Marshall Wells honored by the Monroe Chapter
Any early morning Detroiter can tell you about Marshall Wells. Marshall was the host on WJR's "Town and Country" farm news report which aired at 5:00 a.m. every weekday morning. Listening to Marshall, who would often broadcast from his home in Bloomfield Hills, one could get the early prices on hogs as well as listen to some of the finest barbershop music then available, featuring all of the top choruses and quartets of the day.
In recognition of this attention to our type of music during his 27 years of broadcasting on WJR, the Monroe Chapter, in January of 1971, awarded Marshall Wells a full-blown membership into the Monroe Chapter. His high interest, understanding, and support of barbershopping was nothing but a boon to the district and to the Monroe Chapter. Hats off to one fine gentleman, Mr. Marshall Wells.
District suffers membership loss in January
District membership figures were down considerably at the end of 1970 according to District President Tom Damm in his January Troubadour report. Tom reported that, even though he had been able to visit the new Au Sable Valley Chapter, the count remained at 1238 members, about 100 below our usual January counts. Tom stated he would like to see Pioneer District increase its count by ten percent in the coming year. It was also announced there would be an International Send-Off Show scheduled for June 12, 1971, to help the WOLVERINE Chorus and our representative quartets financially in their trek for the gold in New Orleans. A flight was being arranged by the district to attend the convention.
Other chapter events were taking place across Pioneer land in early 1971. The Muskegon Chapter pulled off their annual SPEB-SQUAW night meeting to honor their outstanding lady for 1970. Helping Mrs. Paul Borton to celebrate were the KASUAL D'S, the DUNE TONES, and the PORT CITY Chorus. The HARMONY HOUNDS came on board and sang and showed slides of their trip to the USO Far East hospitals. Meanwhile, in Detroit, well over a hundred barbershoppers were gathering for Detroit's 15th annual octet contest on February 12, 1971, at their Legion Hall. The MOTOR CITY Chorus had been meeting in Dearborn's old rehearsal hall, the Legion Hall. Coming from as far as Saginaw, but mostly from the Detroit Metropolitan area, twelve groups sang two songs each for Judges Edwin Smith, Al Davenport, Bill Butler, and Al Maier. The OAKLAND RAIDERS took top honors with the WAYNE BEAUX quartet in second place.
District Board makes some important decisions
The District Board met on December 5, 1970. President Tom Damm thanked retiring Treasurer E.E. "Pat" Ryan, who was stepping down as district treasurer, for his diligent work in the years that he served. District Treasurer Elect John Gillespie was on hand for the meeting. President Damm called on C & J Chairman Merle Clayton who presented an excellent summary of the problems involved in his department, in the conduct of the district and international preliminary contests. His report was quite detailed and offered several helpful suggestions regarding the conduct of future contests.
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A motion was made and carried that the double panel of judges be adopted as standard procedure. Upon a presentation by OCC member Bob Drabik, a motion was made and passed that the Oakland County Chapter be authorized to procure ribbons, at the expense of the district, for the competitors in the winning chorus in the district competition in Traverse City's 1971 spring convention. Another motion which passed and carried was that a suggested by-law change be initiated at the spring convention to make the Junior Chorus Champion Award relate to chapter size, with choruses in the lower half of the chapters by total numbers, and all ties be eligible for the junior championship. Additionally, it was pointed out that, relative to eligibility for district chorus competition, the present by-laws, as amended in 1961, indicate that a district chorus champ is not eligible to win the championship for the next two years. On this basis, the secretary was instructed to inform the MOTOR CITY Chorus and the WOLVERINE Chorus that they would be ineligible for the spring, 1971, contest in Traverse City.
A motion to re-zone the district, adding a fifth zone and relocating the boundaries as outlined on a proposed map for Zone IV and Zone V (effectively reducing the size of Zone IV), was discussed and carried. President Tom Damm appointed Noel "Bud" Carpenter as vice president of Zone V.
Traverse City hosts spring convention
The Traverse City Chapter was later congratulated for the fine job they did in hosting the spring convention. The effort was remarkable, when you consider that they not only did the work of the convention but fielded two quartets and a chorus of 52 men in the competition. (Chapter membership was 53.)
 Gentlemen's Agreement
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The GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT again out sang the entire field of quartets by 314 points with a total of 3091. The VAGABONDS were a strong second with 2777 points beating out the rejuvenated SHARPLIFTERS, who were designated the alternates to the international contest, by 103 points. Rounding out the top six were three brand new combinations of some great quartet men known as the ORIGINAL CHOICE, the HIGH-LITES and the ROLLING TONES. In the chorus competition for the district championship, Wayne's WONDERLAND Chorus under the direction of Gordy Limburg, won their third district championship in spite of a stiff challenge by Traverse City. Following Traverse City were Grosse Pointe, Grand Rapids, Pontiac, Muskegon, Lansing, Flint, Boyne City, Cadillac and Milford. The Pontiac chorus won the junior championship.
