NOTE TO THE READER: THE FOLLOWING IS EXTRACTED FROM A BOOKLET
CREATED IN 1985 TO CELEBRATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SCOTIA BAND. IN
ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE FILE SIZE, ONLY THE TEXT HAS BEEN RECORDED. MANY
OF THE PICTURES ARE INCLUDED ON THE “MORE PICTURES” PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE.
DEDICATION
Our Company helped establish the Scotia Band 50 years ago and has
assisted it financially during the ensuing years.
Other community bands have faded away over the years, but the Scotia
Band continues to renew itself and serve the people of the Eel River Valley.
The Pacific Lumber Company is proud of our connection with this fine
organization and is pleased that its officers and members have held its standards
high.
The Pacific Lumber Company
Introduction
We’ve been enjoying the Scotia
Band for many years, and we have seen
a parade of musicians, including
members of a new generation, join the
veterans. The band is for the person
who enjoys playing in a group, rather
than hanging up his instrument once
he’s had music in school — or found no
other use for it.
Members of the band are a
dedicated crowd, too, for they turn out
on their own, weekly, to practice. There
are no paychecks waiting for the
members — the “pay” is the
camaraderie and the love for music. It is
a community band with members from
all parts of Humboldt County. Some of
the members come from high schools,
College of the Redwoods, Humboldt
State, and other sources.
The band began its life back in
1935 under the sponsorship of The
Pacific Lumber Co., and for a time
membership was made up mainly of
company employees, but time changed
that, and others became eligible to join.
The uniforms have been passed
around from member to new member,
but somehow the band has been lucky
enough to not have too slim nor too
plump members. We would suggest
The Pacific Lumber Co. dress the whole
outfit in new uniforms someday, since it
is carrying the TPL name in public
rather proudly. I worry sometimes that a
moth might carry one of the players
away during a concert.
But clothes hardly make the man,
true, as long as there is music in the
heart and soul of the performer. And, at
the most recent concert series at the
Humboldt County Fair, hundreds of
friends heard Scotia Band perform. For
everyone it was a delightful experience
-- over on the race track all they got was
a “Post Call” – on the Pioneer Village
stage there was a whole program
directed by Michael McClimon,
conductor.
And, we heard such
favorites as The Thunderer by John P.
Sousa;
Leroy.
Anderson’s
A
Trumpeter’s Lullaby, with Bob
Armstrong conducting, and trumpeters
Merle Adams, David Demant and
Michael McClimon. Big Band Dixie
was lively with Dick Baum, clarinet;
Daniel Horton, tenor sax; Ed Violet,
trumpet; Woody Thompson, trombone;
Jim Baker, tuba and Pat Reid, who was
all over the drums. Trumpet Filigree
was nice, nice, with Bob Armstrong,
Merle Adams, David Demant and Pat
Reid.
Charter members of the band still
playing are Henry Bender and Charles
Langdon. Membership is not closed, for
the Scotia Band is always recruiting
talent and if you have an instrument and
the desire, and you’d like to join a
friendly, likable bunch of musicians,
you should contact Michael McClimon
at 725-3760 or Henry Bender at
725-2109.
The band appears at many public
events including the Fortuna Rodeo,
Ferndale Holy Ghost Festival parade,
picnics and special gatherings, art
festivals, and other events. The turnout
will be 25 to 30 members depending – as
one member says -- “on the weather.”
But regardless of number, the Scotia
Band never fails to delight its listeners.
Next time you hear the Scotia
Band -- remember, you are listening to a
real “Humboldt fixture”... a tradition,
now.
Andrew Genzoli
Times-Standard, August 4, 1978
The home town band! It’s a part of Americana, along with 4th of July celebrations,
town baseball teams and steam trains. The Midwest, with warm summer evenings, has remained
the bastion of band concerts in the parks. Tourists are sometimes fortunate to find themselves in a
small town on a Saturday night, with the band playing in the circular bandstand, an ice cream social
in progress nearby under the elms, with the courthouse or city hall looming over the scene.
