BandTown USA . . . The City
of Chatfield, established in 1853, has a long association with bands
and performance. The first band was organized in 1883. In 1885 the
Chatfield town council set up a tax appropriation to fund summer band
concerts. The summer band concerts and the tax levy that supports them
still exist today!
Chatfield Brass Band circa 1910
Somewhere along the way, the Chatfield Town Band
dissolved but was revived again by Jim Perkins in 1969. Perkins gleaned
the names of band members from old high school yearbooks and sent out
invitations to the first rehearsal of the new Chatfield Brass Band.
Sixteen people attended the first rehearsal, six of them playing tuba!
Through Perkins' tireless promotion, the band grew to nearly 50 members.
Word of Chatfield's unique music reputation spread throughout the
country. In 1973, the library and band incorporated and achieved tax
exempt status. In 1983, the city's post office received permission to
use a special cancellation stamp reading "Bandtown USA, 125th
Anniversary, 1853 -1978." The post office also received about 40,000
13-cent stamps to commemorate the event. Governor Anderson proclaimed
Chatfield "Bandtown USA" in 1978. The US Navy Band, Swiss Bands, and
other international bands have performed in Chatfield.
One problem facing the band was the unavailability of sheet music. Not
just any sheet music, but the hard to come by kind; the challenging
pieces rarely played today. Perkins sent requests to high schools to
send him their unneeded music. Thus began the Chatfield Brass Band
Music Lending Library. Pieces came from all over the country--in boxes,
thirty to sixty at a time. The music was first stored at Perkins' home,
and then at Chatfield City Hall. Music took over the storerooms, the
men's shower stalls and spilled out into the hallways.
Perkins eventually received money from the state legislature to build a
3000 square foot building on land he donated. Today inside the music
library, stacks of filing cabinets contain thousands of catalogued
pieces of music. Bands from as far away as Australia and Japan have
borrowed from this valuable collection.
Incredibly, most of the library work is done by volunteer staff. The
majority of the financial support comes from memberships and donations.
