Inland Children's Chorus Forum Page

All Forum Comments and Discussion:

Jerry Alred - Norma, thanks for the comment about the website. If I understand your question about the dresses, click on the "St. Nicolas Chorus 1953" thumbnail on the photos page for a good view of the ensemble. For some reason, I don't remember much about the concert itself, so I hope some others jump in with more details. And, by the way, I so much appreciated the help from your dad and all the others for getting us into those Eaton suits -- not an easy process!
Norma Tunney Austin - I am an "old timer" as I was in the Chorus from 1944 to 1952. I have such fond memories of the thrill of the concerts...such excitement! Even all the rehearsals were fun and the final double rehearsals on Sat. when we got to have lunch at White Tower was really special. I made so many friends, and even remember a few "crushes"...ah youth! My close friend was Maureen O'Connell. We are still good friends and have discussed the fun times in the Chorus. When we weren't at rehearsals, we even "played Chorus" and did all the singing.....for the kids we liked, we sang well and, of course, you know how we sang for the kids we weren't so fond of !!! When I turned 16, it was a sad day. Then they formed the Senior Chorus. As far as Maureen and I can remember, we only sang with the Senior Chorus in the "St. Nicholas Concert"...neither of us can remember performing any other time with the Senior Chorus? We can't remember what dresses we wore for that performance? Can anyone out there remember what we wore? Some of the best memories of my youth were associated with the Chorus. I might add that my Dad was a "dresser" for the boys for several years...that being said, I must confess I have some "lines" in my scrapbook that he brought home in his pcket..(I don't think he gave out very many !!! Keep up the good work with the website, Jerry.
Larry Brun 1950 - 1956 - I have been asked to identify the people in the picture on the home page. While I remember most of them from more than 55 years ago I can't remember a few and I'm unsure about a few first names. Although the picture is identified as a publicity photo 1955 I'm sure it was taken in the fall of 1954 or 1953. We were all 11 or 12 years old. Mr. Westbrock picked us to appear. I remember it was taken on a cold windy day and we were transported from the Lorretto after dressing to Holy Angels Church. The picture hung in the old DP&L building surrounded by other Christmas decorations and frills for ten or more years. I would make my yearly visit to see it. It was about 6ft by 10 ft.

Top Row left to right: Larry Brun, Barbara? or Carol? Besancany, Doug Waltemath, Marti-Lou Hale, Tom? Myers, Nancy? Lambert, Greg Westbrock, Judy James

Front Row left to right: Jerry Alred, Bev Hoover, Pat Caulfield, Unidentified, John Liddy (deseased), Unidentified, Robert Frederick.

