1948 – Greenwood Director Wallace Decker
Wallace Decker joined the Greenwood faculty as their new band director in 1947. Decker was a bachelor when he accepted the job, but not for long. Wallace was married to Miss Nola Waddell in December. In April 1948, Greenwood was the only band awarded with a Division I honor at the Bloomington competition. They advanced to the state-level contest in Danville on May 1 where they placed second in the division for class CC bands.
In February 1949, Director Decker accompanied Greenwood band students to the Solo and Ensemble competition at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music. Greenwood’s first band director, Maurice Shadley, received his masters degree from the same school. In March, the band was sporting new uniforms when they competed in the District competition in Brownsburg.
The 1947 Greenwood Marching Woodmen
The 1948 Greenwood Marching Woodmen
The 1949 Greenwood Marching Woodmen
1950 saw the beginning of the rebuilding of the Greenwood school building that was destroyed in fire eight years earlier. The school board authorized the building of a six-room Junior-Senior High School building at Madison Avenue and Orchard Lane. The building will go through several expansions.
In November 1950, the marching band was invited to participate in the first annual High School Band Day at Indiana University. The 30-member Greenwood band joined 113 other bands from 61 counties throughout the state to perform a halftime show during the I.U.- Marquette football game. I.U.’s own Marching Hundred hosted the event and joined the performers on the field. A highlight of the show had each participating band form their school letter and all groups joined to spell out INDIANA. All participating groups ended their day with a tour of the campus.
March 19, 1951 saw a Greenwood girls trio take first place in solo and ensemble competition at the Jordan College. Accompanied by director Decker, the winners were Elizabeth Mauzy, Lois Morgan and Kay Ephlin.
In early May, 1951, the Greenwood Chorus joined vocal groups from Franklin, Edinburgh and Patriot high schools in a 200 Voices choral festival at Franklin High School. Earl Wood was still superintendent of schools 15 years after he hired Maurice Shadley as Greenwood’s first band director in 1936. Mr. Wood made the opening remarks and praised the cooperation of the musical groups. “There is no competition, just singing together for pleasure and to promote culture along musical lines,” he said.
That fall, Greenwood again participated in the High School Band Day at Indiana University on October 6. In December the band traveled back down US 31 to march in Franklin’s Christmas Parade with other Johnson County bands. At least 5,000 people gathered to watch the event. Greenwood was the first band in line, led by a baton-wielding Wallace Decker.
The 1951 Greenwood Marching Woodmen
In the summer of 1953, Wallace Decker resigned from Greenwood to take a position at IPS. He would later make the move to Broad Ripple High School. It was announced at a school board meeting that the vacancy would be filled by Miss Wilma Katzbach. Katzbach chose Greenwood from several positions offered to her over the summer. She was a graduate of Rensselaer High School-class of ’44. She attended Butler University and the Jordan College of Music for her Bachelor’s degree and was in-process on her Masters. She previously taught at Covington High School and Jasper County schools. An Indianapolis resident, Miss Katzbach decided she would relocate to Greenwood sometime in the fall.
Katzbach would have a very full schedule. Her duties were listed as taking charge of the high school band, mixed chorus, junior high school chorus, fifth and sixth grade junior band, fourth grade exploratory instrumental music and junior high English. Director Katzbach first met her high school band students at a special meeting August 29 to go over scheduling and to assure students they would be ready to perform at the first home football game on September 5. The Woodmen hosted the Edinburgh Maroons.
The 1952 Greenwood Marching Woodmen
The Greenwood Music Parents Club announced the purchase of several band uniforms for the new year, as well as a new leader’s uniform for Miss Katzbach. So, now the entire 36-member band would be outfitted in blue uniforms with gold trim. Plans were also announced to order three drum majorette uniforms in the near future.
1953 – Greenwood Director Wilma Kresel
Miss Katzbach had something in common with Director Wallace Decker. Both were single when they joined the Greenwood staff, and both were married shortly thereafter. Miss Katzbach became Mrs. Wilma Kresel in the spring of 1953. Director Kresel helped direct the Greenwood Spring Music Festival on May 6 at the Community House. The festival featured selections from all Greenwood Schools. The junior high chorus sang “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “Orchestra Song,” and “On the Banks of the Wabash.” Don Stretchberry offered a baritone solo.
On May 20, the 19 members of Greenwood’s class of 1953 enjoyed commencement ceremonies at the Polk Memorial Auditorium. Wilma Kresel also concluded her time at Greenwood after only a single school year.
Mr. Jarrold (Jerry) Holeman was hired to direct the 52-member Greenwood Band for the 1953-1954 school year. Holeman was a Greenwood native and a graduate of the Arthur Jordan Conservatory in 1952. ISMA Solo & Ensemble finals were held in February, 1954 at Butler University. Director Holemen accompanied Greenwood finalists Robert Demaree, Phyllis Hendrickson, Nancy Porter and William Threlkeld to the contest. The Division competition had been held February 6 at Broad Ripple High School. Demaree would be class valedictorian the following May and speak in front of the other 25 members of the class of ’55.
1953 – Greenwood Director Jarrold Holeman
But, still in 1954, the new Junior-Senior High School building received a twelve-room expansion. A library, shop and gymnasium were also added.
The 1954 Greenwood Marching Woodmen
Jerry Holeman left Greenwood High School in the spring of 1955. The road ahead for the Greenwood Marching Woodmen would bring unimagined success. But for the present, Greenwood, once again, was in need of a new band director.
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As a green alum, this is great. Congratulations to for putting this together.
That picture of the three students that’s captioned “Band officers in 1951” is WRONG. The girl is Barbara Myers, and she was in grade school in 1951. I was in 6th grade in 1951, and her sister Jeanne was in my class. Barbara was younger than we were. There are other dates I question too. I’m going to check my yearbooks and see.
Your years are mixed up in these pictures. The pictures of the band, by year, are all a year off. These were the pictures used in the yearbooks, and the ’47 picture is actually the ’48 picture, and so on for the band pictures. I guess the pictures were actually taken in the fall of the year, so the years are technically correct, but most people go by yearbook year. The picture of the three students that is captioned “Band officers in 1951” is wrong. The girl in the picture is Barbara Myers, and she graduated in 1961, so this was probably the picture of the band officers in the 1960-61 year.
Update; that photo had a typo in the title when scanned, which is why it was in 1951 instead of 1961. It has been removed from this post. As to the naming convention of the band year, we are reviewing and will make any changes shortly. Thanks for fact-checking. It will be a big help moving forward.