable under Mr. Haight's direction.

James A. Ring

Class of 1940

[Here is Jim Ring with members of Rockford's own Old Towne Band laughing at another of Director Mark Rose's jokes.]



[RHS graduate Bob Glenny on clarinet]

Interview with Bob Glenny
May 8, 1999

Bob Glenny said his "best lessons" were with John Haight. Haight told him that he would, "start out playing 3rd clarinet, then the next year on 2nd, and later 1st." Haight taught "more psychology" than any psychology teacher although Haight often threw his baton! Once, after Bob Glenny squeaked out a note during practice, Mr. Haight asked him to stand up and he said, "Bob, that note was so pure, but don't put it in there again." Haight did have strict rules and did not tolerate smoking because he threw out any band member caught smoking. In addition to being the Rockford High School band director, Haight served as the Guest Director for the U.S. Army Band. Mr. Haight retired in 1939, and even years later when he was 80 years old, Haight remembered everybody's name.

Like many other Rockford graduates from the bands, Bob Glenny continued with his music. Bob Glenny has his own 12-piece band that is not known very well around Rockford, but is well-known by senior citizens. His band recently played a concert for senior citizens and people showed up in many busses from places as far away as Michigan and Iowa.


[Bob Glenny watches Director Mark Rose create more mischief with children from the audience]



Interviews with Vito Dangelo
April 21, 1999 and May 8, 1999

Vito Dangelo began playing the clarinet and later switched to saxophone. He said that John T. Haight was a disciplinarian but he had a "soft inner core." Before becoming the band director at Rockford High School, Haight played in the Barnum and Bailey band and Vito Dangelo said that band had a lot of "hard people" in it. Haight would "chastize us" for playing a new tune poorly, but later when the band learned and knew the piece, he would cry. Haight played the trumpet and he often yelled too much at the trumpet players, but when they finally played correctly, he cried. He would also "say he was sorry [that he yelled] and that he didn't mean it." Haight was "stern," something that is lacking today.

Besides playing in the band, Vito Dangelo also played football. Haight was "good at making formations" on the field and "everybody had their own number for the field." During one practice, Haight noticed there were holes in the formation and discovered some of the band members were at football practice. He gave them a choice, band or football, not both. Vito chose band "of course" and that he had "no broken bones" from band!

Haight had no tolerance for students who broke rules, especially smoking and chewing gum. Anyone caught with chewing gum during study hall had to wear it on their nose. In the school band room which was already getting old, Haight would stand in the doorway and all the band members had to squeeze past him and if any of them smelled like smoke, they were in trouble. "One kid with an influential dad, who owned his own instrument smelled like smoke." Haight did not care that his dad contributed money to the band, he broke the no smoking rule so Haight "kicked him out." Another rule was that there would be no girls in Haight's band because he thought they would not be able to march. Haight yelled too much and told stories that were not appropriate for girls to hear.

Haight did have to tolerate a few things. On Fridays before the football games, the school sent the band out marching in the street to advertise the game. Haight did not like this role for the band and he lost his temper on one Friday because at that time the drums were constructed from pig skin and the rain caused the drums to break.

Every year after school let out for vacation in June, the band and the fathers of the band travelled to Lake Ripley in Cambridge, Wisconsin. They went for the weekend, had picnics, and performed Saturday night and Sunday morning for the local church services. Vito Dangelo did not have a dad then and could not afford the $2 cost for going to Lake Ripley. He told Haight that he could not afford the $2, so Haight put him to work in the band room repadding the saxes and repairing the corks on the clarinets so he earned his way to Wisconsin. Vito Dangelo "really admired" Haight.

At Haight's retirement, his former band members worked together to buy him a television set, which was a rare item at that time.




[Don Bender on Tenor Sax]

Interview with Don Bender
May 8, 1999

Don Bender played the tenor sax under the direction of John T. Haight. He said that Mr. Haight did not like the saxophone, especially the alto sax. Mr. Haight only like the baritone saxophone because it "made the low notes sound like a string bass." After he graduated from Rockford High School, Don Bender played in the Howie Wright Band along with fellow graduate Vito Dangelo. [See Don Bender along with Vito Dangelo from the 1936 Yearbook. Vito Dangelo is also in the 1934 Yearbook along with Robert "Bob" Gulbrantson.]

