Wednesday evening’s event was “An Old-Fashioned Music Program” with musicologist, Alan Nellis. Alan played several different types of music from the 1909-1910 time period and even had with him a hundred year old Victrola and trumpet. He played a recording of Enrico Caruso on a 78rpm record on the Victrola and played the trumpet himself. Susan Grover played “Follow the Drinking Gourd” on the harmonica which was performed by one of the students at Marias Coulee School.
He mentioned that the harmonica wasn’t really popular until the 1920’s and it was then that the Boy Scouts formed harmonica bands.
Susan played the guitar and we all sang along to “Home on the Range” which Alan said would definitely have been a favorite on the prairie at that time even though it was written by a Kansan!