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July 2018 Making Music in the Middle of America Volume VIII, Issue 8
Keep the Whole World Singing!
The Chordnator
Memorial Day Services May 28
Nebraskappella! Day
Congratulations to
Chapter BOTM
August 26
As the Kearney Area 1733 Barbershop
Chorus winds its way through July and
August, the schedule will take the harmo-
nizers to a parade in Kearney, and fair-
grounds in Holdrege for the Phelps Coun-
ty Fair, July 22; and Grand Island for the
Nebraska State Fair August 26.
These events give
the chorus a tremen-
dous amount of ex-
posure to the public
and keeps the chorus
on the forefront of
an organization that
provides service
through our barber-
shop music.
The exciting thing
about barbershop
music is that it
brings both the
memories of early
20th Century tunes
to the audiences as
well as some more
contemporary songs
of recent popularity.
Many of the chapter
members are able to
attend nearly every
singing event. They
are also providing
glorious church mu-
sic at churches through the area from Lex-
ington to Shelton and Holdrege to Raven-
na.
There are bright eyes and smiles shown as
well as elderly nursing facilities visited by
chorus members on many Monday even-
ing starting in May and running to Sep-
tember.
Chapter President Gary
Helms even attempted to en-
courage men to join us if just for church
singing.
When we get to the end of August we join
barbershoppers and Sweet Adelines from
across the state to promote our hobby at
the Nebraska State Fair.
The following have been recognized
recently as Barbershoppers of the
Month, Jim Berglund, April; John
Moore, May; and Jeremy Hemphill,
June.
THE AVENUE OF Flags are part of
the Memorial Day services each year at
the Kearney Cemetery. The 1733 Cho-
rus add patriotic music as well. (Photo
by John Moore)
See the blog by Debra Lynn on page 4
1733 Chorus
Seen at Parades,
County, State
Fair Venues
Have a
Happy,
Flag
Filled
July
4th!
Website at kearneychorus.com
Weekly meetings at
Countryside Christian
Church, (west of Har-
mon Park) 3203 8th
Ave. in Kearney at
7:30 p.m. on Mondays
(except holidays).
Please use the south
entrance and south
parking area.
MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Kearney Area1733 Barbershop Chorus is to pro-
mote, preserve, and perpetuate barbershop style harmony in both
choruses and quartets. To accomplish this, we will strive to improve
our singing and performance skills through fun, fellowship and team-
work, ultimately adding to the artistic quality and charitable outreach
in our community.
Page 2 Volume VIII, 8 The Chordnator July 2018
An official publication of the
Kearney Area 1733 Barbershop Chorus
Board of Directors and Officers of the Kearney Area 1733 Barbershop Chorus
Musical Director
Fran Wilson, [email protected], 308/234-5376
Assistant Directors
Monty McCollough, Ed Kohel, John Moore, Gary Davis
President
Gary Helms, [email protected], 308/236-7472
Secretary
Ron Morris, [email protected]
Treasurer
James Berglund, [email protected], 308/627-6416
VP Membership & Chapter Development
John Moore
VP Music & Performance
Monty McCollough, [email protected],
308/238-3423
Director of Pubic Relations
Gary Straatmann, [email protected], 308/234-3500
Chapter Hospitality & Sunshine Chairman
Donald Lif, [email protected], 308/746-2533
Chapter Historian
Mitch O’Neill, [email protected], 308/440-3330
Harmony Foundation Chairman
Mitch O’Neill
Board Members at Large Robert Wagner, [email protected], 308/240-1534; James Sanks,
[email protected], 308/237-7136
Bulletin Editor Web Site Administrator
John Moore, 308/325-5430 [email protected]
A Minneapolis lawyer went duck hunting up north. He shot a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly Norwegian farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing. The litigator responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it." The old farmer replied, "Dis is my property, and you are not coming over here." The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in Minnesota and if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own." The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we settle dis-putes. We settle small disagreements like dis with the 'Three Kick Rule.'" The lawyer asked, "What is the 'Three Kick Rule'?" The farmer replied, "Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on, back and forth until someone gives up." The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local cus-tom. The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the mid-riff sent the lawyer's breakfast gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his ample rear end, sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie. The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and remaining strength and very slowly managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, you old fart. Now it's my turn." The old farmer smiled and said, "Nah, I give up. You can have da duck.”
