Mystery of the bandshell is unraveled - almost

"It's got more curves than a circus lady."

So said Floyd Patterson back in August 1939 when he and fellow carpenters, Nelson Jolly and Carl Krumm, worked on the construction of the "new bandshell" at the St. Johns City Park.

A trip last week to the Clinton County Archives in DeWitt yielded the comment that was attributed to Patterson in a cutline that accompanied the construction photo on the front page of the Aug. 17, 1939 issue of The Clinton County Republican-News - the immediate predecessor of the current publication. It's a great photograph.

The vintage photo actually first reappeared on these pages more than two years ago when discussions were underway about replacing the bandshell with a new "state of the art" performance structure. At that time, we were trying to find a construction date for the bandshell and enlisted the help of several 'in the know' local residents: Ken Munger and Jeanne Rand. Both agreed that the timeframe was undoubtedly after 1937 when the St. Johns City Park was completed and dedicated, most likely in 1939.

A quick perusal of the 1980 History of Clinton County confirmed that suspicion - Shirley Karber's "Bits & Pieces" section contained the names of the trio who built the bandshell, along with Floyd's comical comment. As is normally the case in checking out local history for columns like this, I began a search through our stacks of bound volumes that reside on shelves in the front of the News office so that I could supplement Shirley's little recap with all the information on the construction which I was certain would be included in an issue from that year. Unfortunately, the black-bound 1938 and 1939 sets of papers had disappeared from our shelves - and remain missing to this day, as a matter of fact.

Like so many of my good intentions, the aim of following up on the story by making a trip to the Michigan State Library or county archives to check for more information via microfilmed documents somehow never materialized. The follow-up column remained unwritten - but not forgotten.

Even after spooling through the reel of microfilm that contains all the issues from June 1938 through October 1939, I still do not know exactly how or why the bandshell was built at the existing site near the old tennis courts. There is no mention in any issue prior to Aug. 17, 1939 - something that strikes me as being very odd for that time period.

Perhaps I missed it - reading pages of old papers on a microfilm reader is not exactly user-friendly on tired eyes - or, maybe, its construction was not that 'newsworthy.'

I suspect, based on previous conversations with Ken Munger, that funds for the project were a result of the city's receipt of federal WPA monies. Mention is made in an issue from August 1938 of $112,949 which the city expected to receive for use in "sidewalks, curbs and gutters, paving alleys in downtown, and other projects." Funds for the bandshell may have been 'left-over' from that WPA allotment.

Information that accompanied the construction photograph does reveal that the bandshell was first used during the Third Annual Clinton County 4-H Fair - a very, very big deal in 1939, as is noted in the subsequent August 24 issue of The Clinton County Republican-News.

"The March Kings started their initial concert in the new bandshell. This was followed by a most enjoyable program. The sun was bright, but the air was comfortably cool. An estimated crowd of 3,000 sat or stood on the lawn in front of the new platform for more than one and one-half hours. The LaBelle & Ray Troupe opened the program with nine-year-old Yvonne working in a trapeze.

"Then came Clarence Dusenbury of Detroit, representing the Michigan State Fair with a group of 10 talented musicians, vocalists and dancers. Interspersing the LaBelle & Ray acts with the Detroit group, they kept the crowd entertained.

"The new shell proved its worth by acting as an excellent sounding board for the voices and music, the lawn sloping down toward it making a natural auditorium."

Sound familiar? Nearly the same choice of words has been used over and over again by the proponents of the new performance shell - "the natural amphitheater" made possible by the convergence of the lawn area, woods to the left and main park pavilion at the rear of the site.

So, there you have it. The bandshell construction mystery is deciphered - pretty much anyway. We'd still like to know who took the photo of Floyd and his friends. Photo credits were not a common practice at that time, so we have no way of knowing who took the picture. Perhaps a reader has a clue and will provide that tidbit of information. Any additional information on the old bandshell's history will also be appreciated.

Of course, it would be really nice if our 1938 and 1939 bound volumes magically reappeared. No reward - just the knowledge that a bit of local history is back on the shelf here where it belongs.