In the Marshall Independent of Nov. 20, 1982, Steve Olson wrote a story on the 1924 Lyon County Band. The photograph featured this week from the Lyon County Museum’s collection was taken of the 1924 Lyon County Band while the band was in St. Paul for the 6th annual American Legion Convention. The band took 2nd place at the convention competition. At 138 members, it was the largest band at the convention.

In order to play at the convention, the band gave little concerts around the county to raise money for train fare. The band traveled out on a Pullman car that was their home for three days. Once they arrived in the Twin Cities, the band engaged in a 12-mile march through St. Paul’s streets, playing their instruments the entire time.

For the 1982 story in the Marshall Independent, three of the band members, Ralph Moon, Edgar Jones, and Kenneth Morgan were interviewed. Kenneth Morgan recalled in the article that he remembered being so tired that every time his drumsticks fell out of his hands, people would run up to return them to him. Morgan, who in 1924 was 21 years old, was the only snare drummer in the entire ensemble. As a result, he had to struggle to make his drum heard. “I really had to hammer,” recalled Morgan. “I have never forgotten it. To a kid on the farm, that meant a whole lot to us. To attend an American Legion convention back then was something great.”

Most of the band’s membership came from Garvin. The entire Garvin City Band was incorporated into the county group. Most of the players learned their music from their fathers or were influenced by teachers or the city to take up an instrument. In the article, Edgar Jones said that “when I was a kid, my father played in the old, original Garvin band. He played the tenor upright (horn). I used to sit back in the closet and play the scales over and over so I wouldn’t bother anyone.”

The Lyon County Museum is working on a temporary exhibit on music, school/local/community bands, and ballrooms/dance halls in Lyon County. The exhibit will run October 2024-May 2025, and it will be located in the conference room on the 2nd floor of the museum. We are looking for items, photographs, and information to include in the exhibit either on loan or donated to the museum. Examples include uniforms, photographs, instruments, posters, music businesses, records, ticket stubs, etc…. from Lyon County. Here are a few items we have in our collection that will be in the exhibit: Amiret Community Band cap, Lyon County Band photograph, the Cavemen record and poster, Blue Moon Ballroom posters/jackets/ashtray, Don’s Ballroom in Ghent items, posters from the Sammy Jensen Band, music trophies, and Marshall High School band uniforms to name a few. Please give me a call at the museum at 507-537-6580 to discuss items for the exhibit.

The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 West Lyon Street in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open year-round to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.