HISTORY

LCB in uniformAs the bandshell in Riverside Park was nearing completion in the fall of 1930, a group of local union musicians began to seriously consider the idea of forming a concert band for the city of La Crosse. This group of citizens asked themselves what better way to honor Dr. Wendell A. Anderson, the founder of La Crosse's park system and two-time mayor, than to have a local city band perform on a permanent basis in the concrete bandshell named for him.

When the outdoor auditorium, designed by Otto Merman, was dedicated on September 14, Rudolph Kreutz, a local theater orchestra leader, organized a group that played for the occasion. Only small amounts of funds were available for occasional performances by local bands and the city did not support a regular schedule of park concerts. As a result, no band enjoyed long-term financial backing or incentive necessary for continual activity. In fact, when a Fall Music and Harvest Festival held in the new bandshell was funded by donations from local merchants, a band from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was hired to perform.

It wasn't until late in 1930 when D. Russell Wartinbee, director of music in the public schools, led a series of rehearsals and the La Crosse City Band was born. Radio concerts were given over WKBH in January of the following year and the band made public appearances to whet the appetite of La Crosse music lovers. A huge gala of dance and musical entertainment was held at the Avalon as a fundraiser for uniforms on February 11, 1931. Six orchestras donated their time and talent to the event which was "attended by hundreds of people" according to newspaper review which appeared the following day. A floor show, which included musical numbers and vaudeville stars, was performed by members of the Guy & Eloda Beach Stock Company. Guy Beach had arranged for the concert band to open some of the Beach Stock Company's shows when they performed at the Majestic Theatre.

Clad in blue broadcloth uniforms trimmed in red and white at a cost of $35 each, the 32 or so members of the La Crosse City Band marched in their first public function, the Memorial Day parade May 30, 1931. A public concert was also held later in the afternoon at Riverside Park. The members donated their time and talents were not paid for their performances until the June 9 concert. This was the first in a series of 19 city-sponsored outdoor appearances given at La Crosse public parks that year. Performances were mainly held at Riverside, Myrick, Copeland, and occasionally Pettibone parks, and the first season stretched from early June to September. The scheduled performances were given Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons.