No country for old trumpets

[Lionel]

Grandpa Lionel was a professional cornetist. Apparently he played more gigs than I did. Before seeing the handwriting on the wall and he finally moved back to the farm. As did the other men in his six piece ensemble. By 1915 most the men were married and saddled down with growing families. Requiring more time being spent on the farm and less time gigging. My guess is that during those years from 1900 right up to WW I there was a similar trend,

More gigs in winter. Both due to Christmas and New Years and the fact that other than milking the cows? There just wasnt as much work needing to be done on the farm in the dead of winter. Like how can you dig post holes when the ground itself is frozen?

Granted life was harsh in those northern lattitudes. Yet when weather allowed? Men worked hard, hard physical jobs. From "Can't see to can't see". No complaining and no malingering. These were all proud church going men. But they must have enjoyed life better in the early days. Before the wives had so many children. Necessitating less time spent being spent out on the road and more timeback on the farm. At first doing what they called the "mens work. Then doing the same but also overseeing and later still instructing the older boys on how to perform all these most demanding farm duties. But make no mistake,

At least in their early years? Was their music which paid the bills. They were by anyone's definition truly
professional musicians. It was the money that a travelling band with a good reputation could make in 1903 which supported the six boyish men. As well as the families of the men whose wives had already born babies. But by 1915 or so their families were too large to sustain while being away months at a time.

Then one day the harp broke. Just busted into the useless pieces as an old, well worn instrument can do. And while the men did have+ a spare harp most of the group felt as an omem had occurred. That this harp which had served the men all so well for over a dozen years their small orchestra's days were numbered. And so they were.

By all my aunts and uncle's accounts Grandpa Lionel was a hard working, fair minded man. Who instilled in his nearly ten kids a sense of family, perseverance and hard work. All of his children, my own Dad and his brothers and sisters worked their way through college. Either during the Great Depression or World War II.

Speaking of the later? This brings us to how in the words of fictional Sheriff Bell's brother,

How did he (grandpa Lionel) "come to his reward"?

A few days before the USA entered into World War II an aging farm machine failed. Cutting a huge gash in the back of Grandpa's skull. His oldest brother stopped the bleeding as best he could with clean wheat flour and for a few hours it appeared Grandpa may have had a small chance of survival. He even lasted through the night but the wound was much too grave. And he passed away close to 13 years before I was born. So I never knew him. And just like fictiinal sheriff Bell I sometimes winder how I would stand up to tge old man. But being a hard working most pious man? He'd probably tell me to get busy lol. That and "do something more productive".
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"Check me if I'm wrong Sandy but if I kill all the golfers they're gonna lock me up & throw away the key"!

Carl Spackler (aka Bill Murray, 1980).

[epoustoufle]

Interesting.

My ancestors were not "pious church-going men". In fact there were some women too! One great grandfather was killed thousands of miles from home the day before armistice in WW1 and my grandmother and grandfather fought in WW2 and served afterwards in what was then called Malaya.

None played trumpet. Shocking, I know My grandparents never talked about the war. I don't think it was a source of pride or something they wanted their descendants to follow into. And none of my aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers or sisters are military. None go to church. None play trumpet either!

[1jazzyalex]

On my Dad's side they're WASPS so ... not musical. On my Mom's side though, I found out it's Lithuanians all the way back, and my mom and her older sister played the accordion! They got years of lessons, And were good enough that they were a "sister act" in the theater. Mom quit when she started to "develop".

How could Mom have done something that cool and never told us?
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Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A