by Kathy Anderson; Published in The Westby Times, October 20 and 27, 2015
Everyone remembers their “first” or their “last” something, like your first kiss or your last flat tire. This year’s Westby High School band will go down in history as the first to march on the new football field and the upperclassmen were some of the last to have marched at Veterans’ Field so that makes for a great reason to do an article on the history of the band. Ass this year’s football season comes to a close.
The Ski(Westby High School Annual) reports that a high school band of 15 boys was started at WHS in 1924, supervised by Miss Frances Lanke. In the next school year, the Westby Public School Band was organized by Otto Brown, who directed both the Viroqua and Westby bands for several years to come. In the first twenty-five years of the band, although they won medals and performed often, they struggled to keep things going. There were at least seven directors, membership often fluctuated from less than twenty, to seventy-some and back to maybe thirty or so students. The Kiwanis Club and the Band Mothers organizations had to raise a tremendous amount of money for instruments, uniforms and traveling expenses to help support the band.
All these facts may be of interest to historians but the real story comes from the many people who were interviewed to share the following chapters of the Westby High School Band.
There are many people in Westby today who still remember Milton Spors. In 1948, when he was hired as the Social Problems teacher and Director, the band was still struggling. Under his leadership, the band would begin to grow, on its way to becoming an outstanding music institution. Mr. Spors set up a practice schedule for every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Maybe confirmation classes would not allow Wednesday practices? Mr. Spors came to WHS with the discipline of a military background and a love of education nurtured by his Master’s degree from Columbia University. As I interviewed his students, they described him as “firm, respected and demanding.” I heard stories of how the entire drum section was thrown out one afternoon because they had not been practicing enough, and I was told of Mr. Spors’ kindness when he gave someone a ride home because practice ran late that day. He could give you “the look” or tap his baton to get instant silence in the room. By 1960, the band met everyday to practice and learn the fundamentals of music. There was no reading the music when you were marching; you had to learn it by heart. All that toughness didn’t deter the students; in fact, it made them work even harder. By the time he retired in June 1976, Mr. Spors had built the band to a consistent number of over 70 student members and had won first place at competitions every one of the 28 years he was the director. He often told his students “If you can’t feel it, you ain’t got it.” Beyond the tough demeanor, he wanted his band to enjoy the music.
In the fall of 1976, the band continued to grow with the arrival of Ron Evenstad. As a Westby graduate and a student of Milton Spors, Mr. Evenstad immediately picked up the baton from Mr. Spors by adding a piccolo, double horns, a bassoon and xylophone to the instrument list. The students had to learn his “different style” of marching and he added student conductors, all during his first year. They immediately tagged him as “Mr. E.” His teaching methods were more relaxed than Mr. Spors but the performances he got from his students remained high, continuing the first place recognition at competitions and instilling a joy for the music. Word spread through the student body that Mr. E was a great director and more students came. My interviews with his students describe him as dedicated and helpful with every student; he was encouraging and fun. TheSkireported on his “warm, easy going personality.” The band grew its reputation of excellence in both the local community and the professional world of Wisconsin high school bands under the guidance of Mr. E. When he retired in 1994, he had increased the band to over one hundred students and had won first place in competitions for seventeen of the eighteen years he was director.
The current band director, Monte Dunnum, is also a Westby graduate who became director in 1994 following Mr. E’s retirement. In just two years, by 1996, the band had grown to such a size that it had to be split into two concert bands – first, to better serve the needs of the students and second, because so many students practicing in one room would violate fire codes. Currently the band has to practice in the school gym during marching season because of fire code issues in relationship to its size.
Today, after twenty-three years as band director, Mr. Dunnum only occasionally makes small changes to the teaching model he learned from Mr. E so that the interests and schedules of the students can be accommodated. The current variety of marching, pep, polka and jazz bands, in addition to brass, woodwind and percussion ensembles perform at 28 athletic events, various concerts and five parades during the school year. Mr. Dunnum told me they could be much busier if they accepted all invitations they receive.
There is one part of the program that Monte has really enhanced during his tenure. By adding a full Concert Band performance at Veterans’ Day, and even having an annual video with the performance, “helps to honor the sacrifice that veterans have made for our freedoms.” Because Monte believes in “an atmosphere of trust and respect” between the director and the students, serious instruction, fun and purpose can all be a part of the students’ experiences.
The exceptional caliber of these directors has also been recognized by professionals outside the Westby area. Mr. E and Mr. Dunnum have both received the Sperati Award from Luther College, given annually to only one alumni for meritorious achievement in music. This award recognizes the quality and dedication of a faculty member that has influenced their students’ performances and lives. In 2010, Kory Dahlen, another WHS graduate, joined the band faculty and is being mentored by his former teacher, Mr. Dunnum and he has already earned the reputation of excellence bestowed on the prior three directors; all four men, Mr. Spors, Mr. Evenstad, Mr. Dunnum and Mr. Dahlen have received membership in the American School Band Directors Association. A director has to be nominated for this special membership after five years of experience working with a band.
When I interviewed Mr. Dunnum, he shared that the WHS band program is a very “unique situation” because Milt directed Ron all through high school and he also directed Monte through the eighth grade. Then Ron directed Monte through high school and Kory through his freshman year. Finally, Monte directed Kory through the rest of his high school years. This “band director to student who becomes band director” succession at WHS has created an investment in the students, the community and the alumni that would be very difficult to duplicate in any other school system.
The band has now grown to an unbelievable one hundred sixty students. Mr. Spors was the first to get twenty-eight medals, Mr. E was the first to instill real joy, Mr. Dunnum is the first to actually direct more than 50% of the WHS student body as members of the band in a single school year, Mr. Dahlen is next in line to create his own “firsts” and Westby hasn’t seen the “last” of this history-making band!
I want to thank all the people who shared their band stories, with a special thank you to Monte Dunnum, for contributing to this article.
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