Interviews with Bob Gulbrantson
April 21 & 22, 1999

Bob Gulbrantson played 1st chair baritone for Rockford High School until his graduation in 1935. He wanted to play the drums, but when he was there, no drums were available for him to play. He said the John T. Haight had both a sense of humor and a temper. When he first started an intense rehearsal, he would first loosen his necktie. Then, the jacket came off and "somebody better be ready" to catch his jacket as he threw it. Some of the things that John T. Haight said when he became angry that can be printed (not all of his words can be printed!) were, "You Rockfordites!" and "You Cheapskate Grandstanders!" He always told the members during rehearsals of the particularly tricky piece "Pizzacato Polka" to, "Hold your water."

"Everybody liked him," Bob Gulbrantson said of Mr. Haight and he had "eccentricities." Echoing what others interviewed said about Haight, Bob Gulbrantson said he "taught psychology." Haight did not like the idea of having girls play in the band. He frequently said, "What would we do now if we had girls in the band?" Also, he said that Haight did not like the idea of having the band advertise the basketball games. On one Friday, as some of the members carried a banner with the information advertising the game on a windy and rainy day, some of the drums broke in the rain. Besides advertising the basketball games, the band played in concerts that charged admission so that the members could raise money for new uniforms.

Bob Gulbrantson enjoyed going to the football games Friday nights at Beyer Field as Rockford played other schools such as Freeport, East Aurora, West Aurora, and Elgin. Football fans (even those from Rockford) brought cabbages to throw into the tubas. Haight did not find this amusing and put covers over the tubas to discourage the fans from throwing cabbages. Bob also enjoyed going to Lake Ripley in Wisconsin for the weekend and playing a concert in the park on Saturday and one in the church on Sunday morning. At one of these concerts, as a joke, one of Bob's friends put a June bug into his baritone.

Once, John Haight wanted to give the band members something in appreciation. Bob Gulbrantson said, "He took it upon himself to make gifts." Each band member received red felt cut out in the shape of an upside down French horn with an "R" on it. This gift from Haight, "made the Board feel cheap so the next year the band members got medals."

After John Haight retired, Mr. Elmquist replaced him. Prior to taking over, Mr. Elmquist taught the band for Roosevelt Junior High. After Haight retired, one of his former students, Paul Boynton, went to visit him at his farm. Haight really impacted Paul Boynton's career because he became a professional musician due to his participation with the band. After Boynton graduated from Rockford High School, he played for the Rockford Symphony and later for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, [one of the world's best orchestras]. [Paul Boynton is pictured in the 1936 yearbook.]

After Bob Gulbrantson graduated, he did play the drums. His brother had a combo [small band] and he played the drums for it during the 1940s. Bob's son also learned the drums, beginning at age nine.


[Norm Carlson on clarinet]

Interview with Norm Carlson
May 8, 1999

Norm Carlson played clarinet in the Rockford East High School Marching Band under the direction of Mr. Allen Elmquist. He attended the 50th Anniversary Concert of the Rockford High School Band in 1957. He said it was a great thrill to see John T. Haight, Allen Elmquist, and Gordon Bueschel all on the same stage together for the concert.

[Here is the program from the 50th Anniversary Concert, courtesy of the private collection of Katy Bueschel and Tom Bueschel]

Interview with Sylva Hendrick
April 23, 1999

Sylva Hendrick was a teacher at Rockford Central High School at the same time as John T. Haight. Haight was "quite a presence at Old Central." She said that during 1930, Mr. Haight took the marching band to Washington D.C. to march in the Presidential Inaugural Parade. No one at the time was really sure if the Rockford High School Marching Band was invited to the Presidential Inauguration or not and Sylva Hendrick thought they were not invited!! She thought that former band members from 1930 would know for certain.

[Editor's note: I did not locate anyone from the 1930 band, and former members from around 1935 did not know for certain if their predecessors went to Washington D.C. The Owl, Rockford High School's student newspaper, nor the yearbook from that time period mentioned anything about the band playing in or travelling to Washington D.C. Mr. Haight either took the band to Washington D.C. or else this is one of the stories that circulated about this legendary band director.--Kay Shelton]







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