Shared By
Chorus
Comic
Bruce Beitler
Joke of
the Month
This One Just ‘Quacks’ Me Up!
The Chordnator July 2018 Page 3 Volume VIII, Issue 8
Don Lif and I travel nearly
every Monday evening from
Lexington on Highway 30 to
the weekly meetings in
Kearney.
During the summer we often
commute as well on Sunday
morning when we can to join
the 1733 Chorus at a church to
sing for vacationing choirs.
We often remark how fast the
corn fields grow, even from
week to week We of course
have to wonder if it will be
“knee-high by the 4th of July?”
This is one of those years when
it appears it might be “elephant-
eye-high” by the 4th. And that
got me to thinking about all the
wonderful musicals penned by
Rogers and Hammerstein. Not
the least of which is Oklaho-
ma!” and “O, What a Beautiful
Morning!”
That’s a long way to encourag-
ing us all to get into the mood
to begin organizing next year’s
annual show in April. I have
almost always mentioned at this
juncture of the summertime in
my column that a show of
Broadway
hits would be
a fantastic
show theme.
I say that not because I am sold
on that theme, but to get some
conversation rolling among the
membership that leads to a sol-
id decision for next year’s show
theme/title and someone or
more than one someone to chair
the event.
I have been told there was dis-
cussion at the board meeting
June 11 and proposals are forth
coming.
Please give as much support as
you can to the decision. And,
be sure to add your thoughts for
a good theme as well, even if
you are not interested in the
chairmanship part of it. We
need to start ordering and learn-
ing new music, and resurrecting
known music in our library so it
can be polished.
As has been the case now for at
least the last three years, the
parts are in place and well-
oiled for making the machine
purr. Fran Wilson as the musi-
cal director of the chapter, my-
self as the program and script
guy etc., and many standing
committees and their chairmen,
are already in place.
As chairman or co-chairmen,
you have the opportunity to
write your own job description
too. Give it a try.
Onward and Upward
Of all the things that are on the
future
schedule,
this sum-
mer is
proving
to be
especially
busy. We
continue
to enjoy
our
Holdrege connec-
tion and head for a
July 22 show at the
Phelps County Fair.
Speaking of that
connection, have
you noticed that the
younger Mr.
Hofaker (Sam) has
added fire and
knives to his juggling act? So I
would be careful about getting
in his way.
We have to be just glad that his
family has given us part of
their continuously busy
lives. In case any of you have a
special talent, we have lots of
room in our chapter circus.
In case you haven’t been
thanked —I suspect Fran has—
here is another pat on the back
for getting into the swing for
church singing,
and all that we do
out there in the
public arena to
keep our name
alive and well.
I have tried to
keep up with
photos and hand-
shakes from the
president Gary Helms on the
monthly barbershopper of the
month recognition too. I get a
little confused these days about
whether I have printed a photo
or not...but thanks to all of you.
From the Barber’s Chair
are tidbits about both
members and non-
members who have
recently contributed
time and effort to the
betterment of the
Kearney Area 1733
Barbershop Chorus
and barbershopping
in general. By jpm
Elephant-Eye-High By The 4th of July
Here’s the Pitch
Volume VIII, Issue 8 Page 4 The Chordnator July 2018
Guest blog: The impact of the male singing
experience, shared with everyone – Debra Lynn
Recently, in an impromptu Facebook
video post, guest blogger Debra
Lynn shared her thoughts about why the
male-only chorus and quartet structure
is so important to preserve. We asked
her to share her story and perspective.