If you were there at that time and can identify the other two or the first names please comment. Larry
Mary (Wysong) Bauer - I joined the Inland Children's Chorus in the fall of 1956, and "graduated" in the spring of 1963. I loved being a part of the chorus. It has added a dimension to my life that I otherwise would not have had. I was very small, and I remember that when I was fitted for my first concert in 1958, the smallest dress they had was still way too large for me. I am not sure how the seamstresses did it, but it fit perfectly for the concert. The dress number was 144 (I still remember it. And I wore that same dress until I left, in 1963.) The music was terrific, I enjoyed all of the practices, concerts, recordings, Christmas Parties, and trips to LeSourdesville. I remember, too, that I turned 16 on October 31, 1962, and so according to the guidelines, I should have "graduated" in the spring of 1962. I begged and begged, Joe Geiger, to let me stay in one more year. I kept telling him that when practices started in September, I would still only be 15. He finally relinquished and allowed me to stay in one more year. It was a sad day, when I had to leave the chorus. I remember, too, the 25th anniversay concert that we did with some former members who were now adults. Gene Schamel and Barbara (Fitzharris) Schamel, and several others. Mr. Westbrock was not there when I joined. Joe Geiger was the director then. He was an awesome inspiration to me. And although I have sung in other choirs, no director has ever even begun to live up to Joe's standards. I find that the older I get, the more I appreciate his perfectionism and patience with us. He was a wonderful person, and not only a great director, but also an exceptional organist. I don't know how many people know that. I sang for Joe in a church choir for many years during and after Inland Chorus. I find that the older I get, the more I appreciate not only his talent, but his inspirational force for my love for music, and all that he taught me. What stands out mostly in my mind, was the night of the black-out when our Christmas concert was scheduled. I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to get there. I finally arrived with only about 10 minutes to spare. The children were already lined up to go on stage, and they had an alternate in my place. I never got into my "Alice Blue Gown" so fast, but I made it! I think the alternate was sorry. I, too, like Mary Sue Gmaz still sing those songs to myself, and my children were raised on many of them. I was so sorry when Inland discontinued the chorus. I felt that it was a great loss to our young children, and that it was so sad that they would not be able to experience the excitement of performing at Memorial Hall in front of the large audience, not to say of all of the friends and love for music that they would miss out on.
Nancy (Calvert) Hoffman - I was so excited to find this website. I have great memories of my years in the chorus. I was also greatly suprised to see the picture of my brothers (John and Don Stevens) from the Dayton Daily News article. I still have recordings and some pictures and programs from my years in the chorus. I wrote to Mr. Geiger, as an adult, to thank him for his leadership and his influence in my life. I have spent many years now working with children in theater, school and church. Inland Children's Chorus has been a positive influence in my desire to offter other children the same experience.
Larry Brun 1950 - 1956 - Some of the things I remember: we had 2 concerts at Christmas, one with the Philharmonic, one by ourselves on different nights 2 concerts in February at the art institute back to back. We had lunch and watched movies in between. 1 concert in the spring on Sunday afternoon recording sessions in the summer after we had auditions for the concert group (100 plus 6 alternates)it was practice, practice, practice. the soprano boys and girls came on thurs. and the rest came on tuesday. on saturday we all came together. the closer to the concert the more and more practice. we began coming tues thru sat first, then double sessions on saturday 9-1 and1-4.we had lunch hour from 12-1. then eventually we came on sunday from 1-4 also. needless to say we were very well prepared. mr. Westbrock had a very talented ear and would not tolerate someone off key or goofing something up. certain bars would be sung over and over until it was right. he could tell where mistakes were coming from. at dress rehersal mr. Westbrock always said his biggest fear was that someone would drop there music binder. he would raise his hands and we would raise our books and then he would open his hands and we would open the books and never look at them again. no one ever dropped their book in my six years. He also feared someone would stumble and fall down. that never happened either. mr. O'Brien always spoke to us at dress rehersal. He was such a kind man. Dress rehersal was brutal and seemed to go on for hours and hours under hot lights, as we marched and marched and sang and sang. there was always a medical staff there to treat those who became ill and several did. someone mentioned the song we marched in to. I believe it was "march of the wooden soldiers" or "toy soldiers" or just "toys". at any rate it is similer to the song the Ohio State Band does script ohio to. i remember at LeSourdsville lake we always had a lunch of swiss steak then we had to sing before playing which we all hated. mr Westbrock would not let us ride the roller coaster which was pretty mild compared to todays coasters.afterwards they would raffle off silver dollars to those lucky ones. i won one one year and i believe i still have it. one year they gave everyone a ballcap with an "I" on it.
Larry Brun 1950 - 1956 - I joined as an 8 year old in 1950 and road the bus downtown by myself after school for a nickel. I'm the one in the upper left corner on the picture on the front page. I believe that's Alred in the lower left corner. The picture was taken in the balcony at Holy Angels Church and hung as a very large photo (about 6x10 ft) in the old DP&L building at Christmas time every year for about ten years.I was in every big production that we performed includind the St. Nicholas story. the Steve Allen Show, the western show, the Special christmas show and many others. I was devastated when Mr. Westbrock died in 1955 and found it hard to go on in the chorus. I quit shortly thereafter. Mr. Westbrock was like a father figure to me and was one of the kindest and most influential men in my life. I would like to here from others who were in the chorus at my time. Larry Brun
Fred Moore - I joined the Inland Children's Chorus in 1941 at the age of 8. My mother worked at Inland and thought it would be good for me to sing in the chorus. I sang in the chorus for 6 years. My uncle taught me to play the French horn which I played in the Roosevelt High School Band. I also played in the NCR Band at Old River Park. In 1955 I started playing with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and played with them for 25 years. I feel that the training I got thru the chorus took me to a higher level of music. I have retired my French horn but I now sing in my church choir. P.S. I still carry my folder at my side as I did in the Inland Children's Chorus.
Jerry Alred - Susan, I love your comment about "Evening Prayer"! Thanks to contributors, our "music" page has both a recording and the sheet music for that piece. I always enjoyed not only the reassuring words of that song (I needed 14 angels), but I also appreciated that the bank of hot white spotlights on stage would shift to the much cooler blue lights. Ah!