House of Delegates meeting was loaded for bear
The House of Delegates meeting was called to order by President Damm at 9:40 a.m. on April 25, 1971. International Executive Vice President John Cairns was on hand for the keynote address regarding Society President Ribble's goal of personal pride for 1971. President Damm then announced that Area Counselor George Dyer had been selected as the "Area Counselor of the Year" and was presented with the "C.D. ‘Chase’ Sanborn Area Counselor of the Year" Award.
The proposal to change the name of the district from Pioneer District to the Great Lakes District was defeated by a vote of 31 Nay 18 Yea, and the motion failed.
A proposal to change the by-laws so that the winning chorus in the district contest can compete again after only one year out instead of two years out as written was postponed indefinitely.
A proposal was made by the Pontiac Chapter to define the eligibility of a chorus member in an international chorus contest, making it mandatory to have a membership in the chapter of the winning chorus one day prior to the chorus elimination contest. After considerable discussion, it was moved and carried to postpone action on their resolution until the fall convention.
President Damm advised that the International Board had made a district by-law rule which (effective January 1, 1971) specified that only the three past district presidents immediately preceding the immediate past president shall be voting members of the House of Delegates. A motion to adopt the above mentioned by-law was approved by the Pioneer delegates.
The following proposal was made by the Board relative to awards at the district chorus contest: "There will be a district chorus champion and also a silver chorus champion which will be chosen from those choruses representing chapters whose total membership falls in the lower half of the membership of the district." A vote was then cast in favor of the proposal.
Another proposal to be presented to the International Board would recognize the contributions of all members with twenty-five years consecutive membership in the Society; and shall accord such recognition at each five-year interval thereafter.
Roger Lewis takes over as new Troubadour editor
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Roger Lewis, well-known member of the HARMONY HOUNDS and the Battle Creek Chapter, took over the reins of the Troubadour beginning with the September 1971 issue. He replaced Dick Van Dyke, who along with John Morris as somewhat of a co-editor, were forced to leave because of increasing job responsibilities. It does take a lot of time, and both Dick and John can take pride in the fact that they published every edition, even though some may have been a tad controversial. The important thing was that the members were well informed during their tenure, and they received some of the finest artwork in the barbershop world, courtesy of John Morris.
The smell of victory in the air
You couldn't put your finger on it, but you knew it was there! The aura of an upcoming Pioneer victory that would reign in one of the finest quartets ever to hit the stage in barbershopping...The GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT. But we're ahead of ourselves here.
The Pioneer District had again arranged for a Pioneer District charter flight to the big convention in New Orleans. It was reported that the 116 seats were completely sold out, and that a full plane was ensured this year as well as in previous years.
Battle Creek International Send-Off a huge success!
Anyone who attended the district international Send-Off on June 12, 1971, probably is still raving about it. The talent assembled was extraordinary—the WOLVERINE Chorus, the Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus, the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT, the SHARPLIFTERS with their sparkling comedy and top-rated sound, and the VAGABONDS—what else can you say? The total funds raised (some of it given directly to the contestants) were $4,903.00. Of this, $1900 came directly from the district coffers. The Send-Off was beginning to get bigger and better every year, and this one was no exception.
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District Board meeting held June 12
President Tom Damm appointed a committee to consist of Brad Laughlin of the Oakland County Chapter and Secretary Bill Warner to review the District By-Laws, incorporate all the changes to date with the thought of publishing them for distribution to all chapters. A copy was to be furnished the Board of Directors by the next meeting. Discussion was held relative to the agenda for the upcoming International Board meeting as to the agenda proposal that would limit the license of a chapter to six months with the possibility of one three-month extension before chartering would be required. The Board also discussed the proposal to impose international COT school on every district at a cost of $15,000 to be paid for by international. The Board recommended that IBM Gillem vote to maintain international COTS on the same voluntary basis as at present.
Other items discussed included Vice President Funk's report on the Holland Tulip Festival and the Lansing Fish Fry. In addition, he discussed the chorus director's school that had been held in Lansing and Bob Johnson's disappointment at the poor attendance. Secretary Warner advised that the poor attendance was not due to lack of publicity since a direct mailing explaining the school, the date, and the location was made to every chapter president, secretary, and musical director in the district prior to the school as well as notification in the Troubadour. The associate status of the Big Rapids Chapter was discussed again, and it was noted that Vice President Funk had been directed to make one more attempt to help them bring their membership to the required 25 level before suggesting that international revoke their charter.
