Morris music prodigy got kicked out of practice

Mona Lyn Reese

Don't we all have a memory of a school teacher from our past who applied excessive punishment or discipline? It's unfortunate that every time I think of Morris native Mona Lyn Reese, I have such a memory. I had occasion to talk with Mona's brother at a visitation last week. It was a pleasant conversation. Mona's brother Scott is one of those high school peers who is always comforting to see the rest of your life. You can all think of such people I'm sure.
In the course of our conversation, I just had to allude to a notorious incident - "notorious" is not overstatement - from MAHS marching band history. Marching band was a most thriving chapter in our town's history. Naturally you could hear the band practicing over a wide area, just as we could once hear Duane Kindschi's voice blaring from Coombe Field when football season started. These were pleasant signals of the vitality of our community. We need more such signs today.
The summer of 2018 seems especially dreary in our Morris MN. The community goes limp and quiet in so many ways. Our library deserves top compliments for keeping a sense of activity. If you get the weekly "Friday Facts" email, you'll notice that events at our library, mostly for kids, dominate. Kudos to our library director Anne Barber. Anne has helped facilitate a weekly "movie club," meeting on Thursday nights. Also involved in this are Kyle and Charisse, whose last names I don't know and I'm not sure I'm spelling Charisse correctly. "Kyle" seems like a safe bet. Both are associated with UMM. Kyle is a teacher and Charisse has a different role, or so I've been told. I need to get more familiar with both.
I have an instinctive defensiveness around college teachers, in other words the UMMers in our midst. I'm concerned they can be judgmental, like they're always ready to indict the ignorant masses. Frankly I don't think the problem is as bad as in the '70s when I attended a state college. We were always told we didn't have enough empathy or understanding of the "inner city" people. I think some people were watching a few too many Norman Lear sitcoms. That new wave of sitcoms like "Good Times" (about times that weren't all that good) was just economically motivated - surprise! The movers and shakers in TV entertainment decided that the rural model for so much entertainment did not have the commercial potential of appealing to the growing urban element of our society. Goodbye to westerns, "Mayberry RFD" and "Petticoat Junction" (with "Uncle Joe").
Anne Barber told me yesterday that this week's library movie club has been canceled. It is because of a refrain which is quite associated with this community, a community about which Del Sarlette has always joked that we have an "apathy festival." I'm told we won't meet Thursday because certain people "will be gone." I'm told it's a struggle to even get the Hancock marching band kids to be available for their Fourth parade. So many people say they're "going to be gone." At least that's what they say unless it's just a pervasive feeling of apathy or laziness. Maybe there should be a billboard on the outskirts of Morris with the message "welcome to Morris, we're going to be gone."
 
Long ago but well remembered
These thoughts are prompted by my reflections on the marching band years at our high school. Seeing Scott Reese prompted memories of our halcyon days, you might call it. And, thinking of Scott's sister Mona unavoidably got me thinking about an unpleasant nugget of our history. Guys who had Bob Brimi for shop class often remark in a mixed way - charm and resentment - about the harsh punishment this big guy might mete out. I assure you it's legendary. But Brimi had nothing over band director John Woell on the night in question.
I had forgotten some of the details of that earthshaking incident. Upon mentioning it, I was surprised that Scott was 1) eager to talk about it, and 2) eager to share the fine details. This shows that episodes like this can leave scars. Here's what happened according to Morris lore: Us kids were supposed to be present at the school for an evening rehearsal, at a specific time, and the director stressed we be punctual lest there could be hell to pay. Well, the director himself turned out to be a half-hour late on that night, the way this was recalled for me. As we assembled for the practice, not outdoors but still in the band room, Woell was upset about how loud and rambunctious we were.
One could suggest we had become restless waiting for the tardy director. Upon being reprimanded by the director, some sentiment was vented regarding the behavior of the director. Mona spoke for all of us. It wouldn't have been a big deal had Woell not responded harshly. Keep in mind that Mona Lyn hardly had an incorrigible reputation. It was quite the opposite, although she definitely showed signs of thinking for herself. And remember, such independent thinking wasn't always approved by our elders back around 1970. Mona stated the obvious when she confronted Woell with a comment about how he himself should not have been late. She wasn't loud or emotional.
But Woell kicked her out of practice. Being in marching band instilled pride in those days in Morris, contradicting the apathy template of today, so if you got disciplined harshly or even got kicked out of practice, you'd want to come back the next day.
I remember when Woell seemed especially hard on a trombone player named Jay Stillwell, for reasons I could never understand. I think back to how I might have given some "lip" back to the director. Eventually Marilyn Strand did just that to the director. Those were the times when young people started feeling their oats in terms of being assertive, exemplified best with how we protested the Viet Nam war. But it manifested itself in many other ways too. It manifested itself on a micro level with how Mona spoke up that night.
 
Hey, just blow it off?
Woell should have shown humility and said "you know, that's a good point and I ought to set a better example."
Mona Lyn Reese today? My, she's a highly accomplished composer of music. She instills envy in me. I write songs but a lot of it is three-chord in nature. I'd argue there's nothing wrong with that - it in fact can be very artistic - if your lyrics are good. Lyrics are just a variation of poetry and can be more demanding, I'd argue, because you have to fit the words with a melodic cadence.
I could review Mona's accomplishments here but I encourage you to check out her Wikipedia page. She's an illustrious creator of music. Did she grow as a result of her little incident with band director Woell? You know what they say: "adversity builds character." Mona indeed is exemplary with her character.
I had my own incident with Gene Mechelke. Steve Poppe can tell you about that. I don't think the late Mechelke is worth the attention of a blog post.
Addendum: Marilyn Strand's rejoinder to the director was: "That's no way to teach!"
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com