Sunday, September 8, 2024
When Rebel Brown was in elementary school, his father encouraged him to join the band. His father, Robert Lee Brown, purchased a 1921 Silver Conn Baritone horn, which he himself played in the Gatesville High School band in the 1930s. He would later instill his love of music in his children.
“Daddy wanted us to be in the band, three of us out of four ended up in the band,” he said.
Rebel Brown would join the GHS band in the 1960s. “I carried that from sixth grade through my first year in college,” Brown said.
Brown played the very same Baritone tuba that his father played when he was in school. In addition to the baritone, he played all the brass instruments. He said that one year they were shy of tuba players, so they switched him over to playing the tuba. “It was the year that we went over to play bi-district,” he said.
While attending Gatesville High School, Brown also held a job at Modern Food Market. “They would let me get off for out-of-school activities. I always worked before school, after school, and on Saturdays,” he said.
Brown remembers the wool uniforms the marching band members had to wear. “We had black bottoms and hats – something like a military hat. They were murder to wear in the heat, and in the summer, our band director would let us wear white shirts instead of the wool tops, and we would march from the high school, around the courthouse, and then disband around the post office. This was in August, and it was pretty hot to be marching in the parade.”
In the 1966 edition of the Crescent yearbook, during Brown’s senior year, he is listed as being a band member and participating in the Band Follies from 1963-1966, and also being in Stage Band from 1964-1966.
Following his graduation from GHS in 1966, Brown enrolled at Texas A&M where he continued to be in the band.
Later, Brown recalls leaving A&M, “I got out and went into the U.S. Air Force and stayed there for seven years, where I received my associate’s degree.”
On the 100th anniversary of the making of his beloved Baritone tuba, Brown decided to donate the instrument that both he and his father had played in the Gatesville High School band to the Coryell Museum. “Well, I held on to it until it became 100 years old in 2021. It was made in 1921 – I looked it up by the serial number. So, in 2021, I donated it to the museum.”
Visitors are welcome to drop by the museum located at 718 E. Main to view the massive spur collection. Coryell Museum and Historical Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, as is the gift shop. Yearly, Coryell Museum memberships are $20 for singles, $30 for families, and $40 for businesses, which includes free admission to the museum, plus four newsletters. Of course, large and small donations are welcome at all times.
Coryell Museum offers area schools and tour groups a delightful, guided tour through the museum with docents at many exhibits. Call the museum at 254-865-5007 to plan a visit.
