First Upper Peninsula district convention held
For the first and only time in the district's history, a contest and convention was held in the Upper Peninsula when the Sault Ste. Marie Chapter hosted the 1951 international preliminary and spring meeting on May 5, 1951. J. M. "Jack" Dollenmaier was elected president of the Michigan District. He had a long record of service to the Society. He was a past president of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Chapter and was general chairman of the international convention held there. Jack was the president of the Land O' Lakes District in 1956-57, and became the first man to have held the presidency of two districts when he was elected at this meeting. Loton Willson and Harold Stark were elected vice presidents while Lou Harrington and Clarence Jalving were reelected secretary and treasurer respectively. Mark Roberts became the immediate past president.
Tune Vendors |
Note Blenders |
Clef Dwellers
Merri Men
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The CLEF DWELLERS of Oakland County (with Ed Easley now singing baritone in place of Bill Johnston), the NOTE BLENDERS of Oakland County and the TUNE VENDORS of Dowagiac were the three quartets selected out of the nine competing in the preliminaries to represent the district in the international contest in Toledo on June 8-9, 1951. The MERRI-MEN of Lansing was named as the alternate quartet. The former Michigan quartet THE ANTLERS, who were perennial contenders in prior years, apparently had moved south to warmer climes in Florida, as they qualified for the international contest in the Dixie District preliminaries.
In the international quartet contest held in Toledo on June 8-10, 1951, the CLEF DWELLERS took the third place medal (their fourth medal in a row), the NOTE BLENDERS were finalists, and the TUNE VENDORS semi-finalists. According to the "Harmonizer" report, the scoring was so close that an eye patch would have covered the difference between second and fifth place in the final accounting.
And we bid for another international convention
At the International Board meeting held in Toledo in conjunction with the contest, a delegation from the Detroit area led by Bill Favinger, immediate past president of the Metropolitan Detroit Association of Chapters and Edward S. Piggins, former secretary of the Detroit Chapter, presented the case for the city as the scene for the Society's 1953 gathering to the members of the International Board. Bids were received also from Grand Rapids, San Diego and Washington, D.C. Detroit was selected after balloting by the Board.
Ed Smith |
Cecil Fisher |
In other business affecting the district, the International Board elected unanimously Edwin S. Smith of Wayne, Michigan, the first vice president, and International Secretary Adams was reelected for his tenth term. Cecil H. Fischer (term expiring June, 1953) and B. F. "Monty" Marsden (term expiring June, 1952) remained on the International Board as Michigan representatives.
One of the highlights of the quartet contest in Toledo was the joint Toledo–Metropolitan Detroit Chorus opening of the session. The combined chorus was under the direction of Tom Needham, and they wowed the audience.
Detroit celebrates Barbershop Day on 250th Anniversary
July 17, 1951, was set aside as Barbershop Day in connection with the City of Detroit's 250th Anniversary celebration. On that day, several quartets and the Metropolitan Detroit Chorus were featured in a program at Grand Circus Park and were well received. Soon after, the chorus made an appearance at the Remick Shell on Belle Isle with Margaret Whiting singing songs composed by her father, Dick Whiting.
Town Criers
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The 1951 district quartet contest and meeting was held in Saginaw on October 13. Assembled for a run at the district championship were the TOWN CRIERS of Kalamazoo, Hudson TREBLE MAKERS, ESQUIRES of Lansing, MERRI-MEN of Lansing, the ROYAL OAK QUARTET, CROW-MATIX, NIGHT HOWLS of Fenton, MEN OF ACHORD of Saginaw, OVERTONES of Benton Harbor, Muskegon FOUR-FATHERS, BEL-AIRES of Grosse Pointe, ROV-A-NOTES of Three Rivers and COUNTY SEATERS of Dowagiac. The MERRI-MEN of Lansing (Howard Hawkins, tenor; Dale Bullock, lead; Louis Bean, baritone; Douglas Stephens, bass) were named the new district champions. In second place was the BEL-AIRES of Grosse Pointe (Gordon Limburg, Robert Burrell, Richard Denbroeder and Ted Winship) and third place went to the CROW-MATIX (Warren, Dobb, Hollar, and Lund). The junior champs were the TOWN CRIERS of Kalamazoo (Louis Johnson, tenor; John Baker, lead; Earl Cook, bari; Ken Barrett, bass). The FOUR FATHERS of Muskegon (Cliff Van Riper, Mel Westerlind, Tom Damm, and Clarence Bristol) took novice honors. The TUNE VENDORS of Dowagiac were on hand to crown their successors at the finals.
In the meantime, our chapters were very active in 1951. Charlevoix completed another successful "Jamboree," and the Dearborn Chapter continued to entertain an average of 200 wounded veterans every month. Muskegon sponsored a pro baseball game and turned over the proceeds to the Percy Jones Hospital and also engaged in inter-chapter outdoor activities as well as hosting a group from the Milwaukee and Wauwatosa chapters, who journeyed to Muskegon on the steamer for an evening of harmony.
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