Richard Nixon was on the ballot. This was 1960, not 1968. Minnesota was in its last year of not having major league baseball, if you can imagine that. In Morris the times were abuzz, exciting. We were early in year one of the U of M-Morris. The push for getting the U here was not easy but it certainly bore fruit. We branded ourselves as this small public liberal arts college. Ahem, out on the prairie even. And we were bursting our buttons over it.
My father Ralph E. Williams had a lot to do with getting this venture launched. You'll see a reminder of that by the entrance to the HFA recital hall. There is a display.
How invested was my father in establishing UMM music? You might say100 percent because he was the only UMM music faculty in year one. What a dream come true for a guy with his background, to completely guide a new music department right at the inception. And the very first UMM music concert was in November of 1960. The election must have been held right around then. The newspaper article announcing this seminal event came out on Nov. 4.
Nixon was running against JFK. Nixon lost, fell into obscurity for a considerable time and then he rose from the ashes in '68. He might be remembered as a hero today if he had worked to get our servicemen out of Vietnam post haste. We all know how that turned out. The war dragged on as the protests grew so intense, by 1970 graduations were having to be canceled out East because of the threat of protest violence. I personally was present for a couple of Vietnam "moratoriums" at Edson Auditorium on campus. I soaked in the sense of unrest of the times.
I was a member of the UMM band for a few months. Oh, I was only junior high age. The UMM band needed some help in the French horn section.
Getting back to 1960, the grand occasion of the music program's debut had the historic musicians wearing navy blue uniforms. It's my understanding these were hand-me-downs from the Twin Cities campus. The group must have looked really grand. The uniforms were trimmed with maroon and gold!
And where did this significant event take place? It was at the old armory which was located where the public library is today. Fewer people all the time will remember the grand old edifice of the armory. It was consumed by flames in the mid-1960s. A purely accidental fire? Hmmm. Whatever, we got the new armory which is still an impressive building out by Eagles Park.
And we got the new library which I think opened in 1970. And I remember the old stalwart librarian Margaret Grove working there. She was a stalwart at the previous Carnegie library which would eventually become the museum. Mom used to walk me to the Carnegie library. You had better not whisper too loudly there! Shhh! Standards were softened when it came to that. I remember talking with Wally Behm at the new library when Wally's voice could rather resonate!
I played elementary basketball at the old Morris armory. I played under Marvin Laabs. Dances were held at the place. It had a downstairs auditorium. I wonder how that place could have been renovated to still be in use today.
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| My father in 1962 |
What a community-wide spectacle. It was perfect for bringing everyone together to wave the banner for our new, hard-won institution of UMM.
"A band of this size was not anticipated for the first year," the article continued. Well, way to go, Dad. Dad was a 1939 graduate of the U-Twin Cities. And he got his Master's Degree there too. He went on to be a prolific composer. He wrote the "UMM Hymn" for the institution's opening. IMHO that composition could be performed a little more often today. I liked how Ken Hodgson had his group perform it.
Up Keillor's alley
The UMM concert choir performed the Hymn for when Garrison Keillor was here, and I'm certain that the song was right up Keillor's alley: campus sentiment so well-established. The first two lines grab you and direct your attention to this community: "We salute our Minnesota, Morris our campus dear."
The original head of the campus wanted Dad to write UMM-themed songs that emphasized "Morris." As the years passed, the priorities changed to where the institution just wanted to emphasize that we were part of the U, not that we we were located in Morris. So we adopted the "Minnesota rouser" song. Well, quite the old turnip IMHO.
Dad wrote the original UMM "fight song" which I feel possibly had a flaw in the second line of lyrics. So I have suggested an alternative for the opening:
Fight, fight, fight for Morris U
Spike, spike, spike an ace or two
My father could not have written this because intercollegiate volleyball did not exist in 1960. "Basketball" was simply basketball with no gender specified. Such a different world.
And, such a different world with no Minnesota Twins yet! Can you imagine such a reality? And hey, aren't the "Lynx" doing great now?
My father thought UMM got too laser-focused on the "liberal arts" thing. We'll see how UMM's mission facilitates its continued survival. I like the current head guy, Mike Rodriguez.
Alas, the music department has lost "symphonic winds." That might be a concerning sign for UMM's future. The choir program does not resemble Hodgsons's program. I do feel the music faculty are doing all they can.
The HFA is an albatross for the place. Oh, the days of architectural "fads." Fads were all over the place at that time. Practicality has made its triumphant return, is taken for granted now.
Fund has resilience
The family fund named for Ralph and Martha Williams continues to support UMM music. And it will have a purpose for the U even if the worst happens and UMM's operations are suspended. I have been assured of that. Dad was in the U marching band when it traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a big appearance. He thought that was very special. He left us in 2013. And then Mom followed him to heaven in 2018. They were in their 90s when leaving this existence. Me? I'm 71.
The original UMM concert band, 1960-61. A flair for artistry and entertaining. It performed at Edson Auditorium.
Addendum: Is it inappropriate for me to suggest a change to something that Dad wrote? Well I look at it this way: the original UMM "fight song" is dead. It is not even revived for archival/sentimental purposes. Given that, constructive suggestions cannot do any harm. It might be the only hope for hearing it again. An instrumental-only rendition of the song would sound terrific, I swear.
Another thought on the old "fight song": Do you suppose the word "fight" contradicted the spirit of the "make love, not war" times of the 1960s?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - musicstuff54@gmail.com
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