HR1310LRB098 23157 GRL 62150 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, For 160 years, the DeKalb Municipal Band has
3entertained the DeKalb community; the band holds the
4distinction of being the oldest continuous playing band in
5Illinois; and
 
6    WHEREAS, A group of musicians returning from the California
7gold fields in 1854 formed the DeKalb Silver Comet Band; and
 
8    WHEREAS, During the Civil War, many of the Band's musicians
9joined the military, but when they returned to DeKalb, they
10resumed the Band under the leadership of David and Daniel
11McCosh; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1903, the Band accepted an invitation to become
13the band of the Third Regiment of the Illinois National Guard,
14a post the Band held until 1917; during this period, C.F.
15Toenniges served as director as the Band performed at Huntley
16Park and occasionally at Liberty Park and Unity Park; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In the "Roaring Twenties", C.H. Palmer, manager of
18the Band, kept the Band from bankruptcy by raising money to
19support the band through fundraisers and contributions from
20local businesses; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 1925, C.H. Palmer took the initiative to lobby
2the General Assembly to create a municipal band tax, which
3passed into law in 1926; DeKalb became the first community to
4take advantage of the taxing authority; and
 
5    WHEREAS, During the 1930s, Hopkins Park was built in DeKalb
6with the help of the Works Projects Administration and the band
7moved its weekly concerts from neighborhood parks to Hopkins
8Park, where it remains today; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 1948, Dee Palmer, son of C.H. Palmer, assumed
10the directorship of the Band and held regular Tuesday evening
11concerts from June through mid-August; Dee served as director
12for 63 years; in appreciation of his service, the band shell
13was renamed the Dee Palmer Band Shell in the 1980s and a bronze
14statue of him directing the band was erected in 2010; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The DeKalb Municipal Band consists of 60 local
16residents, school teachers, college music majors, former
17members of United States Military Bands, and several
18professional musicians; the Band has been under the leadership
19of only 4 directors from the community, 3 of them from the
20Palmer family and the current Director, Kirk Lundbeck, who has
21been a member of the Band for 35 years; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The DeKalb Municipal Band has created a reason for

 

 

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1the people of DeKalb to gather to enjoy each other's company,
2the summer evenings, and the joyous sounds of the band; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The DeKalb Municipal Band plans to present a gala
4holiday concert on December 13, 2014 in honor of its 160th
5season and the continuous support of the DeKalb community;
6therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9we congratulate the members of the DeKalb Municipal Band on
10their long standing tradition of entertainment and the Band's
11status as the oldest continuous playing band in the State of
12Illinois; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14presented to the City of DeKalb and the DeKalb Municipal Band
15as a symbol of our esteem and respect.