A Pacific Lumber Company mill manager named Fulton Bendorf, one of three brothers
identified with the company, missed the band concerts of his youth. He tossed out an idea to Henry
Bender, Charles Langdon and Richard Fleisher, “Why can’t we get some fellows together and
make up a German band to play for Music Night at the Winema Theatre?” A half dozen rehearsed
and played. The list of prospects grew longer, with the opening of the Scotia baseball season as the
next public performance. Instruments came out of closets, simple band books were borrowed, and
on a warm Sunday afternoon, the new band tackled The Star Spangled Banner to open the 1936
baseball season.
Fulton Bendorf and Richard Fleischer, an enthusiastic non-playing supporter and promoter,
provided the contact with company officials. At that time Ed Yoder was resident manager. It was
hoped that the modest stipend to the director, plus the eventual cost of uniforms, would be a good
investment, as the band could play for the annual company picnic, a huge and well-organized affair
held each Labor Day in the Scotia Park near the river. Bendorf’s notice to members for a practice at
the Winema Theater included such information as the following:
Don’t forget the rehearsal Tuesday evening. Lloyd Anderson will be there and ready
to give you your first dose of medicine, right on the dot, so do not be late or we will
send the sheriff after you. Don’t be afraid to come a little early but, by all means
leave your grouches at home and wear your best smile and be prepared to go places.
Bendorf was chairman of the Scotia Community Music Committee and Richard Fleisher was
secretary.
Lloyd Anderson, the Fortuna Union High School band director, was part of the formative
years’ activities. With his departure for summer study in Los Angeles, the Pacific Lumber
Company found a professional trombonist with vaudeville and circus experience to direct the
growing band, teach in the school, and work in the company office. Jack Sutherland had traveled
through Humboldt County previously, playing with the combo known as The Six Brown Brothers, a
widely known saxophone ensemble. He was delighted to return and under his direction the band
developed a hard-hitting circus style and repertoire. Billboard March became a theme tune, plus
the nostalgic old Night In June tone poem, composed by K.L. King, famed director of many Iowa
town bands.
Sutherland gave real inspiration to the organization. Membership grew and we find a formal
organization taking shape. An old dog-eared journal, covering over 30 years of membership rolls
and minutes of meetings, starts with a businesslike page of minutes submitted by Charles Langdon.
At the February 15, 1937 meeting, these officers were elected:
Clifford Solenberger
Kenneth L. Gilson
Charles Langdon
Ned Reed
Guy Brown
Joe Vetters
President
Vice President
Secretary
Board of Directors
Nick Gregg
Charles Langdon
Fulton Bendorf
Rehearsals were held in the old Scotia Fire Hall and in the kitchen of the spacious dance
pavilion near the ball park. Band uniform caps and ties were purchased. The band became popular
and their presence was demanded at parades throughout the country. In fact, this popularity led to
one of the early anecdotes about the band. A Eureka group of businessmen staged one of the early
fairs at Redwood Acres. The band played at a daytime parade and dispersed. Late in the day,
hurried calls went out by phone and by radio, asking all band members to reassemble for an evening
performance at the fairgrounds. Most were contacted and the band made a good appearance.
However, the agreement for compensation was hazy. Just who had promised... and how much?
Thus the minutes of several 1938 band meetings show that the Eureka Fair was dunned repeatedly.
While the band played at many of the colorful American Legion Field Nights in succeeding years, it
remained cool to other Eureka performances.