Treasurer Gillespie was instructed to prepare a check to the WOLVERINE Chorus for $1500 and to the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT and to the VAGABONDS for $200 each as the Pioneer District contribution to their respective travel funds.
GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT brings home championship
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Not to be distracted by their competitors, the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT came to New Orleans to be named international quartet champions, and that they were as they simply swept the audience and the judges with performances never before seen at an international contest. With a score of 7478, the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT headed right through the semi-finals, and was chased by the second place SUNDOWNERS, third place GOLDEN STATERS, and the fourth and fifth place finalists, the PACIFICAIRES and the FAR WESTERNERS. Forty-five quartets from all over the country competed, but this was the week for the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT as they sang "Ma, She's Making Eyes at Me"; "Sweetest Story Ever Told"; "How's Ev'ry Little Thing in Dixie"; "Make Believe"; "Ring the Bells in Dixieland"; and "Just a Cottage Small (by a Waterfall)" for the world's championship.
Although the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT led from the opening round and never relinquished the lead, it was one of the closest contests witnessed in years with only 34 points separating first and second place and just 153 points separating first and third place. Almost unnoticed, in the skirmish for first place, was the fine seventeenth place placement for the VAGABONDS in this contest and a semi-finalist finish. It was truly a fine showing for the VAGABONDS and for the Pioneer District in general.
The 135 member CHORUS OF THE CHESAPEAKE from the Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, under the direction of Fred King, made the Mid-Atlantic District look proud for two straight wins in two years in the international chorus competition. Even sweeter was the fact that it was exactly 10 years before at the convention in Philadelphia that the CHORUS OF THE CHESAPEAKE had previously won the international chorus championship. The SUN HARBOR Chorus from San Diego finished second 58 points behind, followed by the Cincinnati SOUTHERN GATEWAY Chorus, the San Antonio CHORDSMEN, and the CHORUS OF THE DUNES in third, fourth and fifth, respectively. The WOLVERINE Chorus, representing the Pioneer District for the fourth year in a row, finished in twelfth position, three notches down from their prior year finish. They did sing well under the direction of Carl Dahlke, and the district can be proud of their performance.
Results of International Board of Director's Meeting
International Vice President Richard H. deMontmollin of the Dixie District was elected to the office of international president for 1972. Other international officers elected included Leon Avakian, Richard Ellenberger, and Charles E. Abernathy to vice presidents.
In other business, the Board adopted revisions of the licensing procedures for new chapters as follows:
1)The licensing period was reduced from one year to six months.
2)A licensed chapter will be allowed to charter after being licensed for a three-month period. The three-month period is mandatory but exceptions can be made by the executive director upon application by the district president.
3)A licensed chapter will be allowed one three-month extension to be granted by the international president acting on behalf of the International Board of Directors. Each district will make its request for a special extension to the international president through the international office.
4)Licensing fee will remain at $5.
As recommended by the Executive Committee, the Board approved a basic $100,000/$300,000 public liability and property damage coverage, with an additional $1,000,000 "umbrella" excess liability insurance coverage for all members while on Society business. The annual cost per chapter for the total coverage will be $30 per year and $40.50 per year for each district.
A special Hall of Fame Committee, consisting of the Harmony Foundation Trustees and the international historian, who had been appointed by President Ralph Ribble earlier in the year to consider the possibility of establishing a Barbershopper's Hall of Fame, unanimously recommended to the Board that the establishment of a Hall of Fame would not be in the best interest of the Society as a whole. The committee felt that the Society was "not doing badly now with recognition" at the chapter and district level and that "any set criteria" might rule out a deserving man from deserved recognition.
A Study Committee on quartet fees appointed several years earlier to "develop guidelines regarding establishment of proper fees, expenses and practices by quartets for Society events" presented an excellent and comprehensive report. The report included many months of study and analysis of more than 400 replies to a survey submitted to all chapters and registered quartets in the Society. The Board adopted the study group's report and requested them to continue its work in the area of chapter and quartet education along lines to be established by the study group and the Executive Committee. The Board commended the study group for its outstanding work.
GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT make USO tour of Far East
In July of 1971, just one short week after being crowned international champions, the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT left for a 15-day USO tour of Viet Nam. Here, in their own words, are some of the highlights of the tour.
