Every Day I Write the Book

Six years ago this month, I launched into a project to learn more about the life and career of my great-grandfather, pioneer Minnesota bandmaster G. Oliver Riggs. It all started with a comment my dad made about his “music man” grandfather – and a realization on my part that I knew next to nothing about this ancestor of mine.

My intention at first was simply to help my dad with a timeline of G. Oliver’s career that he could pass on to the St. Cloud Municipal Band, which planned to mark its 120th anniversary that spring with a concert at the historic Paramount Theatre.

Me, with Dad, after the May 2007 band concert at the Paramount

I figured it would take a month or so to go through family files, confirm details about G. Oliver’s 20-plus years as a director in St. Cloud, and determine whether there was any truth to the Mr. Riggs legends, like the one that he’d played with John Philip Sousa. Before I knew it, several months had passed, and I had already learned way more than I’d anticipated – not just about all the places G. Oliver had worked as a musician and band leader, and the influential musicians he had collaborated with, but about how G. Oliver influenced the development of music education in Minnesota and the upper Midwest.

As the months and years passed, I planned G. Oliver-related research trips, gave talks and became well acquainted with the microfilm machines at the Minnesota History Center’s top-notch research library. And I conducted interviews with people who could tell me from personal experience what it had been like to play for G. Oliver Riggs. Meeting some of these former “band boys” and hearing how their lives were shaped by their band experience has been one of the most gratifying aspects of this ongoing project.

Me with Leonard Jung, a former “band boy” and U.S. Navy Band veteran, in 2008.

As I learned about G. Oliver’s career, I also gained a greater appreciation of the role bands played in forming the social fabric of communities throughout the state – big, small and in-between – and in shaping the quality of life we enjoy today. This aspect of community life gets scant attention in the telling of Minnesota’s history, however. Even in towns with well-regarded band programs and proud traditions, the musicians remain in the background – heard but not seen – marching in parades, performing summer concerts at the bandstand, but rarely receiving a mention in local, regional or state history books.

When I started writing this blog in January 2010, I sought to change that by focusing attention on this neglected aspect of Minnesota history – not only because I find it fascinating, but because I think it’s necessary to understand that history if we value the arts and want to pass that appreciation on to future generations.

I also hoped that the process of writing a regular blog would help me figure out how I could best tell the story of my great-grandfather and other musicians who have made our communities a better, richer place with their music. After nearly 170 posts, I still don’t have the perfect answer to that question, although I’ve tossed around plenty of ideas – how about an exhaustive history of community bands in Minnesota! Or a book about Midwestern bandstands? Maybe a children’s book, or a play? The possibilities have seemed exciting, but also overwhelming and confusing.

As I have continued to write and research, hoping an answer would reveal itself, the My Musical Family blog has led to developments I hadn’t anticipated; it’s become a great way to share news and family history with my relatives and connect with extended family I’d never met. And, it has led to much personal reflection about why music is important in my life, why my husband and I have tried to make it an important part of our kids’ lives, and why I feel passionately that music education should be available to all children.

It’s funny how things seem to come full circle, if you wait long enough. As I said at the beginning of this post, my original goal six years ago was to provide the St. Cloud Municipal Band with an accurate timeline of events during G. Oliver’s stint as director. The municipal band is now celebrating its 125th season and has scheduled a big concert for Nov. 5 at the Paramount Theatre.

When The St. Cloud Times ran a story in July about the band’s anniversary, my dad and I were distressed to discover that it included inaccurate details about the history of the band during G. Oliver’s career. We are again trying to correct history, and it’s extremely frustrating to learn that, despite our exhaustive efforts to gather and disseminate a factual historical account of those years – efforts that have gone way beyond a simple timeline – we apparently did not reach everyone in our intended audience.

I’m not a particularly vain person, but I think it’s fair to say that I now know more about G. Oliver and the history of the St. Cloud band during his career there than anybody. I may be an expert on a relatively obscure topic, but I am an expert! And that has made me realize that as much as I enjoy writing this blog, these entries alone aren’t enough to ensure that the accomplishments of G. Oliver and his band boys are remembered after I’m gone. I need to tell the story to a wider audience in a format that will be recognized as a permanent resource for people studying or writing about St. Cloud, or about Minnesota band history. I need to take the plunge and write a book – a book that I’m uniquely qualified to write.

A portion of my G. Oliver files, accumulated during six years of research.

Next month will mark the 142nd anniversary of G. Oliver’s birth, and my goal is to spend a good portion of the month working on a book about G. Oliver and the Band Boys of St. Cloud. I do plan to keep up with the blog, and I hope to provide some updates on my progress as I delve into this latest phase of the G. Oliver Riggs project. As always, I welcome reader suggestions and comments, and I sincerely appreciate your interest and support!