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Bowen’s BandProvided CityMusic In 1875Marshalltown has had a prominent band of one kind or another •ince as far back as 1875 when the Bowen's Boys' Band was organized by a group of boys, some as young as nine years old.W. H. (Billy) Bowen started the band by giving music lessons to Ed Sanford whose father, Jinks, owned a dray barn. Soon Bowen had a whole class of music students and that class became a band. Women of the city gave an ice cream social to provide uniforms for the 25 members.THE BOWEN’S Band played at the Iowa State Fair when it was held in the west part of Des Moines and the last year the fair was held in Cedar Rapids.In Marshalltown the band played for funerals and played nightly at the firemen’s skating rink at Second Avenue and Main Street.j BOWEN'S ‘KID’ MUSICIANS BAND—This band, organized in 1875 by W. H. (Billy) Bowen, had! many youthful members some as young as nine, but it put Marshalltown on the map by playing at important events from Council Bluffs to Chicago. Top row, left to right, are Drumj Major Jones, W. H. Bowen, Henry McNeeley, Burr Trine, Will McCombs, Ed Holt, Frank Baumand Clarence Hickok. Bottom row: Ed Powell, Charles Broadhead, unknown, Seorge Nestle, Ed ; Statler, Arthur Parret and Harry Colt.IN 1876 THE volunteer firemen acquired the vacant lot where tne KFJB Building now stands. The lot was excavated and proceeds from the rink were used to buy fire equipment. One night Ike Speers tried to show off by turning a hand spring on the ice out he only succeeded in breaking his collar bone.When a prominent railroad man died, the band was taken to Clinton to play for his funeral and later made a trip to Chicago as guests of the Knights Templars. There the bend was acclaimed to be the best of tne 104 bands taking part in a lodge parade. Bowen had trained many of the group to triple-tongue their instruments and to play solos, duets, trios and other smaller groups besides taking part In the entire band numbers.Bliss Anderson's Long PopularMeeting Place Of MarshalltownNext August 19 will mark the 43rd anniversary of the purchase of the John Capron cigar and billiard store at 12 E. Main St. cy Bliss Anderson That makes his business the | oldest one-owner business on Marshalltown's Main Street.A HISTORY printed in 1888 tells of the crack Marshalltown band of that day. It dazzled the _ public with its gaudy circus uni- I AnffPtP Fl*tY3forms, but could play as well as 1 A1J.Awear royal raiment, the history' states.That band was taken to the state firemen's tournament in Council Bluffs and won first prize over all other bands at the tournament.In New PlantFRANK YORK, who played solo cornet with the band, had toured with Ringling Brothers Circus before coming here and later played with the Beach and Bowers Minstrels.For many consecutive years the city has had a paid municipal band. The present group of about 40 musicians plays together about eight months out of the year, practicing in the spring and playing public concerts in the city's parks in the summer. The present director is A. Edmund Olsen.ANOTHER Marshalltown band that has played each summer at weekly concerts and on other occasions is the official band at the Iowa Soldiers Home. Most of the members of that band have been members of the home and the others have been employes.For a number of years, beginning about 1930; the Fisher Governor Company had a 25 to 30 piece band made up of its employes. That band played for company and public affairs.Wulff SecondhandMarshall Concrete Products Company, owned and operated by C. W, Conte since 1946, started operating early this summer in its new S200.000 plant in the yards of the M. St. L. Railroad Company.This plant, capable of manufacturing any type of concrete products is on the east; side of the Third Avenue viaductFORMERLY Marshall Concrete Products Company was in business at 810 Bromley St. Increasing business demands during the last several years prompted Conte to build his new installation in order to satisfy' the needs of ail users of concrete products in the Central Iowa area.The new plant will increase production more than five-fold and the employment roll of the company has already been doubled. Now on the average, 16 are employed by the company.MARSHALL CONCRETE Products Company maintains a retail service to individuals as well as doing business with contractors and dealers of concrete products.The plant is equipped with the newest type of block-making equipment and in the near future the production output will in-BLISS SAYS there has been relatively little change in the business since he bought it Aug. 19, 1910. There is one less table at the rear, however. That table dropped into the basement in a fire at the store Jan. 25, 1944.The most revolutionary change was the addition of the soda fountain in 1917. That fountain wore out about 10 years ago and has been replaced.BLISS CAN’T name them all but he has a number of customers who have bought their smokes from him since he opened the business. Two of bis employ-es were with him more than 30 years. They are Roy Cotton and the late Ben Weeks.Bliss's