Harrisville band marks anniversary
HARRISVILLE — Musicians travel from all over Butler and Mercer counties to perform in the Harrisville Community Band, and they've been doing so for 50 years.
“It's a great outlet for older youth and adults to be able to continue to play,” said Marsha McKnight of Grove City, the unofficial secretary of the band.
“We've had members who've played well into their 80s. It's a fun group, very dedicated,” she said.
The band will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Harrisville Fire Hall, 313 E. Mercer St.
Two of the band's current members have been with the group for all of its 50 years.
Judy Critchlow of Mercer, a clarinetist, said she remembers marching in a “million” parades.
The band still plays in the Harrisville parade on Memorial Day “but now instead of marching we ride on a flatbed,” McKnight said.
The group performs many other concerts throughout the year, including at an outdoor venue for Fourth of July festivities in Grove City.
“I met my husband at a band festival back in 1966,” Critchlow said. “He doesn't play in the band now but he did for many years.”
Her husband, Lynn, played the drums.
“The best thing is it's family,” Critchlow said. “Our kids grew up with it, and we're hoping our granddaughter, Christina, will soon decide to come and play with the band.”
Critchlow's granddaughter plays the trumpet.“We have pretty good instrumentation as far as the balance between brass, woodwinds and percussion,” said McKnight.Of course the 35-member group is always looking for new members.“We could use some low brass, some trombones and tubas,” McKnight said. “We have two tubas, and surprisingly for a small band we have three French horns, and we just got an oboe player.”The band was started in the fall of 1965 by the late Rev. David Kennedy, former pastor of Harmony Presbyterian Church in Harrisville. Albert Anthony, who is deceased, was the first band director, said Karen McKnight of Harrisville, Marsha's sister-in-law.“Kennedy had the foresight to know that people who played in high school and college would want a place to play,” Karen McKnight said.She said the group has held special meaning for her family also.“Both of our kids, who are now adults, have played with us,” she said. “Our daughter still does and our son became a professional musician.”
“The band has helped a lot of kids to grow up with the joy of music,” she said.At the anniversary concert, the music will showcase songs that have been played by the band over the years, including “Under Escort March,” the first tune it played back in 1965.The concert also will feature special guests, a multimedia presentation, and a few songs by the Moraine Elementary School fifth-grade honors chorus, under the direction of Becky Sopher, a former director of the Harrisville Community Band.The current conductor is Jim Jaskowak, who is a music instructor in the Grove City School District. The band has had about 10 conductors over its lifetime, said Marsha McKnight.Concert admission is free and anniversary cake will be served.Former group president Bill Martin, 85, of Harrisville said, “I have felt for years that the big plus that I got out of the band was all the people I met. We just had a lot of fun, heartaches, too, along the way. It's just a good bunch of people.”