By 1938 new uniforms were ordered with company support. Green single breasted jackets
with white piping on pockets, white Sam Browne belts, white flannel trousers with green stripes,
green ties and the original caps made an attractive outfit. Pictures of the band show an excellent
marching formation, complete with drum major and majorettes. To its yearly calendar, the band
added the Scout-O-Rama, the Humboldt County Fair, the Del Norte County Fair, the Lily Festival
in Brookings, the Gladiola Festival at Grants Pass, the Fortuna Christmas Music Festival, the
Fortuna Rodeo, the Fortuna Arts Festival, the Logging Congress at Ukiah and Eureka, and the Holy
Ghost and Lady Fatima Festivals in Ferndale, Eureka and Arcata. Until the huge flood of 1955, the
annual Pacific Lumber Company Labor Day Picnic was a highlight of each year. A large bandstand
was provided for the band which played while the efficient committees served hundreds. Clara
Bender was heard each year singing The Star Spangled Banner. The baseball game and the
afternoon dance in the pavilion, all added up to a major production, and there were no absent
members at the concert or at the dining tables.
Late in 1938, Jack Sutherland moved to Eureka, and Lloyd Anderson began his second stint
as director. With the exception of the war years, Lloyd Anderson continued as director until he
passed the baton to Louis Weichselfelder in 1955.
With new uniforms, a growing list of engagements and an expanding membership, the
business meetings of 1938 to 1942 show an exceptional period. Charles (Bevo) Langdon’s
organized minutes are preserved in a well-worn book. The October 10, 1938 minutes include under
new business, “The request was made that we do not invite any more to sit in the band, as we now
have more members than we have uniforms.” The December 5 minutes of that year continue, “A
communication was received from the Eureka Fair stating they were unable to pay us at this time.”
A motion was made by Emil Sund that the band pay for the members’ dinners at the Christmas feed
to be held at the Virginia Hotel (an inn near Metropolitan which burned in the ‘40’s). The motion
was passed unanimously and the practice still continues.
Over the years, as the cost of feeding the band at a restaurant became prohibitive, the band
feeds were moved to the Scotia Scout Hall. Steaks are now provided by the band with salads and
desserts contributed by band members in potluck fashion.
Lloyd Anderson announced, “We are to play at Holmes Grange on December 14 and we
play on the veranda of the Scotia Inn for the annual Christmas Caravan on December 20.” On
January 9, 1939, under new business, “It was requested by Henry Bender that we have some
letterheads printed.” It was agreed that the continued duns to the Eureka Fair would have had more
authority if they had been made upon formal stationery. On March 13, the minutes state, “Reports
were made on the Music Night held in the Winema Theater which seemed to be a big success.”
Money received for some of the “pay jobs” had accumulated, and after appointing a committee to
find a formula, the following division was made: one quarter of the funds were paid to The Pacific
Lumber Company to apply toward the new uniforms, and one quarter was retained for sheet music
and incidental expenses. The remaining half of the treasury was dispersed to the members. Here’s
an incidental expense which indicates the pre-inflation prices. A band feed after a rehearsal at the
old dance pavilion incurred these expenses for the 18 men present: “Cold cuts and bread, $2.63;
beer, $2.15.”
One of the favorite “jobs” continues to the present time, The Holy Ghost Festival and
parade held each spring. The Sunday procession to the church with one or two bands has been
described in magazines such as Sunset, and is as genuine as any old country festival in Portugal or
the Azores, from which it came. Following the procession to and from the church, the hospitable
committee would invite the band to the elaborate noon meal. Director Lloyd Anderson recalls a
day in May of 1936, before the Scotia Band had assumed the musical duties at the annual event:
Our Fortuna Union High School band was invited to play. We learned the proper
music and appeared in full uniform with colorful majorettes. After the return parade,
on a hot day, the band trooped into the dining hall. Only wine was on the tables,
though the custom of serving Koolaid was added in later years. In spite of some stern
admonitions by the director, the return trip to Fortuna included some of the happiest
musicians to be found anywhere. Sewell Lufkin, one of the trumpet players, became
director of Scotia Band 24 years later.
