Keep the whole world singing!
The banquet room of an Elgin restaurant resonated with those words at the conclusion of a rousing tune featuring four-part barbershop harmony.
About 60 present and past members of the Aurora Lamplighter Chorus and Elgin’s Fox Valley Harmonizers gathered in August to celebrate each group’s 80th anniversary. The two choruses (also known as chapters) are part of the international Barbershop Harmony Society which was founded in 1938.
Honoring their decades of service to the Fox Valley, each group was presented with a proclamation. In a dignified ceremony, Elgin Mayor David Kaptain and Aurora Deputy Mayor Casey Cuevas delivered the proclamations to Fox Valley Harmonizers president Ralph Ferguson and Aurora Lamplighter Chorus president Lester Grossman.
Singing together and renewing old friendships were an important part of the celebration, and everyone departed wearing a smile and with a renewed spirit that only music sometimes seems to bring.
But recounting each group’s beginning and remembering many wonderful friends who have passed away were also important to those gathered.
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The Harmonizers met for the first time in the Elgin City Hall courtroom on April 30, 1946, with 20 men in attendance and Ben Willis leading the singing. The Lamplighters, with its first president Bill Henderson and 29 others attending, had its initial meeting on May 3, 1946.
As each group grew and thrived, important leaders emerged through the many years. Including men who have passed away, many were mentioned by name and remembered fondly.
Although the list would be too long for a short story, some key Aurora members were: Jim Fourmont, Gene Leifheit, Marty Swanson, Fran Sibenaller and Paul Gossman. Elgin members included: Carl Missele (a 70-year member), Walt Martin, Harry Swenson, Marv Jedicker, Dennis Toren and Bill Miller.
Each chapter has had many talented directors, most notably Harvey Sterkel in Aurora and Doug Smith in Elgin. The Lamplighters’ current director is Mark Barone, and John Schultz directs the Harmonizers.
As part of their mission, the groups are also committed to preserving quartet singing as well as being part of a chorus. Many talented and entertaining quartets also emerged from each chorus and were also remembered during the celebration.
Every chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society is afforded the opportunity to compete against other groups, both in district and international conventions. Both choruses and quartets compete for the ultimate honor of being district and international champions.
But championships aside, almost every barbershop singer I have ever known has had friendship, fun and community service as his or her main goals. (The Barbershop Harmony Society became open to both women and men in 2018.)
My good friends Jim Fourmont of the Lamplighters and Bill Miller, who has been a Lamplighter and a Harmonizer, agreed wholeheartedly in my recent conversations with them.
“I remember the Aurora chapter visiting six nursing homes to perform Christmas songs every year,” Miller said. “I remember Elgin’s four or five quartets delivering two full days of singing Valentines every February. And I recall many funeral services for members and non-members that our chapter choruses sang for.
“We had one quartet in Elgin that would visit grade schools and daycare centers to give the kids a taste of our music. One Christmas the Elgin chapter sang for homeless folks as they ate Christmas Eve dinner at an Elgin church.”
Fourmont, who has belonged to the Lamplighters for 56 years and has been in many fine quartets, spoke eloquently about serving his community.
“Every year, the chorus and our various quartets were involved in many community sing-outs at retirement homes and hospitals,” he said. “I felt privileged to be part of that kind of service.”
Fourmont also spoke about the fraternal feeling of being a barbershopper and, surprisingly, how it has related to his health.
“I’ve never met a nicer bunch of guys than the barbershoppers,” he said. “I looked forward to contests when I could see people from all over the state. I felt privileged to be part of that group. We considered each other family.
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“And I know for sure that my health has been much better because of singing. It’s good for you mentally and physically, and you can’t stay unhappy very long when you’re singing.”
As a member of the Aurora group for many years, I was lucky to get to know many wonderful, kind and caring souls. Many became lifelong friends, and role models for me as husbands, fathers, workers and community servants.
And along the way, they kept the whole world singing.
Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.