This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
Bands of Barrie
If you of a certain generation and heard the phrase "Barrie band," names that might come to mind are the Central Collegiate Band, Fig Leaf Jazz Band, Lisle, Central Dance Band or any one of the countless talented bands, orchestras and musical groups that hail from Barrie.
Our past is filled bands and their music.
For many years, Barrie and Allandale both had prize-winning town bands. These bands provided musical entertainment for all types of events such as concerts, parades, parties, and dances.
During the 1898 ‘Glorious Twelfth’, or Orangemen’s Day, some 8,000 visitors – Orangemen, their wives and children – made their way by road, train and boat, to Barrie, the location of that year’s annual celebration.
The Grand Trunk Railroad (GTR) reportedly sold 4,662 tickets to Barrie that day and the steamer Enterprise was said to have been packed with the Bradford contingent. The Enterprise engaged the Boys Brigade band to play on their excursions to the Peninsular Park Hotel and Orillia.
The enormous crowd, said to be nearly as large as that of Jubilee Day, arrived in town dressed to represent their lodges, packing local hotels and restaurants to capacity. From morning until night, the day was filled with the sound of fifes, snare and bass drums and a festive atmosphere.
The highlight of the celebration was, without question, the procession through town. The parade marshalled at Market Square about 1 p.m., heading east along Collier Street then Charlotte Street (now also Collier Street), rounding the corner where Blake Street begins, turning west to get to Louisa Street (now Dunlop Street East), and continuing along Dunlop Street.
Marching in the parade were about 34 bands, most of them fife and drums corps from lodges around Simcoe and York counties.
But there were several town and citizen’s bands as well, from places such as Penetanguishene, Newmarket, Orillia and Barrie’s Band – the largest one in the parade, with 30 members. The Allandale Band, with a respectable 20 members, participated in the procession as well.
Altogether, 1,100 people marched in the event and at any given point along the route, it took only 30 minutes for all of them to pass by. The lodges worked to distinguish themselves and win prizes: having the largest member turnout, the most attractive banner and the Severn Bridge Lodge brought a goat appropriately coloured.
The parade continued along Elizabeth Street (now Dunlop Street West) to High Street, ending at Queen’s Park. Speakers stood on the pavilion to address the crowd gathered in the park.
The entire event was considered a tremendous success: one of the finest processions the district had ever seen, and thankfully very few drunk attendees!
Change came to the bands after the First World War. In early 1921, the Barrie Band was reorganized as the Barrie Citizen’s Band, holding its first concert that same year. Not long after, in 1923, the Barrie Collegiate Band would hold its first practice.
The Barrie Citizen’s Band was a popular component of many community events. One of their gigs was a Halloween parade, intended to offer an alternative to residential door-to-door and downtown trick-or-treating, which had exploded in popularity.
On Halloween evening 1946, the Barrie Citizen’s Band, Mayor Peter Sinclair (trombonist) and a stubborn donkey led a procession of about 1,000 costumed children from Post Office Square (Memorial Square) along the main street to the Armoury in Queen’s Park. The band was dressed as clowns, the mayor and other city staff were in costume and about 2,000 parents lined the street as children, some carrying flashlights, lighted pumpkins and torches made their way through town.
Once inside the Armoury, the children marched around once more, received a bag of candy and an apple, with extra candy for the kids who carried a light of some sort. Costume judging and short films completed the evening and, thankfully, no pranksters or trouble were reported that night.
The Barrie Concert Band carries on the legacy of the former Barrie Citizen’s Band.