"Someone asked, `Have you ever made a USO tour?' Bob replied, `No, but we sure would like to.' Next thing we knew, we were waving goodbye to our families and a few close friends at Metro Airport as we lifted off for San Francisco and a rendezvous with a PAN AM 747 to Saigon.
"Imagine it! One week we were crowned INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS of the world's greatest singing Society, and the next week we were on our way to the other side of the world.
"Many things greatly impressed us. You think you have poverty in your town? Well, you haven't seen a thing. Our worst is very plush compared to their average. We smelled the stench of rotting garbage in the streets, and were never without the smell until we left. In downtown Saigon, we saw a four year old boy methodically eating the wiggling legs torn from a live cricket. It may have been his entire breakfast.
"As a general rule, the G.I.'s were very appreciative of our musical efforts...they are great young men, doing a tremendous job in a lonely, strange country...we went to the Third Field Hospital in Saigon...sang in two large wards of 60-100 patients each. Later that day, we videotaped three separate two song `spots' for the AFVN [Military TV?].
"We went right up on the DMZ to Fire Base Alpha 4, from which we could look out across the DMZ and see the red flag at the North Vietnamese outpost there. To get there, we flew up the back side of the mountain in a chopper, not more than four to six feet off the ground...the next day, our transportation was a C-130 (Fat Albert). Suffice it to say `NEVER AGAIN.' We made four passes at the Dulat air strip, before the pilot could bring her down out of the mountains and make a landing.
"One performance in a neuropsychiatric ward, where (as we were told later) a man who had not communicated with anyone for months talked freely with us. That alone would have made the trip worthwhile."
District Board meets at Harrisville in September
The Pioneer District Board of Directors took advantage of the Harrisville weekend to hold a meeting on September 4. After covering most of the administrative details of the district; such as financing, membership, etc.; a discussion again ensued as to the use of an international COT school faculty for 1972 as directed by the International Board. President Damm advised the Board that four people had been appointed to go to Kenosha, to the COTS orientation on September 17-19 to act as instructors at COTS in November, as authorized at the last Board meeting. Vice President's Don Funk, Noel Carpenter, Tom Pollard and Secretary Bill Warner were so appointed.
Bob McDermott, the international convention public relations chairman from the Oakland County Chapter, reported on the PROBE booth at New Orleans that it had placed fourth in the booth display competition. President Damm advised that our costs were higher than anticipated. While the booth costs were less than the amount authorized by the Board, the costs involved in the hospitality room were excessive. While the Oakland County Chapter budgeted $350 of their own money to cover the costs, the hotel charges were $550. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that future hospitality rooms should be at district expense. It was moved and carried that the district reimburse OCC in the amount of $200 as partial payment for the hospitality room costs, bringing the cost down to OCC's budgeted $350.
In other actions involving the upcoming district convention in Grand Rapids, it was suggested that, since the mike tester quartet plays such an important part in readying things for the judges, the retiring championship quartet be requested to serve as mike testers before the quartet preliminaries on Saturday morning and the finals on Saturday night. It was moved and carried that the reimbursement of each member of the mike tester quartet be equal to the per person single room rate at the place where the quartet is housed for their Friday night accommodations.
It was also announced by President Damm that Lowell Wolfe had been appointed Logopedics chairman for the district, replacing Roger Lewis.
New attendance records set at Harrisville
New attendance records were set in the 1971 Barbershopper's Labor Day Weekend at Harrisville. As usual, the state park was filled with campers, the V.F.W. Park was heavily occupied, and the motels displayed their "No Vacancy" signs. Some eager campers even made two weeks of it. As usual, the singing and camaraderie of the barbershoppers and families was outstanding. The "Travel Trophy", which is awarded each year to the attendee who came the farthest, was presented to Doug Powell who came all the way from Seattle, Washington, to attend. The Wayne Chapter again had the largest number of barbershop members and families in attendance. The City of Harrisville had been proclaimed the "Barbershop Capitol of the Pioneer District on Labor Day" by a previous vote of the Pioneer District House of Delegates.
Grand Rapids convention draws contenders
The Pioneer District convention and contests were held in Grand Rapids on October 8-10, 1971, with the beautiful Civic Auditorium as the site for the contests and the Pantlind Hotel across the street as the headquarters hotel. It was an ideal scene for an ideal district meeting. Sixteen choruses and sixteen quartets responded to the call for the competitions to begin, with the quartet preliminaries scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 9.
