The Huntingdon High School Marching Mustangs
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A History of the Huntingdon High School Band
The ancestor of the Marching Mustang Band was born during the 1920's when
C. E. Doran came to Huntingdon.
"Professor" Doran, as he was know, had directed a military band
overseas during World War I and was a brilliant muscian.
He quickly organized the only band in this area of the state. This top-notch
band played at the Carroll County Fair,
at area land sales, at Confederate Soldier's reunions in Memphis and Nashville,
and at other patriotic events.
Band members paid tuiton and bought their own instruments and uniforms, which
consisted of West Point-type jacket
and white trousers. On fair trips,band members were dismissed from school
on Tuesday and returned the following Monday.
Each member recieved $5.00 a day, and free meals and lodging. The Band even
had a business manager
who booked their engagements.
The Band of the 1920's played mainly march tunes, but they also played many
of the hit songs of the day.
Back then, one of the popular tunes was "Barney Google With the Goo-Goo-Googley
Eyes."
The more sentimental songs included "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"
and "Tuck Me To Sleep In My Old Tucky Home."
Even the school principal at that time, D. W. Moody, traveled with the band
and played a double-belled baritone.
Band members raised money to build a bandstand on the southeast lawn of the
Court House, near where the flag pole now stands.
The Band played in concert each Sunday afternoon during the summer months
from this bandstand, with
large crowds lining the sidewalks, sitting in cars, and gathering on the Court
House lawn to hear the Band play.
When the present court House was built in 1931, the bandstand was torn down.
In the late 1930's, J. Leroy Tate obtained permission from the School Board
to teach several students to play instruments.
Sometime later, Professor Doran was hired as a part-time band director. For
the next several years,
Professor Doran and Mr. Tate shared the duties of directing the Band. On one
history-making occasion,
the Band members were permitted to "Ring the Bell" after winning
2nd Place in the Humboldt Starwberry Festival Parade.
Ringing in the Bell Tower is a privledge reserved for the football team after
a winning game.
Around 1936, several Band parents decided the Band needed more prominence
in the Huntingdon School System.
The band was in dire need of new uniforms, as the old blue uniforms were faded
and worn.
One of the main leaders of this group was Buster Norden, who had two sons
in the Band from 1960-1968.
He became the first Band Booster president. The Band Boosters began to think
of ways they could raise money
to support the Band. They passed a bucket at the football games as their first
effort at fund-raising. About this same time,
the Huntingdon PTA decided to give up the concession stand at the Carroll
County Fair.
The newley organized Band Boosters quickly seized the opportunity and used
the concession stand for fund raising.
The Band Boosters continued to operate the fair booth, cooking "Fair
Burgers" in the concession stand until 2004.
As volunteer help became scarce, the beloved "Fair Burger" slipped
away as just a tastey memory
in the HHS Band Booster history.
In 1967, Bobby Baker was hired as the first Marching Mustangs' full-time
Band Director.
Band Boosters worked long and hard to convince the School Board that the Band
needed a full-time director.
In the late 1960's, the first Band Room was built on the south side of what
is now the Huntingdon Middle School Gym.
At last, the HHS Band had a place of their own to practice. Band competitions
over the years helped to polish the
Band into one of the finest marching high school bands in West Tennessee.
In 1978, under the direction of David and Janet Caldwell, the HHS Band recieved
its very first, 1st Place Award
in state marching band competition. They took 1st again in 1979, 1991, 1992,
2003, and 2005. Band directors for these
award winning years were: Gil & Leah Jean Rollins, Dee Bishop & Mark
Hartley, and current directors
Lisa Bryant and Derek Cook.
A History of Championship
Since its creation the HHS marching band has competed and exceded in many competions over the years.
Perhaps the most prestigios of these is the Tennessee Division 1 State Marching Band Chmpionship, which was
first created in 1977 and first held in 1978. The HHS band has competited in this championship since its inception
and has competed in it for almost every year that it has been held. The HHS band has won the competition 6 times,
the first of which was in 1978 this being the first time that the competition took place.
Below is a list of all the years that the Huntingdon High School Marching Mustangs have won FIRST PLACE at "State"
along with the name of the director of the band at the time.
Year |
Band |
Director |
| 1978 |
HHS Marching Mustangs
|
David Caldwell |
| 1979 |
HHS & Goodpasture Christian School
|
David Caldwell |
| 1991 |
HHS Marching Mustangs
|
Gil & Leah Jean Rollins |
| 1992 |
HHS Marching Mustangs
|
Mark Hartley & Dee Bishop |
| 2003 |
HHS Marching Mustangs
|
Lisa Bryant & Derek Cook |
| 2005 |
HHS Marching Mustangs
|
Lisa Bryant & Derek Cook |
The 2003 State Champion Marching Mustangs
The 2005 State Champion Marching Mustangs
Page Design by: Colin Laman
Page by: Richard Cody Prince
Updated by: Brett Blakeman
March 2008