DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF FEBRUARY VOL. V. No.3 BARBER SHOP QUARTET HARMONY 1946 PUBLISHED BY DICK STURGES '6he SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF BARBER SHOP QUARTET SINGING IN AMERICA, INC. QUARTETS! Write Sec. Adams at Once for 1946 Int'!. Contest Entry Blank. 2 fYlu HARMONIZER Costuming and Showmanship Are our quartets losing "color" b)' getting too far away from old ways­ and too far into new ways-in the matter of costuming? We think per­ --------- haps they are and we have asked a Published quarterly by the International Officers and the other members of few opmions on the subject. Here's the International Bo;.trd of Directors of the Society for the Preservation and one, in part, from one of SPEB's Vice Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Sing'jng in America, Inc., for free Presidents, distribution to the members of the Society. "For the sake of originality, why --------- can't more of our quartets do as the VOLUME V FEBRUARY, 1946 No, 3 Slap Happies of Saginaw did. They 35c per Copy bought green slacks (that can be worn anywhere). Then they located four used tuxedo jackets and some Carroll P. Adams - Editor and Business Manager green silk and paid a seamstress a few dollars to cover the lapels and 18270 Grand River Avenue, Detroit 23, Michigan cuffs with the silk. With top hats, Phone: VE 7-7300 just past their prime, and colorful ---_. flowing ties, the boys came up with CONTRIBUTING EDITORS fine looking costumes at a net ex­ O. C. CASH GE:ORGE W. CAMPBELl. JAMES F. KNIPE penditure of about $15.00 per man. J. GEORGE O"BRIEN SIGMUND SPAETH R. H. STURGES "We have gone through a full swing ASSOCIATf: EDITORS of the pendulum. Prior to 1942 when the Elastic Four defied tradition, ROSCOE BENNETT, Grand Rapids CHARLE..'i MERHILL, Reno dressed in smart sport outfits, and won JOHN BRIODY. JerSlly City BERT PHELPS. Kansas City, Mo. EUGENE C. DIETZLER WauwalOS. W. WELSH PI EReE, Chicago the gold medals, most quartets wore ARTHUR MERRILL, Schenectady MERRILL r"OLLARD, Buffalo Gay 90's costumes, except the quar­ 5,.\1\'1 WELLl~R. Hammond. Ind. tets from the Southwest, who leaned ---•... _-_.­ to cowboy out.fits. It was probably a good thing from the Society's stand­ INTERNATIONAL OFFICEns. 1945-46 point that the Elastic Four came along ................. PIIIL EMBURY, 30 Park Street. Warsaw, N. Y to prove to people that Our t)'pe oi (President, Embury Mfg. Co.) singing could stand on its own feet Immtdiatt PfJ,l Prtsident HAROLD B. STAAB, ,10 Hoe Avenue, Northampton, Mass. (Eastern Sales Mgr., Wm. & Harvey Rowland, Inc.) and didn't have to rely on colorful or First Vict-Pruirltnt .. ........... FRANK H. THORNE. 6216 W. 66th Place, Chicago 38 Illinois comical costuming. But, I think our (Vice·President, National Aluminate Corporation) , efforts are no\y seriously accepted and Sttrtlory. CARROLL P. ADAMS, 18270 Grand River Avenue, Detroit 23, Mich I think it's time to swing back a little. Trtasurtr. ..... JOSEPH E. STERN. 311 R. A. Long Bldg., Kansas City 6, Mo (Joseph E. Stem & Co., Realtors) "We shouldn't become so uncolorful R. HARRY BROWN, 3403 Madison St., Wilmington 218 Delaware (Official Court Reporter) , and uncomical that we become dull Vict-pftsidtnt. .........JAMES F. KNIPE, 640 enton BldK., Cleveland IS, Ohio and monotonous. To go back a bit--­ (President, The Martin Printing Co.) the serpent probably polished that Vict-Pu:sidult. .............. DEAN W. PALMER, P. O. Box 208, Wichita I, Kansas apple because he knew the value of (Engineering Dept., Kansas Gas & Electric Co.) showmanship in putting something Hiuo'i"" . ................. R H. STURGES. Box 1228. Atlanta. Ga. (Outdoor Advertising) over. Let it not be said that the !offJstn of Ctrt"rOlliu..... ....... W. C, HARPER. Box 2445, Oklahoma C itr, Okla men (and women) of SPEBSQSA have to 'go to the devil' for inspira­ Foulld" nil/I P"11/0ntrlt Thi'd AssislfJlIt Ttmporn-" Vict-Chai,,"'m . 0. C. CASH. Box 591, Tulsa I. Okla (Attorney, Tax Commissioner - Stanolind Pipe Lme Co.) tion. And speaking of the women of SPEBSQSA, why not go to them for some ideas. They know more BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Officers (Excepr tbe Secret2r)'), und: about clothes, materials, styles, etc. Ttrm UP;';II' ill Junt. 1948 CHARLES M. MERRILL, 414 First Nationa than do men. Turn 'em loose. It'll G. MARVIN BROWER, 107 Michigan, N.W., nank BId" . Reno" Nevad~ (A~tome)') . give them a new interest in your quar­ Grand Rapids2, Mich. (Prop. Brower Memorials) VIRGIL E. PILLIon, 2910 Olive St., St. Lou IS 3 tet that may pay dividends in other WALTER E. CHAMBERS. Robinson Bldg.. Rock . Mo. (Pres., ~u-Pnx:et:s B~k~ Engineen;) {aland, IU. (SeCTetary. Merehants Credit Assn) eD\V~N s. SM 11 H, 34660 Michigan .'