MF 011 Gordon Bowie Collection of R. B. Hall & Community Dance Bands of Maine

Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History: MF 011 R. B. Hall and the Community Bands of Maine/ Gordon W. Bowie

Number of accessions: 8
Dates when interviews were conducted: 1968, 1969, 1998, 1992, 1993
Time period covered: 20th century
Principal interviewers: Gordon W. Bowie
Finding aides: transcript
Access restrictions: NA2580
Description: Interviews and photographs compiled by Gordon Bowie relating to band music in Maine, and leading to Bowie’s UM dissertation entitled R. B. Hall and the Community Bands of Maine (May, 1993). This collection includes nine cassette tapes with interviews with nine individuals. Topics covered include local performances at dance halls, theaters, and radio stations, musicians, Musicians Union Local 768, and other matters relating to community bands. NOTE: A very large collection of materials relating to R. B. Hall and community bands of Maine and New England is located in Fogler Library Special Collections. This collection includes approximately 800 reels of tape containing performances and interviews recorded (ca. 1950-1985) by Thomas Bardwell, Sr. and Thomas Bardwell Jr. of Vineyard Haven, Mass.

NA2049 Merlin “Pete” Rogers, interviewed by Gordon W. Bowie for AY 325, spring 1988, Bangor, Maine. 33 pp. Tape: 1 hour with transcript. First in a series of interviews with musicians concerning the history of the Bangor Band and dance music in the Bangor area. On this tape Rogers, age 84, talks about his life and music; Musicians Union Local 768; dance music in Montreal, Boston, etc. before World War II; performing for local theaters, dance halls, radio. Text: transcript. Recording: C 0572 1 hour. Photos: P 6441 – P 6454.

NA2050 Leo C. Thayer, interviewed by Gordon W. Bowie for AY 325, spring 1988, Bangor, Maine. 38 pp. Tape: 1 hour with transcript. Part of Bowie’s series on the history of the Bangor Band and dance music in the Bangor area. Thayer, age 69, discusses his musical career; community band music; community music activities in Worcester, Massachusetts and Bangor, Maine. Text: transcript. Recording: C 0573 1 hour. Photographs: P 6441 – P 6454.

NA2051 Samuel Viner, interviewed by Gordon W. Bowie for AY 325, spring 1988, Bangor, Maine. 38 pp. Tape: 1 hour approx. with transcript. Third in a series of interviews on the history of band and dance music in the Bangor area. Viner, age 79, talks about his life as a musician; Musicians Union Local 768; the Bangor Symphony; local radio. Text: transcript. Recordings: C 0574 / CD 0905 1 hour approximately. Photos: P 6441 – P 6454.

NA2052 Samuel D. Wyman, Jr., interviewed by Gordon W. Bowie for AY 325, spring 1988, Bangor, Maine. 35 pp. Tape: 1 hour with transcript. Last in a series of interviews about the history of the Bangor Band. Wyman talks about the various bands in the surrounding towns including Brewer, Corinna, Newport and Dexter; band organizer Paul Giles; music and attitudes before and after World War II. Also includes copies of newspaper clippings and a program from a 1934 performance of the Bangor Band. Text: transcript, newspaper clippings, performance program. Recording: C 0575 1 hour. Photos: P 6441 – P 6454.

NA2228 Arthur F. Roundy and James A. Varney, interviewed Thomas C. Bardwell, Sr. Donated by Gordon W. Bowie, spring 1992, Fairfield, Maine. 56 pp. Tape with transcript. A pair of interviews made by Bardwell on April 24, 1969. Roundy and Varney were the last surviving members of R. B. Hall’s Waterville Military Band. Text: 2 pp. notes, 73 pp. transcript. Recording: C 0857.

NA2261 Arthur F. Roundy, James A. Varney, Charlie Wakefield and Robert Hoe, interviewed by Thomas C. Bardwell, Sr., donated by Gordon W. Bowie, 1968 and 1969, Fairfield, Brunswick, and Cherryfield, Maine. 96 pp. Tape: 4 with transcripts. Interviews made with Roundy, Varney, Wakefield and Hoe, on various dates in 1968 and 1969, focusing on R. B. Hall’s works and band association. Text: 1 pp. notes, 95 pp. transcripts. Recording: C 0959 – C 0962.

NA2262 Ralph T. Gould, interviewed by Gordon W. Bowie, 1992, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. 73 pp. Tape: 2 with transcript. Gould talks about community bands in Maine; amateur music; and R. B. Hall. Contains papers and letters pertaining to Mr. Gould’s musical philanthropies and activities. Text: transcript, papers, and letters. Recording: C 0963 – C 0964.

MA2580 By Gordon W. Bowie, 1993, Bangor and Waterville, Maine; Albany, New York. 369 pp. A first draft typescript copy of Gordon Bowie’s Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Maine, R. B. Hall and the Community Bands of Maine (May, 1993). Dissertation discusses significance of R. B. Hall’s contribution to band music; history of Hall’s involvement with bands in Bangor, Waterville and Albany, NY; context of community bands; and specific Hall compositions. The paper draws from both primary and secondary source materials, including interviews with surviving band members. RESTRICTED. Relates to other accessions deposited by Bowie. See NA 2049 – NA 2052, NA 2228, NA 2261 – NA 2262. Text: Ph.D. dissertation.