The matter of a few convivial drinks before or during a band performance has always been
a problem and not limited to town bands. Dixieland bands have been known to become
horrendously out of tune on the latter part of a performance, when the bourbon dimmed the ears but
increased the enthusiasm. Scotia Band’s most relaxed performance came in 1938 when playing the
ball game during the latter part of the big picnic. A generous supply of beer at the picnic tables,
along with a few bottles carried to the ballpark, led to the inspired idea that some should trade
instruments. Strange sounds crept into the staid old marches, and impromptu drum solos by brass
players trying new skills led to stern admonition by the non-imbibing members, who feared that
they would be blamed for the sour notes. There is no account of the day in the minutes of the next
meeting, but the relaxed ideas have not carried over into performances of future years. Amateur
musicians seem to have trouble with note reading after a few “snorts,” and most bands confine the
refreshments to the relaxed times after the performances.
Scotia Band members during the 1940-41 period:
Director
Lloyd Anderson
Drum Major
Geno Benetti
Clarinets
Henry Bender
Douglas Edgmon
Charles Jaehnig
Ray Marks
J.C. Simmons
Ronald Becker
Ernest Hansen
Alfred Kaehler
Don McMillan
Clifford Solenberger
Harold Neville
Saxophones
Walter McCall
Jack Flook
James Karry
Stanley Eisner
Stanley Moore
Clinton Haywood
Trumpets
Nick Gregg
Clifford Payton
Ned Reed
Emil Sund
Eldon Wright
R.A. Wright
Merle Adams
John Sellens
William Crane
K. Verner Haapala
Victor Soares
Ed Early
Horns
Charles Langdon
Robert Oliveira
Joe Vetters
Carl Renner
James Batchelor
Trombones
Kenneth L. Gilson
Verne Nicholson
Kenneth Garcelon
Leroy Scott
George Jones
Woodrow Thompson
Robert Farrar
Alfred Pollard
Royal Rose
Gerald Becker
Baritones
Guy Brown
Charles Bryant
Conrad Neville
Basses
Jack Nelson
Ralph Escola
Stanley Snider
Chester Bosch
Dee Wooden
Percussion
Fulton Bendorf
Les Wilbur
Clair Jaehnig
James “Bunny” O’Brien
Alvie Andreucci
Willard Iverson
Orval Overholt
This roll is double the number of uniforms, but this list covers a two-year period. Many
students departed for college to return for summer performances. Illness was claiming some older
members. For some interest would lag due to a new girlfriend, conflicting work schedules, or the
feeling that their particular talent was better suited for other things. Nick Gregg, the Russian-born
trumpet player, started a band at the Van Duzen River Grange in Carlotta. Several of the Scotia
Band members played with this band at their spring concert each year. The high school bands were
providing more members and by 1942 children of the Bendorf clan were appearing in the band.
In 1942 the band played for the departure of draftees and for the Coast Guard at Samoa. In
1943, both Anderson and Jack Flook, the saxophone soloist, were drafted and sent to Texas, with
consecutive serial numbers. Walter McCall, tenor saxophonist, was present for band practice on
October 15, 1943. Within a year he was wounded in Europe.
Defense work decimated rehearsals. The big black roster book shows attendance
averaging less than a dozen players. Scotia Band continued through the war years with the
following interim directors: Maureen Homey, Iris Anderson, Emil Sund and Bill Crane, of
Ferndale. Women were finally welcomed into the band with Alice Gunnerson, Geraldine Miller
and Marian Ross, the first of a long list who were to play in later years. Alice Gunnerson was the
first woman president, serving during 1950-51. Later she left the band to join the Women Marines.
The post-war years were a time for rebuilding. Lloyd Anderson returned from army service
in Texas to direct the group. Fulton Bendorf and Emil Sund were gone. Nick Gregg moved on to
San Francisco where he played trumpet in the Southern Pacific Club Band. Ken Gilson, the
engineer and former Army captain hung up his slide trombone. Gordon Manary, Pacific Lumber
Company manager in the ‘40’s, passed down the word that Henry Bender would be the go-between
from company to band. That appointment still stands!
By the summer of 1950, band members were seen in new uniforms. The green and white
outfits were retired. Maroon jackets, tan trousers, Air Force style caps and all with gold piping and
epaulets gave a smart new look. Leslie Larson, Fortuna High School art instructor, designed the
Scotia emblem to be placed on the coats.
