In the early spring of 1954, Mount Tabor area parents, discouraged with the limited options their children had to experience quality musical education, decided to organize a concert band that would provide this direction and experience. The band was incorporated as a non-profit organization in June of that same year under the governance of a seven member Board of Trustees. The board detailed the band's mission in it's Certificate of Incorporation stating that the band was "to promote and further the interest, education and appreciation of music in and about the general area of Mt. Tabor" and "to provide recreation, good fellowship, good sportsmanship, and appreciation of citizenship and Americanism among the youth of the above stated area." From it's very first year the Mount Tabor band enjoyed a reputation for musical excellence and proficiency in which generations of students have learned basic music skills. Indeed many band members moved on to star in regional and state bands. The band's first directors were two talented musicians and teachers who guided the musicians as they developed their skills. The first director, Herman L. Dash,was the Director of Instrumental Music at Morris Hills Regional High School. His co-director, Donald Marrs, was the director of instrumental music at Parsippany High School. He had joined the band a few years after its inception as an instructor. Mount Tabor enjoyed a successful first season providing shows for many different civic functions to include annual parades, competitions, and summer park events.
The first season's success forced some structural changes on the organization. The Board of Trustees developed a Parents Association in November of 1954 to help with logistics such as organizing concerts, providing transportation, and planning social functions. In addition to the Parents Association the Board hired new instructors to keep class size to a minimum, added a junior band to offer instruction to beginning players and a librarian was tasked to maintain the large sheet music collection. In the ensuing years, as the students gained experience, several different groups were formed to include a wind ensemble, a Brass choir, and a Dance Band.
In 1956 the Board decided to make the band a year long program by adding a summer session "with lessons and rehearsals every day." This was a risky move for a program with limited resources however Director Donald Marrs indicated that he would be willing to leave the Boonton school district for the Mount Tabor program if such a program were created. Plans were discussed during the next few months and the first annual Summer Program was held that year. Meanwhile the size of the band continued to expand with enrollment reaching 150 children for the 1957-1958 school year thus permitting the year long program.
By 1965 the Parsippany School music program was able to assume responsibility for providing instruction to students during the school year but the summer program continued with occasional changes in location, moving from one school to another. In 1968 dropping enrollment threatened the continued existence of the band though the board effectively reversed the decline through a variety of strategies and the band's numerical and financial health stabilized.
For the next decade and a half the band remained a viable option for the youth of the Mount Tabor area interested in developing their musical skills. However in 1983 the band entered another period of financial distress. Utilizing many of the same strategies used for the 1968 crisis the band was able to continue though Mount Tabor was forced to let go of some of the instructors.
The band is still providing excellent musical training for the area youth. Some of the more notable concerts that the band performed include the Kiwanis International Convention in Atlantic City in 1957, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1957, the 1964 World's Fair, an annual show at the Irem Temple, a Shriners temple in Dallas PA, and a semi- consistent summer program at the Greystone Psychiatric Hospital.
The Mount Tabor Band Collection spans the years 1953-2004. The collection consists of the certificate of incorporation, Board of Trustees minutes, band histories written by staff, summer schedules, scholarship information, correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, and a phonograph recording of the band. The Mount Tabor Band Records documents the experience of one of New Jersey's premier youth bands.
This series describes the creation of the band by the parents of local youths and its early history. It includes the certificate of incorporation, histories written by either Board of Trustee members or parents, and a resume of the band.
The band was managed and run under the direction of a Board of Trustees whose members included Hope Henes, Josephine A. Wilson, Edwin G. Lincoln, Walter Littell, H.L. Aiken, Roger S. Kingsland, and Frank C. Scerbo. The Board's responsibility was to hire the band directors and teachers, set agendas, and determined the by- laws and constitution. This series contains the Board's meeting minutes, material from individual board members to include Aiken, Grant, and Lincoln consisting of correspondence, letters of resignation, and Committee reports that provide suggestions to improve governance. There are some difficulties with the minutes; the collection is missing several years,1961-mid-1964 and 1983 and there are some significant gaps within the years 1990-2003. Until the late 1980's the minutes are handwritten and often difficult to decipher. Most minutes contain some financial information though some financial records were separated into a different file folder.