The ORIGINAL CHOICE from the Grosse Pointe and Saginaw-Bay Chapters turned in a stunning performance to capture the crown. The quartet included Bob Demchak, tenor; Bud "Noel" Carpenter, lead; Jim Gross, baritone, and Len Johnson, bass. The ORIGINAL CHOICE took the lead in the semi-finals and went on to win the 1971-72 Pioneer District championship by 38 points over their closest rivals, the HARMONY HOUNDS of Battle Creek. The ROLLING TONES finished in third, followed by the RANGE FINDERS and the VOCAL GENTRY in fourth and fifth, respectively. Other quartets competing included the TWI-LIGHTERS, SOUNDSATIONS, LATEST EDITION, GALAXIES, DUTCH MASTERS, BURRILL BROTHERS, SMORGASCHORDS, PHIDAVONICS, HUM BUMS, FOUR BITS, and the SAFE COMBINATION.
In the international chorus preliminary contest, the WOLVERINE Chorus, under the direction of Carl Dahlke, once again won the right to represent the district at the international convention to be held in Atlanta the following year. It was the fifth straight chorus preliminary win for the WOLVERINES, having just come off of a twelfth place finish in New Orleans. In second place and only 22 points behind was the MOTOR CITY Chorus from the Detroit #1 Chapter under the direction of Bill Butler. The Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus finished third, followed by the Battle Creek and Pontiac Chapters in fourth and fifth, respectively. Other choruses competing included Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Grosse Pointe, Lansing, Traverse City, Niles-Buchanan, Monroe, Saginaw-Bay, Flint, Jackson and Muskegon. Merle Clayton of Battle Creek was the chairman of the judges for the double panel.
District Board meets in Grand Rapids
President Tom Damm called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. After the usual preliminaries, he read a letter from Executive Vice President Ron Gillies in which he tendered his resignation from the position and from the Board of directors. It was agreed that since there was less than three months remaining in his term, an interim appointment would be unnecessary. It was also reported at the meeting that the Tecumseh Chapter, which had recently fallen upon hard times membership-wise, was about to give up the ghost and close down. It was the opinion of the Board that the charter be allowed to expire as of December 31 in accordance with international rules.
President Damm reported on the International Board decision to inaugurate international COT Schools as mandatory in every district. However, the 1971 COT school scheduled for November 14 would be manned by district officers who had attended a training session at the international headquarters in Kenosha. President Damm then introduced Past International President Dan Waselchuk as the keynote speaker for the convention. He stressed and encouraged every chapter to try Auditions for Admissions, touching also upon other areas.
In other actions, President Damm put on the table the motion for a by-laws change regarding membership eligibility for chorus competition that had been postponed from the previous House of Delegates meeting. The resolution, which was voted upon and passed, read as follows:
"Be it resolved that in order to be eligible to compete with a Pioneer District Chorus in an international chorus contest, an individual who has held membership in a chapter in our district within one year prior to the selection of our district chorus competitor, must have a membership that dates one day prior to the chorus elimination contest in the chapter of the winning chorus."
Nominating Committee Chairman Merle Clayton then read the nominations for the election of the 1972 district officers, and the following were elected by the delegates: International Board Member, Tom Damm; President, Bill Warner; Executive Vice President, Don Funk; Zone Vice President's I, Tom Pollard; II, Dick Simpson; III, Del Doctor, IV, Max Carter; and V, Bud Carpenter; Treasurer, Robert Drabik; Secretary, John Gillespie.
Achievement Awards Chairman Ted Verway made the presentation of the 1970 Achievement Awards. The Gold Division winner was the Oakland County Chapter with the Silver Division Award going to the Kalamazoo Chapter.
District barbershoppers honor GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT
On Friday, October 15, 1971, more than 500 barbershoppers were on hand when Detroit #1 Chapter staged a surprise party honoring the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT, the international champions. It was arranged by Bill Butler, director of the Detroit #1 chorus, who felt that something should be done to honor the champions. It was quite a surprise to the quartet to walk into the hall and find a tremendous crowd of well wishers from all over the district assembled to do them honor. After the introductions, a fine musical program followed, featuring the FOUR TUNE TELLERS, the HARMONY HOUNDS, the SONGPIPERS (Sweet Ad quartet), the SHARPLIFTERS, and masterfully emceed by Bill Warner. The GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT sang for the finale. They did an outstanding job as always, but perhaps a little bit better than usual because they were singing to their many friends who had come to celebrate their part of the program. Encore after encore was demanded by the enthusiastic crowd. On behalf of the chapter, Bill Butler presented each member of the quartet with a personally engraved gold Society ring.
Then District President Tom Damm made a presentation on behalf of the district. Tom awarded each man an appropriately inscribed plaque featuring a likeness of the medal they wore so proudly since the New Orleans contest. A fitting tribute to a great quartet, one of the finest in the district's history.
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