In 1951 we find the following membership playing for the annual Labor Day Picnic in
Scotia:
Director
Lloyd Anderson
Flutes
Ed Solenberger
Velva Morris
Clarinets
Henry Bender
Cliff Solenberger
Connie Ashburn
Betty Noble
James McCloskey, III
Saxophones
J.J. McCloskey, Jr.
Geraldine Miller
Bob Noble
Horns
Charles Langdon
Gary Nelson
Ted Hamilton
Trumpets
Merle Adams
K.V. Haapala
Robert Irwin
Don Bent
Dick Gladden
Trombones
Kenneth L. Gilson
Charles Farrar
Verne ..Nicholson
Royal Rose
Victor Carty
Baritones
CO. Wessman
Charles Bryant
Alice Lakin
Basses
Jack Nelson
Jerry Campbell
Percussion
Muriel Hogan
Jerry Batten
Les Wilbur
Ronald Barkeley
Louis Weichselfelder
With Lloyd Anderson turning to private business, Louis Weichselfelder of Eureka was
appointed director late in 1954. Weichselfelder’s experience brought new musical selections to the
repertoire and his contacts brought key players from Eureka when needed for public performances.
Both Anderson and Weichselfelder made use of majorettes. It was in the ‘50’s that the band
traveled to Grants Pass for the Gladiola Festival and to Crescent City for the Del Norte County Fair.
Henry Bender recounts an anecdote from the Weichselfelder years:
The band had contracted several concerts at the Del Norte County Fair and had made a
good appearance. As our final performance drew near, an announcement came over
the loud speaker system to the effect that Clara Bender and Sophie Langdon were to
report to the bandstand to watch the Swackhamer children before the Scotia Band
concert could begin.
This small anecdote only begins to show the untiring support of wives and family
throughout the years.
Scotia Band members during the 1954-55 period:
Director
Louis Weichselfelder
Drum Majorette
Bonnie Alton
Flute Beverly Bradford
Norma Waite
Clarinets
Henry Bender
Cala Curtis
Patricia Curtis
Diane Langdon
Bonnie Alton
William Swackhamer
Charlotte Swackhamer
Saxophones
James McCloskey, Jr.
Del Mar Curtis
Roberta Morris
Stephanie Horel
Horns
Charles Langdon
Gary Nelson
Vicki McKay
Jean Byker
Barbara Ferguson
Trumpets
Merle Adams
K.V. Haapala
Tom Bradford
Leonard Cook
Raymond Allen
Trombones
Verne Nicholson
Bob Farrar
Gary Naill
Darrell Mortenson
Bill Steiner
William Glover
Dennis Garcelon
Baritones
Charles Bryant
Charles Bender
Basses
Jack Nelson
James Frazier
John Brozovich
Percussion
C.O. Wessman
Russ Bradford
Clarence Maudlin
Les Wilbur
In 1960, Sewell Lufkin was appointed Scotia Band director. Sewell was the first director to
have spent time in the band during its early years. After graduation with the F.U.H.S. class of 1936,
he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. At the outbreak of World War II, he was serving on the island of
Guam. He and many others were taken prisoner in December of 1941 and held four long years,
under devastating conditions, in a Japanese prisoner of war camp until being liberated in October of
1945. He stayed in the Marine Corps until 1958 and retired as Warrant Officer — Bandmaster with
21 years of service. Returning to the Fortuna area, he took over the Scotia group.
Lufkin finished his college work and began teaching in the Rohnerville schools. Wesley
Evans, now a public school music teacher in Oregon, remembers having Mr. Lufkin for his
eighth-grade teacher:
Mr. Lufkin had a large effect on my life. I still remember the wonderful way he would
describe scenes from his favorite operas. I was especially charmed when he played
themes from these scenes on his flute. I’m sure that Mr. Lufkin’s playing influenced
my decision to study flute and ultimately to prepare for a teaching career in music.
Health problems stemming from his years in the Japanese prisoner of war camp led to his
retirement from school teaching and band directing in 1976.