As I've been preparing reviews to post on the site, I've come to realize that the impact of the performances was much more than the music, great as it often was. The performances involved the costuming and staging by Raymond Sovey, the Broadway theatrical designer whose central role I learned about only this year. It was also the hard work of all those "Inland people" who J.D. O'Brien refers to in his "welcome" on the home page (thanks for help with the collars) and of course the musical talents of Richard Westbrock and Joseph Gieger -- not to mention outstanding musicians like Mary Werner MacCash, Isabel Herbst, Paul Ray Jones, and others. It was the setting of Memorial Hall (Stephen Roddy mentions the "Austrian curtain" Wow!) and the incredible design, setting, and stage at the Dayton Art Institute. All the practices, dedication, and hard work of many came together to produce the performances that were highly praised in the newspaper reviews of concerts.

I share the sentiments of others who say they were lucky to have been part of the Chorus and that's part of the reason why I'm glad to have the opportunity to work with the site. And it's fun handling this historical material even for a short time. Having spent many years in the classroom, I am so pleased as well that Wright State will preserve this history because it offers a model for providing similar opportunities to young people in the future.
Susan Gmaz Jones - I was a member of the Chorus from 1957-1964 and without a doubt it was a very important and influential part of my childhood. My father was a 45 year veteran of the Inland and I was proud to partake of the opportunity that the Chorus provided to the families of their employees. To this day I still hum and sing those songs I learned which turned me into a Broadway "junkie"! Certain memories I remember most are the "Evenings When I Go to Sleep" prayer that always closed the first half of the concerts which I now sing to my grandchildren. I remember so well going to the Loretta and reading comic books before practice began. The nuns upstairs always loved to hear the singing coming from the basement!!! I loved coming to practice on Thursday at 4:00 (Sopranos only) and then on Saturday when all sections came and we put all the harmonies together. Joe Geiger did command strict attention and discipline from us and we always knew what we were there for! Such fond memories I have of those years. I am delighted that Jerry Alred has taken the time and dedication to pull the archives together and a special thanks to Wright State for their part in preserving the Chorus as a part of Dayton history.
Stephen Roddy - I am so happy that we now have a website for Inland Children's Chorus. My two brief years in the Chorus (around 1963-64) had a major impact on my life. I was one of the few children who were admitted into the Chorus because my father was Minister of Music at a local church (at that time Westwood Baptist...which later moved to become Far Hills Baptist). I will never forget my first rehearsal and the fear and trepidation of having to learn "do-re-mi" backwards. I also remember the wonderful gifts we all received at Christmas. In fact, I still have my "Brownie" camera and grey bag! The most memorable impression was standing on the stage when that glorious Austrian curtain came up. I'll never forget the strict rehearsals and the excitement of performing on a concert hall stage. I still cherish my two Inland Children's Chorus Christmas albums! After two degrees in music and many years working in large Texas churches, I founded the Houston Children's Chorus in 1989. Visit our website at www.houstonchildren.org. We sometimes perform upwards of 75 concerts per year --- many times for the President and world leaders. We were featured in the opening ceremonies of the Superbowl in 2004, as backup vocals to Josh Groban. We have the unique privilege of performing regularly with the Houston Symphony. My girls wear formal long dresses and the boys are in tuxes...just like the "old days". ha! SO...it's all because of those wonderful years in the Inland Children's Chorus!
Shirley Whiting - I became a member of the Inland Children's Chorus in 1944. My first concert was the Spring Concert of May 25 and 26, 1944. My regret was not being in the chorus at age eight. Being a member was the highlight of my youth and I loved every minute.

