History

With no budget to start, the Band’s first conductor, Ernest A. Nelson, searched for sheet music and for used (often well-used) instruments. As Russell Scatterday reported, an old tuba proved difficult to blow until Ernie Robinson extracted half a music stand and a baseball from its winding depths. On less than a shoestring, the Band played well-received bi-weekly summer concerts on the Legion grounds at Back Beach and at the Community House and Town Hall. Nelson’s spirit and drive held the fledgling band together as the Band raised money for the purchase of sheet music, instruments, and uniforms. The oldest Rockporters will remember stories of fund raisers at the old Town Hall, a vaudeville show, and a hose coupling contest in which the Pigeon Cove team placed second among eight teams of firemen. Such benefits also raised money for travel expenses to Legion band competitions throughout the Northeast. The Band itself performed benefits for other town organizations like the Christmas Tree Fund and the Scouts.

A regional profile began to emerge after band members in 1935 elected conservatory trained Harrison B.  Fears to be the Band’s second conductor. Fears imposed rigorous standards for membership, held music examinations and auditions, and selected players from Gloucester, Ipswich, and Beverly. Of Fears’ nearly twenty-five years it was said, “His fine musicianship and directing ability were major factors in molding the band into a first-class organization.”

Fears had constant help from the Rockport schools. Legion Band member Hermon Erwin, a high school teacher who founded and directed the Rockport High School band in the mid-1930s, assisted by fellow members, trained younger musicians who eventually moved into the Legion Band ranks.