Scotia Band members during the 1960-61 period:
Director
Sewell Lufkin
Flutes
Kay Bender
Ed Solenberger
Lois Morris
Clarinets
Henry Bender
William Swackhamer
Charlotte Swackhamer
Cala Curtis
Frank McDonald
Barbara McDonald
Joan Byker
Saxophones
James McCloskey, Jr.
Diane Harper
Horns
Charles Langdon
Jeff Simas
Opre McCoy
Trumpets
Merle Adams
Joan Larson
Beverly Bradford
Frances Bray
Chester McBride
Jack Pollard
Trombones
William Pinches
Verne Nicholson
C. Marks
L. Diekersen
Baritone
Charles Bryant
Basses
Jack Nelson
Verne Huntus
James Frasier
George Snyder
Percussion
C.O. Wessman
Audrey Campbell
After his death in December of 1978, the Scotia Band board of directors created a Sewell
Lufkin Memorial Scholarship committee and appointed Merle Adams as chairperson. The
recipient was to be selected from the current and former graduating classes of Fortuna High School.
On July 8, 1979, David Demant was awarded the first of the annual scholarships. Mrs. Lufkin
presented Demant a check for $400. Others to receive the scholarship were: Dana Demant, Wes
Evans, Delene Johnson, Carol McWhorter, Karen Adams, Patricia Thompson, Brigitte Roete,
Wendy Schiess, Laurie Harvey, Shari Hillman, Barbara Forrest McNeely, Andrea Thurston and
Colleen Callan. The band contributes $100 yearly as a starting amount. Interested persons are
invited to forward contributions to the “Sewell Lufkin Memorial Scholarship” c/o Merle Adams,
267 Randolph Way, Fortuna, CA 95540. [Note: the new address circa 2002 is c/o Michael
McClimon, 5391 Rhonerville Road, Fortuna, CA 95540]
Woodrow Thompson, another former member, directed the band through the 1976 and
1977 seasons. Woody had grown up in the community of Metropolitan between Fortuna and Rio
Dell, played in Fortuna High School organizations under Dorothy Dale Arnold, toured much of the
United States with Ray Herbeck and other big dance bands and played in a U.S. Army band in San
Francisco during World War II. He returned to finish his degree at Humboldt State University and
followed Walter Wood in directing the Arcata High School band until his retirement in 1974. Under
Thompson’s experienced and skillful baton, the band saw another change of repertoire which
included many original arrangements.
His involvement in the newly formed opera orchestra in Eureka, plus a planned trip to
Europe, involving a year of extensive rehearsals, led to Thompson’s resignation in the fall of 1977.
Scotia Band members during the 1976-77 period:
Director
Woodrow Thompson
Flute
Sewell Lufkin
Clarinets
Henry Bender
Cala Curtis
Frank McDonald
William Swackhamer
Charlotte Swackhamer
Patricia Youngreen
Susan Corley
Saxophones
Stillman Betts
Julius Cabalzar
Trumpets
Merle Adams
Alan French
Cecil Williams
Diane Lema
David Demant
Robert Spinas
Lloyd Anderson
Michael McClimon
Horns
Charles Langdon
Francis Bray
Trombones
Louis Larsen
William Pinches
Albert Leach
Philip Demant
Philip Sams, Jr.
Baritone
Charles Bryant
Basses
Bud Youngreen
Tim Martin
Ted Watson
James Baker
Percussion
Louis Weichselfelder
Raymond Poscic
William Crane
Michael McClimon, the new music teacher at several local elementary schools including
the Scotia school, was appointed to the post. McClimon, raised on a farm in Iowa, came to the band
from San Diego State University and with U.S. Navy band experience. Recognizing the wealth of
experienced musicians playing in the Scotia Band, he began to promote small ensembles. The 1980
Humboldt County Fair concert featured a dixieland combo made up of: Henry Bender, clarinet;
Wes Evans, saxophone; Merle Adams, trumpet; Alfred Pollard, trombone; Phil Sams, Jr., piano;
Dana Demant, tuba and Michael McClimon, trap drums. The Scotia Dixieland Band has included
many other fine musicians over the ensuing years: Dick Baum, Raymond Souza, Daniel Horton and
Paul Kusterman, tenor saxophone; Stillman Betts, baritone saxophone; Bob Armstrong, David
Demant and Ed Violet, trumpet; Woody Thompson, trombone; Tim Martin, James Baker and
Philip Demant, tuba; Mike Barmore, banjo; Chester Petty, Patrick Reid and Vernon Brightman,
trap drums and Challis McCullough and Ruth Bowman, piano.