The excitement of waiting in line for the music to march to the stage was beyond words, and after the concert, to still be on the stage and count, out loud, how many times the curtains would re-open again and again to applause from the audience was wonderful. We knew all the hours of practice were appreciated. I felt so very blessed to have been a member and to have had Mr. Westbrock as our Director.

I will be eternally grateful to the Inland Mfg. Div. of GMC and for Mr. Wallace Whittaker, Gen. Mgr. for his decision to encourage children to learn about beautiful music and how it enriches our lives. Also many thanks to Gerald Alred for all the time and effort he has put into getting "OUR" website and also to Wright State Univ. for accepting to be the permanent home for our material.
Diann (Thomas) Brown - I followed in the footsteps of my big brother, joining the chorus in 1958. How exciting to be involved in a large musical production at such an early age! I can still recall the butterflies in my stomach while waiting backstage, standing on those risers, waiting for the curtain to rise to reveal a large, appreciative, applauding audience! True, it was probably mainly family members, but it meant the world to me, making those long, weekly rehearsals all seem worthwhile. As soon as the first number would begin, I felt all my apprehension disappear, ready to put on the show of my life!

I started out my musical �career� singing soprano, and as the years went on and my voice started maturing, I would go on to singing second soprano and finally, alto. I remember asking Mr. Geiger if I could still earn a solo if I was an alto and he assured me I could, so I reluctantly changed. It always seemed to me that the sopranos were the ones who got the solos, but I did earn a solo, of sorts, singing the alto echo in the �Echo� song.

Inland gave us some fantastic Christmas parties over the years! There would be cartoons and homemade popcorn balls, and best of all, presents! One year, probably in 1958, we all got jackets. They were very high quality, the same style worn by college and sports teams at the time. They were white with blue lettering and may have even had our name sewn on them. I was so proud to wear mine, feeling like I belonged to something special! (Attached is a snapshot with me and a chorus friend who is wearing a jacket.) I also recall the time we each got a camera and another time, a �train� case for the girls. Those were different times and Inland spared no expense on us, even taking bus loads of us to LeSourdsville Lake amusement park near Monroe, OH every summer for a day of rides, games and eats! We played bingo and would earn silver dollars as prizes. Oh, how I looked forward to those trips every year!

I will forever be thankful for the musical training and fun times I had while in the Inland Children�s Chorus!
Paul Thomas - The Inland Children�s Chorus was a big part of my childhood, growing up as the last of six kids in a GM family that was constantly surrounded by music. Two of my siblings already sang in the Chorus and even before I was of eligible age, my sister convinced director Joe Geiger that her little 7-year-old brother had a good singing voice. Mr. Geiger allowed me to audition and I earned a spot in the Concert Chorus.

Joe Geiger was one of those guys that commanded respect. He would let kids be kids, but when it was time for rehearsal or a performance, you better be ready to go. This was no time for goofing off! We had a job to do. For 15 years he managed to take a group of 8 to 16-year-olds, most that had no musical experience, and got them to sing in harmony. Even more incredible was that, most of the time, they were in tune!

Concerts were held at Dayton�s Memorial Hall or Art Institute. The stage productions were nothing short of amazing: the Eton suits, bright lights and packed auditorium were all very exciting � and intimidating � to a young boy. Being very small in stature, I had the terrifying position of front row center, just inches from Mr. Geiger�s podium for two whole years! He was so close I could count the beads of sweat on his forehead under the hot stage lights. I can still recall his smile and little wink to calm our jitters before starting a concert.

One shining Chorus moment from my era occurred in December of 1966. In the 1960s, several TV stations had their own local and regional variety or talk shows. Many people recall the Phil Donahue show, which started in WLWD�s (now WDTN) studios. What most people don�t remember is that prior to Donahue, there was the Johnny Gilbert show. Johnny, famous for being the �voice� of the game show Jeopardy, had his own locally produced variety/talk show on WLWD. The show featured many top name guest stars, a live band, an audience and lots of music. Johnny�s 1966 Christmas special featured the Inland Children�s Chorus. I can still recall the family gathering around the TV on Christmas Eve to watch the taped event. At 10 years of age I was appearing on a TV show. This was the big time! [Link to the flier on the �articles� page for �The Music of Christmas� hosted by Johnny Gilbert.]

