Hey, Rube: Wanna save tradition?
Staff writer
When the Rube Band makes its noisy pilgrimage from 1st St. down Main during the Old Settlers Day parade, it will be continuing a tradition that may date as far back as the 1880s.
But this year, the band face a crisis.
Trumpeter Mike Steinel, melodica player Beverly Hoch, and sousaphone player Gregory Bowers, three stalwarts of the band, are all attending their Class of ’69 reunions this year and will take up positions on their class float rather than with the band during the parade.
It’s possible trombone player Bob Brookens will be the only performer left, Bowers said.
When asked whether the three of them might jump off the float to join Brookens during the parade, Bowers balked.
“We’ve done that in the past, but we’re getting too old for that,” he said.
The band is losing professional music experience with the absence of Steinel and Hoch, who taught music at the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, respectively.
Brookens, who moved to Marion in 1978 and has not missed a Rube Band performance since then, also used to teach music.
He loves performing in the band but worries how many times he can get through “Show Boy” — the band’s one song — without other members. “Usually, about the time I get to my office, my lips are begging me to quit,” he said.
At its height, the Rube Band featured around 20 performers. There have been sparser showings in recent years.
“One year, I was one of three or four,” Brookens said.
The band even went on hiatus from 2000 to 2010 after a decline in participants. But since its revival, there have always been a handful of Rube Band performers.
That may change this year unless more people join.
Anyone is welcome to join the Rube Band on Old Settlers Day, regardless of musical ability.
“To say that we’re good — well, we’re fun,” Brookens said. “If you have the nerve to do it, you’re welcome.”
What, then, is the ideal number of Rube Band members?
“So many that you can’t keep them all together,” Brookens said.