The Remington Rand Band

The Remington Rand Band photo essay is a co-production of Marv Conover and his dad Seely Conover, who was a trumpeter in the band for many years. We hope you enjoy it! In May 2001, Seely was recognized for playing his trumpet for many senior citizen events.

REMINGTON RAND BAND - 1937

band

L to R: Row 1: Carl Pfifer, Harold Hitchcock, Bob Hubel, Paul Warburton, Joe Fazio, Richard Case, Seely Conover (dad), Clyde Harder, Don White, Ray Millgate

Row 2: Jim Scott, Doug Reese, Pete Mason, Stu Willy, Sam Nile (Leader), Harry Ackerman, Burt English, Matt Gleason, Livingston Barker

Row 3: John Mathers, Lee Furlong, Harry Weederman, George Clark, Steve Benedict, Albert New, John Jones

A Little Band History
by Marv Conover

The Remington Rand Band was in existence from the early 1900s through 1955. During this time they played for numerous events and celebrations, including:

Event Place
Band Concerts	Russell Park, Capitol Theater, etc.
Parades	All over Herkimer County
Weekly Concerts for Remington Employees	Remington Cafeteria
Victory Parade	New York City
Grand Opening of Baseball Hall of Fame -1939	Cooperstown, New York
Concerts for Mrs. Clark, owner of Singer Sewing Machine, Co.	Cooperstown, New York

Interesting Notes

Following World War I, the band made a trip to New York City and played in a victory parade to celebrate America's victory.
My dad was an active member of the band from 1936 through 1954 as a trumpet player. Shortly thereafter the band disassembled and ceased to play as a group any longer. Dad continued to play however, most every weekend for dances, weddings and any other reason he could think of to play the horn. He still plays to this day at the age of 80.
Dad tells the story of when the band played for the opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and how he remembers seeing Babe Ruth in person as "the Babe" walked directly behind him as he played in the band. In 1989 we visited the Hall of Fame and saw pictures displayed of the old band playing for the grand opening 50 years before.
On Monday evenings the band would get together for rehearsal. On Wednesdays each week they would put on a concert right in the cafeteria at Remington for the enjoyment of the employees at that time.
During World War II, a captured Japenese sub somehow found its way to the streets of Ilion and lead a parade in which the Remington Band also took part.

If there are other former members of this band (or their families) out there and they run across this article please contact Marv Conover. Seely would like to hear from you.

parade

Here the band is marching in one of hundreds of parades it performed in over the years. Here they are rounding the corner of Main Street and Central Ave. in Ilion, NY. Note the Herkimer County Coal Co. in the background. The object on the building above the crowd in not a clock but a thermometer. It reads about 75 degrees.

Putting on a concert in the Remington cafeteria for the pleasure of the many employees of Remington.

Close-up of Photo #1 - file size 104k

Close-up of Photo #2 - file size 129k

Close-up of Photo #3 - file size 117k

Updated 5/1/99: "This one is from a long lost friend of my dad's who lives in Houston, TX. His name is Paul McLaughlin. This one was taken about 10 or so years after the first ones I sent. My dad is not there as he thinks he was working elsewhere at the time but was still actually a member of the band. "

Close-up of Photo #4

Updated 5/1/99: "I received an e-mail from Sandy Patterson, who found the band information and became quite excited about it. She said she has interest because her grandfather at one time was also in the band and even was it's leader for a while. He wasn't pictured in those my dad gave me as he had retired by that time. However, dad came up with yet another photo which shows her grandfather in the front shaking hands with Sam Nile who was the current leader at the time of the photo. Her grandfather's name was Alfred (Paddy) Sutton. The photo was taken in front of the old GE plant in Endwell, NY in 1943."

Close-up of Photo #5

The above essay is copyright © 1998 Marv and Seely Conover. Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this full paragraph remains on all copied material. These electronic pages, with commentary and underlying source code, cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation, nor may this copyrighted original electronic text be used on any other site or CD-ROM.

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