\\'e., Wa}·M· \\"a)'s. W. D. COMMON. P. O. Box 1018 Davton I, Ohio MiCh., (Real Estate and lnlluran,e Broker.) (General Manager, Moraine BOx Co.) "Here are just a few ideas the st)o-Iist c. W. COVE, 716 Nlms Street. Muskegon. Mich. Tnm UPIIJlIlln JII1I., 194fi of a leading department store sug­ (Executive Vice-Pres., E, H. Sheldon & Co.) JOHN R. BUITENDORP, 645 Maffett Street, gested-Blouses with flowing sleeves A. H. FALK, 219 W. Commercial St., Appleton, Muskegon HelghUl, Mlch_ n'he Daniels Co.) Wis. (Buyer, The Pettibone-Peabody Co.) R. RAY CAMPAU, 344 W. Genesee Ave.• Sagi. of colorful printed material, the print ROBERT L. IRVINE. 914 Jackson Ave.., River naw, Mich. (pres.. Saginaw Paint Mfg. Co.) something apropos, such as musical Forest. Ill. (Asst. Credit Mgr.. Sears, Roebuck RA Y W. HALL, 826 Elliott St. S.E., Grand Rapids, notes, etc,-combined with dark slacks & Co.) Mich. (Service Repret.entative, i\lken-Mun1lY GuY L STOPPERT 1326 W. Dartmouth St., Corp'n) or tuxedo trousers. Flint 4, Mich. (Exei:. Sec., Associated Male HARVEY S. JACOBS. 518 Washington Squafe Choruses 01 America, Inc.) Building, Roynl Oak, Mich. (Managing Direc­ "Trousers of white flannel, or similar Tnm up;ring ill JUllt, 19-t7 tOf, South Oakland Mfr's Association) material, colorful blazers. J. D. BEELER, 1830 W. Ohio St., Evansville 2, CLARENCE MARLOWE, 10 N. Bcmiston St.• Ind. (V.-Pres. & Cen. Mgr., Mead Johnson Clayton 5, Mo. (Assistant Commissioner, "Yachting outfits. This has been done Terminal Corp.) Department of Health) by Port City Four, Muskegon, and OTTO BElCH, c/o Pnu! F. Beich Co.• Blooming. B. F. MARSDEN, 1663 PenobllCOt Bldg.. ton. Ill. (Pr~.• Paul F. Beich Co.) Detroit 26, Mich. (Mich. Representative. others, but by no quartet so success­ American Bank Note Co.) MAYNARD L. GRAFT. 209 Ele<:tric BJdll .. fully as The Yachtsmen, Lakewood, Cle\'eland IS, O. (Ser"ict: Engineer. Ohio Bell ROBERT M. McFARREN, 74 Exchange St.. Buffalo 3, N. Y. (AdvertisinS{ Printing) Ohio, who go in for a pastel combina­ Telephone CQllIpany.) tion. WILL lAM W. HOLCOMBE,!. ~ Broadway, W. WELSH PI ERCE, 10 S. LaSalle St., Chicago 3 Illinois (The Welsh Pierce Agency) , Paterson 4, New Jersey (:,ocja} Work DiL) <lGive it some thought, my hearties." COPYRIGHT 1946 FEBRUARY, 1946 The Societr for the Prescrvation and Encourgement of Barber Shop Quartet SinJoing in America, Inc. Detroit, Michh:an .o/A. HARMONIZER 3 !/"a'Cd A{~~t~ at £van~vlll~, JJndlana CLEVELAND CHOSEN FOR '46 CONTEST Our Eighth Anniversary International Board Evansville Chapter is Host When a little e;roup of Tulsa­ Meets ites met on Aprl111, 1938, under U there were time and space to do the guidin$;" spirit of O. C. Cash, The series of business meetings in justice to the Evansville Chapter, its they hardly dreamed that the Evansville on January 18th, 19th and officers and committees, we would be Society they began that night 20th consisted of two lengthy ses­ happy, but the printers of the HAR­ would in eight short years be­ sions of the Executive Committee, on MONIZER are waiting feverishly to come the lusty stripling it is Friday night and Sunday forenoon; lock up this issue as we dash this off. today. SPEBSQSA, started in two 3-hour sessions of the Interna­ So it m U 5 t be brief and extremely fun and dedicated to preserving tional Board of Directors on Saturday sketchy. and encouragin,; barber-shop forenoon and Saturday afternoon; harmony struck the American conferences of the Nominating Chap­ Suffice it to say that the host chapter fancy. Undoubtedly, the Socie­ ter Methods, Finance, Ethics, ~blici­ on the occasion of the Mid-Winter In­ ty was the answer to pent-up ty, Achievement Awards and Resolu­ ternational Board meeting on Janua­ longings of tenors, basses, barl~ tions Committees. ry 19th set a standard of hospitality, tones the country over because Emphasis was placed on the forthcom­ attention to detail, publicity, thought­ the movement has spread like ing Chapter Reference Manual, which fulness and quality of talent on the wildfire and barber shop har­ will be formally announced to chap­ Saturday night program that- will be mony has had an unprecedented ter officers within the next ten days. difficult to surpass. All trains and revival from coast to coast. The r e is a definite feeling in the planes were met by official greeters­ At first the Society was loose­ minds of all members of the Interna­ each visiting quartet was carefully ly knit, with accent on fellow­ tional Board that this Manual will fill escorted, throughout its stay, by a ship and fun, (and it still is), a want in the matter of information designated host---Board me m b e r s but along- with its sensational and chapter assistance that has been found everything in relation to their growth, organization necessarily noticeable for some time.