 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Argus Press has sponsored this regular event since its first
days at the Lebowsky Center. The band was the brainchild of Mark Van
Epps, who presented it to Carl Knipe after a performance of Hello
Dolly in which they were both participating. The two,
along with Mike Wesseldyk, the president of OCP and Deb Knipe,
decided that there was ample charts available, especially if the
Carl Bremer Starduster charts were located and that the event might
succeed. Only some of the Bremer charts could be found even to this
day. They are reputedly somewhere in the middle school in two or
three army trunks, perhaps in a room near the stage. Charts were
found from the Don Proko swing band, a small 9 piece band. The
charts, however, were for a full big band, something Proko could
never achieve. The two then recruited band members, mostly teachers of local high school and middle school bands in Shiawassee County and other nearby counties. Rehearsals began in Libby Van Epps' living room and were sometimes held in band rooms of the various performers or at the Elks Club or the Owosso Country Club. The first show was at the Curwood Festival for an event to honor the volunteers. The crowd did not know what to expect and not much in the way of announcements were made. The band opened with "In the Mood" and a gasp of joy erupted from the crowd spontaneously. Those band members playing that night will never forget the welcome they received from that first crowd. Its good that they were happy, because the Festival had no funds for the Swing Band and could only pay them in refreshments. After that the band was a regular at the Saturday night big tent at the Curwood Festival. They were paid a few hundred dollars, barely enough to buy a new chart and to pay gas mileage to members traveling some distance to perform and rehearse. After three or four years, the festival decided to book another act and it looked like it might be an end to this group. Van Epps & Knipe reasoned that they had become associated with the Curwood Festival, so decided to put the band on Wednesday night prior to Curwood so as not to conflict with regular Curwood activities. By this time OCP had purchased The Lebowsky Center and the band took the stage there and donated all net receipts to OCP. It performed every year since then on this date until 2004 and 2005 when the band, especially Mr Van Epps who was now living in Canada, found it difficult to stage. Van Epps and Knipe missed the friends and excitement of the event in 2006 and independently started working on plans to reunite the group for another show. Currently the group is toying with the idea of putting a show on on the Saturday or Friday before Curwood in 2007 because the Owosso commencement is scheduled for the Wednesday. Since the Lebowsky Center has been lost, locations are being scouted for a possible dance setting |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
