-by Greg Hoots-

As the small towns of the Flint Hills began to develop between 1880 and 1900, one of the needs felt by the early settlers was to have a city band to play for public events and celebrations as well as for dances and private affairs. By 1900 there were a half-dozen city bands in Wabaunsee County.  Often, bands would hold charity events to raise funds for uniforms and instruments. As the towns entered the 20^th century, the cities of Alma, Eskridge and Alta Vista all constructed bandstands while others had stage-like platforms.

Members of the Alma Colored Amateur Band stand in the 200 block of Missouri Street at a celebration circa, 1900. Identified left to right are Ferdinand Herrmann, Sally Wallace, John Goodpasture, Bill Goodpasture, Freddie Owens, Tom Wallace, Pickwith McDonald, Sam Bennett Jim Cruters, Roy Wallace, Jessie Davis, Bill Cruters, John Holford, and Buddy Gardenhire.

Perhaps the most overlooked of the city bands was the “Alma Colored Amateur Band,” a group of local African-American men from the Alma area who performed at public events, parades, parties, and dances. From the reports in the local papers, the group was very popular and performed frequently in Alma.

This advertisement for a Barbecue and all-day celebration in Alma promised music by the Alma Colored Amateur Band. The Alma Signal paper is dated July 31, 1903.

The existence of the “colored band” is a fine example of how subtle and not-so-subtle segregation flourished in Kansas in the early 20^th century. This writer is perplexed with the theory behind the segregated band. Certainly, Caucasian Wabaunsee County residents patronized the colored band and held it in high esteem as an organization.  Even more curious, there was one member of the colored band who was a Caucasian, the bandleader, Ferdinand Herrmann, Alma’s shoemaker. Herrmann was also the only non-brass-playing member of the band, playing a clarinet and leading the group. Herrmann was an accomplished musician, and performed with several bands in the Alma area.

Another curiosity surrounding the “city bands” is that they were, almost entirely, comprised of adult men. In fact, in almost a dozen different photographs of different city bands from Wabaunsee County, there is not a single view in which a woman appears as a member of any of the bands.

By 1940s the city bands had disappeared, replaced entirely by local high school bands for parades and country string bands and orchestras for dancing.