The chorus kept me musically occupied for six years but I wanted more. After taking up trumpet, the rehearsals of both chorus and band became a bit too much. Puberty wasn�t all that kind to my singing voice anyway, so at age 13, I turned my attention to the trumpet.

Loving music as I do, I still play trumpet today as a weekend warrior in a big band. Last year we played for a party in the Shaw Gothic Cloister at the Dayton Art Institute. While wandering down a hallway looking for chairs for the band, I opened a door and found myself backstage. Suddenly I was peering out into a dark auditorium I hadn�t seen for 40 years. For me, this is where it all started. Chills ran down my spine as I recalled performances from my childhood on that very stage.

The Inland Chorus concerts were larger than life to a child. Inland gave the children lucky enough to be involved a good musical foundation, instilled discipline, and taught them group cooperation. With the difficulty of maintaining profit margins, a more global economy � who knows the reasons � businesses aren�t quite as involved in community today. I was lucky enough to grow up during a time when the GMs and NCRs gave back to their employees, families and the community. Even today, I am richer for their contributions.
Phyllis (Denlinger) Phillips - I recall Mr. Westbrock telling the assembled children in the concert group that we all needed to have black shoes for the concert. But he was also very emphatic in telling us that we should tell our parents that they did not need to buy us new black shoes. He said if we had brown shoes, we could buy black shoe polish and make our shoes black.