This series details the band's leadership and membership, programming publicity for the band and for concerts including press releases, testimonials, and band advertisements in a bulletin. In addition there are folders with information on some of the directors and instructors, staff lists, and information on the Summer School Program. This collection also has an album recorded by the band in 1958.
Within the first few years the Mount Tabor Band had established its' reputation among New Jersey concert bands as a gifted group of adolescent musicians. Their performances were well attended and they were asked by numerous organizations to perform, including the 1964 World's Fair and repeated trips to the Irem Temple in Dallas PA. This series includes concert programs, a folder on the World's Fair, information about yearly concerts at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, Mt. Tabor Children's Day Celebration, the band's annual fall concert, parades, and special concerts and a plaque from the Boy Scouts for a concert given by the Mount Tabor Band. There are several photographic print plates from the Irem Temple 1963 concert.
Hundreds of children have at one time or another been members of the Mount Tabor Band, many of which were talented enough to move to other more advanced bands. This series contains the lesson and practice schedules for the students as well specific information on band scholarships and award shows. Also included in this series are: records from students invited to the University of New Hampshire's summer music school; band medal and scholarship awardees as well as information about two memorial scholarships to be utilized by students intending to major in music in college; the Chandler Fund, established by the Chandler family in memory of their son; the Betty Kay Memorial Fund, established in memory of a former secretary and Board member; student correspondence with the Board thanking them for scholarships received; and two folders for the annual awards show, one for the seniors and one for the junior high school students. Enrollment records are also included in this series. They are restricted until the year 2075.
The parents were an integral part of the Mount Tabor band. They provided transportation to concerts and practices as well as supervising the Saturday morning rehearsals. This series includes letters sent by the Board to parents in 1968 and 1983 apprizing parents of the financial crises facing the band. Some other records dealing with parents can be found in other series and in scrapbooks.
This series details such items as insurance, the financial crises of 1983, the Community Methodist Church of Mount Tabor, and phone directory sponsored by Mount Tabor, the twentieth anniversary (note, there is only one stray piece of paper with some idle notes detailing some possible ideas for a celebration), van rentals and the Parsippany Troy Hills School District. The Parsippany Troy Hills folder contains concert programs for the High School band as well as a 1987 newsletter from the Parsippany Hills High School music department. There is also one flyer detailing the 1955 season for McLure's Student Band marching band from Littleton New Hamphire.
The Mount Tabor Band was a favorite of the community and was frequently featured in the local papers. This series contains two file folders of newspaper clippings arranged chronologically. The topics are generally related to performances but there are also items about recreation and the accomplishments of individual members.
The Mount Tabor band documented many of their events and daily activities through photographs. The band also matted 52 black and white photographs of concerts and practices. The series has been divided into full band portraits, concerts, practices, and individual instrument sections, e.g. clarinets. There is also a folder of individuals and groups not necessarily band related. Two of the band portrait pictures have an accompanying paper identifying the band members. Five videotapes are also a component of this series. They cover band performances of the years 1991 and 1992.
The band created two scrapbooks, one covering the first two years of the band from 1954-1956 and the second covering the next eight years 1957-1965. The books contain concert programs and tickets, newspaper clippings, statements of receipts and expenditures, as well as letters to parents and the community. The books are in fragile condition. In addition to the scrapbooks the band created two matted poster boards for display. The boards highlight different periods in the band's history. The first board contains programs and pictures from the 1950's and the second contains material from the 1960's to the 1980's.
The bulk of this material is open for research under the conditions of the North Jersey History Center archives access policy. Box #4 of the collection has been restricted. This box may not be accessed without first consulting the archivist. The remaining records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in The Mount Tabor Band Records may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the North Jersey History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
The records of the Mount Tabor Band (1953-2004) were donated to the North Jersey History Center of the Morristown and Morris Township Library in 1989 by Mrs. Joyce Wetstein, President of the Mount Tabor Summer Band Incorporated. Subsequent donations are made on a periodic basis.
Mount Tabor Band Records. North Jersey History Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Arranged by Lawrence T. Greene, Spring 2004. Last revised Spring 2008, by North Jersey History Center Archivist.