shop has always been the center of sports information for this area. He and his employes have sold many thousands of dollars worth of tickets to boxing and wrestling shows, football games, baseball games and other sporting events.SCOREBOARDS LINE thewalls and tell the up-to-the-minute scores of baseball games in several leagues during the summer and of basketball and football games in their seasons.Practically every billiard champion in the country has come to Bliss Anderson’s at some time in his career to put on an exhibition, playing against some of the local experts.”BLISS, DOESN’T claim any honors as a billiard player and doesn’t play often any more. He says he doesn’t have time and admits that his eyesight isn’t sharp enough now' for him to beat the really good players.The only time Bliss has left his business for more than a short vacation period was in 1935. He and his wife were seriouslymanaged the business for him while he recuperated.IN 1918 Bliss spent his vacation in the city “pest” house. He was taken there Easter Sunday because he had the Small Pox. That was an experience Bliss says he’ll never forget.With the exception of very few days, the shop has been open seven days a week although it no longer is open 18 hours a day.SHORTLY AFTER Bliss was bom south of Milwaukee, his parents moved to Mason City and went into the hotel business. Bliss’s first business was the operation of the shoe shining stand in the hotel lobby there. The original, stand he used still is in the hotel.Later Bliss became a hotel clerk and in 1900 was hired to clerk at the Pilgrim Hotel here (now the Milner Hotel) but he changed his plans after getting the job and didn’t work in the Pilgrim.HE GOT INTO the restaurant business next and finally, about 1906, he bought a cigar store in Mason City. He sold that several months before coming to Marshalltown.Ben Weeks. Jay Hall and one other man. whose name Bliss doesn’t recall, -were the employes here when Bliss took over the business from Capron, Now Bliss has 12 employes.When the Andersons moved here, they had one of the first automobiles in Marshalltown and Mrs. Anderson was one of the first three women drivers here.AT PRESENT the shop has a large counter and back bar well stocked with practically every known brand of cigar, cigaret, smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco. In addition there are hundreds of pipes, lighters and all types of kindred items as well as candy in many forms.The soda fountain doubles as a lunch counter at meal time and many business men eat there regularly.THERE ARE six pool tables, two billiard tables and one snooker table at the rear. Bliss saysOnly 2 Different gajMen Have Owned Frimml HeatingFrimml Heating Service, 312 S. Center St., has been in the same location for'27 years, although tw0 different men have owned the business.Harry Rafferty started h i s heating service there in 1926 and continued until Clarence A. Frimml bought him out in September of 1949.RAFFERTY STARTED with a small furnace cleaning and repairing business, but expanded through the years into sales and installation.He instituted a Green Colonial Furnace agency here about 20 years ago.When Frimml purchased the heating business four years ago. coal and oil still dominated the field. Now, however, the Frimml Heating Service also handles all types of gas and perimeter heat-ByTheby the has becenturcal aglt;MuclGREEN COLONIAL is still the big line for Frimml, but he also sells and installs the Century and Coleman Blend Air appliances.Customers of Frimml Heating Sendee are predominantly individual householders, but he also does some commercial work.Willard’s Made Fur From Live Fox OnceH. Willard, Son and Company once made a fur piece from the very beginning — including the chase and the killing of the animal.Back in the 20’s a man brought a live fox to the store and requested the firm to turn it into a fur piece. So the fox was carefully put in a box and left for the night in the window of the store.The next morning — no fox. The general manager was upset, hut C. P. Hull, then owner, was more upset. So the manager and another employe set out with a .22 rifle to find brother fox.They searched the store, the storage room, then the ramp which Jed to the warehouse on the other side of the alley, went through two steel fire doors. Finally in the warehouse they spotted two bright eyes peering out of the dark.The employe got down on his stomach, took aim and hit the fox right between the eyes. And in time the customer had his fox fur piece.perish* butter by trui cessors handiir of less-merly FRll into 11TheThnThe Madiso the Th continugrocery about 'TheoperatepassedownersBrodystein’s.In AElmerpresentsite.ployedseveralhad m experie Grocer;Upon tures v The va: corner Sixth S ated i marketHickiWasIt w; 1951 W Compai the ca.fiHicks chain Kresge consin, kota be outlet i for theJust Hick's -Caft, 21 Marion like 25 Hicks changer Cafe.”ST.TI
Newspaper Details
Marshalltown Times Republican
Marshalltown, Iowa, US
Tue, Jun 30, 1953
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
IA, USA 29 Sep 2024
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