I will always remember the �real� trees sprayed white (no artificial Christmas trees then) and the large blue lights at Christmas. As we sang Silent Night, all the lights were dimmed except the blue lights in the background. One Christmas we gave Mr. Westbrock a baton with a small light in it to use during Silent Night as everything was darkened. (I think we took up a collection.)
Jerry Alred - Matt Phelan wrote the following note about the 1940 recording of Silent Night: �The narrator was Deems Taylor of New York. He was best known as the �voice� of the Metropolitan Opera every Saturday. Mr. Whittaker, GM of Inland, brought him in just for this concert which took place at the Dayton Art Institute Dec. 1940.� [JA]: I would add that Deems Taylor is well known by music historians as a composer, music critic, and promoter of classical music. Apparently, Taylor was involved in an arrangement of a Chorus recording of Ave Maria, which includes the following notation on the label: �Edited and arranged for four voices by Deems Taylor.�
Virginia Mauch Wade - I was delighted to learn of this website, which Tom Connair announced at the Golden Flyer Christmas Banquet on Saturday, Dec. 19. I graduated from the chorus in 1949. I cannot remember if I joined at age 8 or later. I do know that I was a member when I was 11, because I have a program from that year. You may find it interesting to hear that I was not related to anyone who worked at Inland. My mother, Leona Wellmeier Mauch, was a second cousin to Richard Westbrock, and she may have thought that connection would get me in. She took me to audition at the Loretto, and fortunately, I was accepted. I went to St. Anthony School, and remember riding the bus back and forth to the rehearsals with various other members, such as Rita and Ray Wittman, Tunney siblings, Doris Bauer, Geraldine and Linda Meixner, Mary Lou and Gerald Wening, and last but not least, our Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk. I will be forever grateful for this experience. Is it known yet where the archive will be located?
Tom Connair - Jerry, In looking for more info re: the chorus, I noticed this statement that accompanied the 1943 picture of the concert group. It reads, "The Inland Children's Chorus was founded in 1936 by Colonel Wallace S. Whittaker, for 20 years Inland's General Manager. The purpose of the Chorus was to give the children of Inland employees an oppor-tunity for musical education which they might not otherwise get, and to make a worthwhile contribution to the cultural life of Dayton. In 7 years, the Chorus has succeeded beyond the fondest hopes of its founder. This talented organization has become nationally known as a result of its annual appear-ances with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, its national broadcasts and other public appearances. Directed by Richard Westbrock, and staged by Raymond Sovey, the Children's Chorus has become, during arduous war days, an added inspiration to the men and women of Inland and to a grateful community--who recognize in it a living symbol of all that America is fighting for". I just want to add that Wally Whittaker wasn't a colonel at the time of the formation of the chorus but became one when he entered the Army. J.D. O'Brien came on board as General Manager of Inland when Wally left. That's it for now, I'm still trying to figure out how to get some of the Inlander pictures transferred to a disc so lI can send them to you. Maybe that will happen after the first of the year. Merry Christmas (2009)
Tom Connair - Jerry, I goofed, the name of the theater on 4th St. was Keith's, not Lowe's. I'm sure someone will catch that besides me. (A senior moment) I have sent your blog address on to my brothers, Mike and Tim and my sister, Susan (that's all that is left of our family of 7 siblings) so I hope they will chime in with some words of their own. As for me, I will add more thoughts at a later date.
Jerry Alred - Tom, this is wonderful history. Wow! Thanks so much. This sort of posting is terrific for building the historical record of the Chorus for the site and for any permanent institutional home. I�d certainly urge you and others to contribute more memories about the Chorus.
Tom Connair, DVM - Jerry, Thanks for the opportunity to comment about the chorus. My four older brothers were charter members and I joined in 1936, when I was 7. In succeeding years my younger brother and my sister also became members. Wallace Whitaker was the general manager of Inland at that time and my Dad, Sylvan Connair, Sr. was plant engineer and as such he worked with Raymond Sovey who came from NYCity to design the set for our concerts. To start with we did not have an equal number of boys and girls in the "concert" choir as is evident in some of the "Inlander" issues I have. The "darling" of the chorus at that time was Angela Mae Lehman who lived on Forest Ave. Paula Shay was only one of the many Shays to sing in the chorus. As a sidebar, Dick Westbrock had an all boys choir which went by the name of "Westbrock Singing Boys" and it is my belief that (I was also a member of this group) since we sang at Christmas time for Richard Grant and his family when they were having dinner on Christmas eve, Grant asked Dick Westbrock if he could form a childrens' chorus if a division of G.M. would sponsor it. Out of this came the sponsorship by Inland. For those of you who don't know the name Dick Grant, he was the president or CEO of G.M. in the 30's and lived in the outskirts of Dayton on an estate that went by the name "Normandy Farms". They raised purebred Jersey or Gurnsey cattle. Back to other info about the "chorus", we rehearsed at the "Dayton Industries" building which had been the YMCA but is now the Dayton Municipal building. From there we went to the Loretto and then to the Dayton Young Women's Club on 4th St. near Lowe's theater. After that I think rehearsals went back to the Loretto. I could share more memories but I think I've gone on long enough for now.
Terry (Theresa Shay) Lupp - Thank you, Jerry ! I was in the Chorus - perhaps one of the longest, since I joined when I was 6 yrs. old, and had to leave when I was sixteen.Mr. Westbrock and Mr. O'Brien had a farewell ceremony,and I received a suitcase (which I still have)(Later they changed thr entry age to 8yrs.) I'm so glad you have this site (altho' I'm sorry I don't remember you....
Katie LoPresti - Hello! My grandmother, Phyllis (Denlinger) Phillips was in this choir from 1938 until roughly 1946. She told me about this site; I think it's fantastic! Either my Adobe is too old a version, or there is a problem with the site because I can't view the programs. Anyhow I'm really excited that you're doing this.
Jerry Alred - Yes, I posted the comment and link. Thanks so much for your thoughtful post! Your grandfather was a remarkable man and so important to many of us. Should you discover materials that would help with this history, we�d love to get digital copies to add to the collection -- even if something duplicates an item on the site, it could be in better condition.
Rick Westbrock - Thanks to Jerry (I assume) for posting a link to this site on my family site http://westbrock.net since there is a lot of material here that I had never seen before. Richard B. Westbrock was my grandfather after whom I was named (and sadly was never able to meet) so this site contains a lot of family history. Thanks for sharing and if I come across any information that I can offer I'll be sure to let you all know.
diana - this is a great project for preserving a piece of culture that could be forgotten
Cynthia Sommer - Congratulations on your extensive collection of the music, programs and pictures of the Inland Chorus. History of the chorus should be preserved,
Ulrike Mueller, Germany - HI, I just came across your site, when looking for a recording of "Silent Night". What a nice idea to preserve this music and history of your chorus. Best regards from Germany.
Paul Thomas - Jerry, Nice job on the site. I would encourage visitors to leave a comment and let us know they were here.
Jerry Alred - Does anyone know the title or composer of the March on Stage included on the music page?