A Tijuana Brass group appeared in Scotia Band uniforms for several years at Fortuna
Rodeo Week activities. On August 24, 1979, the following Scotia Band members performed at the
Rio Dell Wildwood Days celebration: Merle Adams and David Demant, trumpets; Vicki
Robertson, baritone horn; Phil Sams, Jr., electric piano; Dana Demant, electric bass guitar; Wes
Evans and Shelly Dalton, Latin percussion and Michael McClimon, trap drums.
How many have been surprised and delighted to come upon the Scotia Brass Choir playing
a crisp and bright carol on Christmas Eve? Many were tickled to hear “The Pumpernickel and
Sauerbraten Division” of the Scotia Band! On September 24, 1981, the following “German”
musicians played for a Septemberfest at the Ingomar Club in Eureka: Alfred Pollard, trombone;
Raymond Souza, soprano saxophone; Dana Demant, tuba and Michael McClimon, trumpet.
Fulton Bendorf’s 1935 rehearsal notice, “. . . and be prepared to go places!” echoed loud
and clear in the fall of 1984. The Los Angeles based film production company Infinity Filmworks
was touring the country filming scenes for its latest film Sensorium. The film would be shown at
the opening of the Six Flags Amusement Park in Baltimore. A picturesque town band was called
for in the script and Scotia Band found itself typecast for the part. Action was set in front of the
beautiful Carson Mansion in Eureka. The scene in which the band appears showed only the end of
a parade, but included nearly a hundred extras waving flags and singing, “Welcome to Sensorium!”
while the band accompanied them with a rousing march complete with full string section. In
Hollywood things are not always as they seem. It didn’t matter what notes were sung or played that
day because the sound track had already been recorded a month earlier in London by the London
Philharmonic Orchestra. The film was made with 3-D equipment and the director, Keith Melton,
was making full use of it. Woody Thompson’s trombone slide is sure to have moviegoers ducking
down in their seats, for at one point it came within inches of the 3-D lens.
For 50 years the Scotia Band has served Humboldt County communities. This spirit of
dedicated public service enriches all those whose lives are touched. The band symbolizes the ideals
and traditions that have made America great. The next time you hear the Scotia Band playing in the
park, remember you are listening to a part of America’s heritage.
Acknowledgements
The greatest part of this book comes directly from a short history of the Scotia Band written by
Lloyd Anderson in 1983. Throughout the band’s existence Lloyd has encouraged, nurtured and
inspired us.
To Andy Genzoli, Dwight O’Dell and George Waldner go fond memories for their sterling literary
support from which we have drawn extensively.
Photographs have been contributed by many band members, including Henry Bender, Charles
Langdon, Lloyd Anderson, Woodrow Thompson and Merle Adams and by professional photographers including Frank Martinez and Gillard Photography.
Special thanks go to all those who have helped in the process of production: to Henry Bender for
general research and consulting, to Evelyn McCormick for meticulous editing, to Michael
McClimon for artistic design and layout, to the Humboldt Beacon and especially Janet Smith for
typesetting and to Larry Daggett and the Pacific Lumber Company print shop crew for paste-up,
printing and binding.
But most of all, we would like to thank you, our faithful supporters, for being there when we need
you. The many thank you notes over the years could easily double the size of this volume. All those
tapping toes and smiling faces prove to us that you have felt our spirit and have let us touch your
lives.