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HAMPTON BEACH .... It was 110 years ago this summer that a conductor raised his baton and started the Hampton Beach Band Concerts. The north half of the Casino was built in 1899. At the same time, a high-posted "kiosk" was erected across the street on the ocean side of the boulevard as a bandstand.
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The Hampton Beach bandstand was a familiar landmark to the vacationing tourists since 1899, when band concerts were given at the kiosk intermittently during 1899, 1900 and 1901, but not on a regular basis.
Quoting from Peter Randall's "HAMPTON: A century of Town and Beach 1888-1988", ".... For the opening of the Ocean House in 1901, Henri G. Blaisdell and his 20-piece band played for a week (at the new bandstand), returning in August for 10 days and playing again on Labor Day."
The south half of the original Casino building was completed in 1901, and regular band concerts started at the bandstand in 1902.
As James W. Tucker stated in his HAMPTON UNION column "Our Town" on February 14, 1952, " .... there probably is not another recreational community in the entire United States where band concerts have been a regular feature on every day of the summer season, for 50 continuous years."
During the summer of 1902, the Haverhill City Band, conducted by Charles Higgins, and managed by Joe Goodrich, a Haverhill barber, played during almost the entire season.
The following bands and leaders appeared at the bandstand from 1902 through 1984: Higgins Concert Band, Charles L. Higgins, Haverhill, MA, conductor, 1902-1920; Downes' Band, Herbert W. Downes, Bradford, MA, conductor, 1921-1923; Chick's Band, Arnold Chick, Haverhill, MA, conductor, first two weeks of the 1924 season.
Also, Amesbury Band, Dr. Richard L. B. Wingate, conductor, finished out the season of 1924; McDonnell's Band, Harold (Hal) McDonnell, Methuen, MA, conductor, 1925-1936; Leave's Band, Charles H. Leave, Hampton, NH, conductor, 1937-1938; Moses' Band, Major Edgar Allen Moses, St. Petersburg, FL, conductor, 1939-1940; McDonnell's Band, Harold (Hal) McDonnell, conductor, 1941-1945; Hill's Band, Charles (Chuck) Hill, Boston, MA, conductor, 1946-1951.
Quoting again from Peter Randall's Hampton history book, "Although there were many changes in conductors during those years, several band members returned annually as "regulars". Eddie Madden of Rochester was appointed bandmaster in 1957. In 1959, the Hampton Beach Band was under the direction of Dyson Kring of Dover, the assistant leader was Rolvin Coombs of Hampton, and the pianist was recent Winnacunnet High School graduate Glenroy Wolfsen of North Hampton.
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Front, left to right: Chuck Hill, Joe Sweeney, Merrow Bodge, Willis Trainer, Tom Sakelaris; Rear: Henry (Ed) Dumaine, Arthur (Ziggie) Sargent, Alexander Milligan and Robert Barrett |
"Amesbury High School Band leader Frank Lawlor conducted the band from 1960 to 1963, and Stanley (Stan) W. Bednarz of North Hampton, music director of Winnacunnet High School from 1961 to 1999, conducted the Beach band concerts from 1964 until 1984. Since 1984, Beach musical entertainment has included Bednarz's Band and other performers, but concerts are no longer daily events. Originally the concerts were paid for by the street railway company, and later, the Casino management, but since the 1920's, the Town and, most recently, the Beach Precinct and the Chamber of Commerce (with Town contributions through 1988) have supported the concerts."
Hampton's own "Bill" Elliot, "The Singing Cop", sang for many years with the "Hal" McDonnell Band at the Beach Bandstand.
The old bandstand was razed in 1962 to make room for the Sea Shell complex, and an era of band music came to a close and another era opened with the dedication of the new Sea Shell complex.
Footnote: Another band that played at Hampton Beach, year unknown, was Ted Herbert and his Hampton Beach Orchestra, who produced a 78 rpm record in the 1940's/50's called "TAKE YOUR FINGER OUT OF YOUR MOUTH (I WANT A KISS FROM YOU)" on MARVEL Records. Don Grady and Jean Flanders did the vocals and recorded at the Marvel Record Company, 852 Elm Street, Manchester, NH, record number 10501. On the reverse side is "IF I GIVE YOU MY LOVE" with Jean Flanders doing the vocal.
[Courtesy John & Connie Holman]
(Ted Herbert was also featured in a documentary entitled "New Hampshire Ball Rooms" in 1995 on NHPTV Channel 11 out of Durham, NH.)
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