Burlington Municipal Band History
Message from Jim Priebe --
The Burlington Municipal Band was formed when the Orchard City Band under Frank Sherratt and Fischer's Band under J. Henri Fischer combined. We have obtained several photographs of the Orchard City Band, the earliest of which dates from 1911, through the courtesy of the Des Moines County Historical Society. There is also one photo of Fischer's Band, but unfortunately we have identified only one member, cornet player Peter Hahn.. Included also are photos of the Burlington Municipal Band taken in 1945, 1947 and 1948. Personnel and dates are listed with the photos when this information was available. We hope that family and friends of those pictured will come forward with information about the band's early history.
We are interested in finding additional photos of the band or band members which have historic or human interest value to include on this web page. If you have such a photo or photos, and would be willing to share them, please contact me at 752-7305. You will, of course, get the photo back unharmed, and we will gladly credit our source.
When I became a member of the band in 1965, many of the members listed in the 1940's photos were still active, and two members pictured with the Orchard City Band, Ralph Zaiser and Ward Vance, were still playing. They spoke with familiarity of individuals who were a vital part of the musical scene of our community in the nineteenth century. As we enter the twenty-first century, we present these photographs with a sense of being a part of a great continuity of effort and tradition.
(Note: To speed loading of this web page, the photos are shown here as quick-loading large size "thumbnail" versions. These thumbnails are much lower resolution (poorer quality) than the full-size photos.
Click on the thumbnails to view each photo full-size.)
Click on the thumbnails to view each photo full-size.)
The Orchard City Band on the Court House Steps
in 1911
(with personnel identified)
full-size photo 64 KB
522 X 364 pixels
The Orchard City Band at an Elks Parade in 1913
full-size photo 127 KB
952 X 662 pixels
The Orchard City Band at the G.A.R. (Grand Army
of the Republic) Convention, June 17-19, 1914
(with personnel identified)
full-size photo 79 KB
526 X 344 pixels
The Orchard City Band at the F.O.E.
(Fraternal Order of Eagles)
State Convention held in Muscatine in 1916
(with personnel identified)
full-size photo 72 KB
542 X 358 pixels
Orchard City Band at a fish fry on Big Island
(date unknown)
(with personnel identified)
full-size photo 162 KB
927 X 689 pixels
Fischer's Band (date and personnel unknown)
full-size photo 127 KB
1047 X 644 pixels
The Burlington Municipal Band in 1945
(with personnel list)
full-size photo 162 KB
1048 X 839 pixels
The Burlington Municipal Band appearing
at a community picnic in Perkins Park in 1947.
Maurice Wright conducting. (Personnel unknown)
full-size photo 97 KB
468 X 368 pixels
The Burlington Municipal Band
in Memorial Auditorium in 1948
(with personnel list)
full-size photo 156 KB
1412 X 528 pixels
We were pleased to receive the following photos from former band member Paul Zaiser of Cedar Falls, Iowa:
Paul, Mark, and Ralph Zaiser in new uniforms
full-size photo 167 KB
1092 X 813 pixels
Ralph Zaiser and Ralph Vengaus with Maurice Wright
full-size photo 160 KB
1104 X 827 pixels
Old Bandstand in Crapo Park ca. 1940
full-size photo 171 KB
1516 X 1154 pixels
Warren Johnson, Ralph Zaiser, A.P. (Adie) Meyer,
and Ernest Kembitzky in old band uniforms
full-size photo 130 KB
1437 X 898 pixels
This website is now maintained by members of the Burlington Municipal Band.
We thank the staff at the Burlington Public Library for the original site design.