My Dad was a Barbershopper in The
Coastmen in the early 1960s, at the
time directed by Harlan Wilson and
Gene Cokeroft. He was profoundly
impacted by the chorus’s District
Championship win during that peri-
od, later going on to sing with the Silk
City Chorus under Vin Zito, after
relocating our family to Connecticut
for job reasons. This career move ulti-
mately led him away from singing on
the risers, so by the time that I was an
adult, he had long let go of his Mon-
day night rehearsals.
My father didn’t have an easy life, for
reasons only he knows. This very private
man, highly accomplished within the
aeronautical industry, was acclaimed in
Aviation News for inventing the Vector
nozzle, an aviation game-changer. But
even with that success, inner peace and
joy eluded him. If I had known twenty
years ago what being on the risers could
do for the emotional well-being of a
man, I would have dragged him back
into a chorus lickety-split!
Men around the world are struggling.
We see it on the evening news every
single day. Abuse, horror, violence,
these are things that happen when the
hearts of men are wounded and lost. A
wise teacher once said to me, “there is
no greater task than that of easing the
suffering of mankind.” Barbershop har-mony does exactly that, every week, in
every chapter, on every set of risers.
Whether male or female, whether in the
Barbershop Harmony Society, or Sweet
Adelines International, or in Harmo-
ny, Inc., we do this through the gift of
song and four-part harmony, which re-
quires us to play together as a synchro-
nized team, a rare accomplishment in the
world of agreement.
Last year, when the Barbershop Harmo-
ny Society took a stand with the new
Inclusion Statement, I was deeply moved
and proud of the contextual intent behind
these words. As I was preparing this blog
I discovered this quote that speaks to the
potential impact of this statement: “A
choice of inclusion allows us to learn
how to bring apparently opposing forces
together into harmony within us, and in
our world.” ~A. Fairchild
While focusing on this expansive vision,
I believe it’s also possible to maintain
the original integrity of this men’s organ-
ization. Not only is it important to pre-
serve the unique sound that male-only
quartets and choruses generate, but also
to preserve the sanctity of men’s chap-
ters, where men are able to rely on each
other in fellowship and brotherhood. I’ve
witnessed the power of male mentorship,
where younger men navigating into
adulthood have been encouraged and
supported by men with a few more years
of life and work experience. This unique
multi-generational environment offers
benefits beyond the risers, and plays out
in the healthy family dynamics that we
see throughout the Society.
I believe that through the addition of the BHS Inclusion Statement, we are opening our minds to an added third pathway, where major issues of gender, religious, sexual orientation, and ethnic inequality can be mitigated and trans-formed, as we impact our world through barbershop singing. For example, by supporting Mixed Barbershop Chorus and Quartet opportunities, we add a new dimension — not only to our singing experience, but also to our world view.
I envision that we will become a culture
noted for embracing people, and facili-
tate playing together in new and expan-
sive ways. We in essence create a
win/win, where
each of us gets to choose how we want
to participate, and on which team I have
long believed that well-tuned barbershop
harmony is spiritually important to our
world. As many long-time members are
aware, we are doing much more than
singing together, we are transforming
people’s lives in a fundamental and, per-
haps, critical way.
Change can be challenging to navigate,
but when we recognize the great emo-
tional need that exists around us in socie-
ty, and the unique opportunity barber-
shop singing offers, our unified focus
can be on exponential impact.
Since my publication in The Harmoniz-er in 2010, the Barbershop Harmony
Society and many colleagues I cherish
have helped to shift the course of my
life, giving me meaningful purpose and
direction, as I offer my understanding in
service to men like my Dad. Who knows
how harmony will change their world?
Although we may never know, I suspect
it. (Ms. Lynn is the author of Bel Canto
Buzz: Beautiful Singing Made Sim-
ple!; the “Sing Like an Italian” and
“Breathe Life into Your Singing” arti-
cles in The Harmonizer. She has
served on the faculty of Harmony Uni-
versity and many District, Regional
and International level events.)
Editor’s Note: This came by way of Fran
Wilson to share with you. Posted on May
17, 2018 by Brian Lynch