OF
THE SONS OF THE SEVERN
Here in Anne Arundel County, the barbershop story begins with George B. Woelfel of Annapolis, who organized the first chapter on October 25, 1949. After attending a barbershop show in Washington. D.C., Woelfel was captivated and asked for sponsorship for a new chapter from the "Singing Capital Chorus." The Society and the Mid-Atlantic District board authorized the new chapter, and on November 3, 1949, the "Annapolis Chapter" was born under the presidency of F. Peyton Fuller.
Seventeen men are recognized as charter members of our chapter. They are: Chades J. Alba, Lyle Gaither, Paul Helwi, Herbert Brunner, Richard Dunmeyer, Theodore T Pantaleo, Bob J. Danmeyer, J.E. Glover, Whitney Shoemaker, Charles French, James W. Hamburg, Ellsworth C. Smith, F. Peyton Fuller, O.P. Hatfield, Paul J. Heister, Stanley Fuller and George Woelfel.
Even before being formally organized, the chapter members were getting together for various activities-notably crab feasts. The first crab feast was held on the Woelfel's farm on September 23, 1949. (Social activities involving chapter members continue to this day, including dinner theater trips, an annual Christmas Party for family members, installation dinners and "afterglows" following our weekly rehearsals.)
In September of 1958, in an effort to appeal to the entire county, the board of directors decided to change the chorus' name to the Anne Arundel County Chapter, and permission was granted by the Society on November 24 of that year. By this time the chapter had grown to 33 members. In the early 1960s, with chorus membership now over 50, the chapter decided to adopt the name "Sons of the Severn" to reflect the areas distinctive nautical heritage.
June 13, 1974, marked another first for the Sons of the Severn when 24 ladies met and established the Severn Belles. The 'Belles," as they came to be known, were an auxiliary group whose mission was to "help the chorus in any way necessary," to "promote friendship among the wives," and to "help in raising money for the Institute of Logopedics." The Belles met on a regular basis and invitations were extended to all chorus members' wives and girlfriends to join.
The early 1980s was a real boom period for the Sons, membership wise. Between 1979 and 1982 the chapter nearly doubled in size, reaching 83 members.
Over the years, the Sons of the Severn have consistently entered into competitions sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic District and have placed high enough at the division level to compete in the district competition. Over the years the chorus ins placed as high as 7th, 11th, and 14th out of 95 choruses. This year the Sons competed at district after becoming the 1999 Western Division Intermediate Chorus Champions-ending a 17-year drought at the district level!
The Society exist to promote and educate others to our unique form of music, and to that end one of the reasons for competition is so that chapters have a goal to work toward-singing better. But we also exist to entertain in each of our own communities. The Sons of the Severn Chorus has performed at countless functions and occasions over the years-at schools, churches, hospitals, senior citizen centers, nursing homes, civic groups, and fraternal organizations, The Sons have performed at the Maryland State House, the Maryland State Fair, the Annapolis Waterfront Festival, the Downs Park Concert Series, the Annapolis 350th Year Celebration, and at the Anne Arundel County Fourth of July Celebration, featuring the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Another reason for the Sons continued community involvement came about in 1964. In that year the Society adopted the Institute of Logopedics in Wichita, Ks., as its International Service Project. The Institute, now known as Heartspring, offers programs to develop communication skills for those with physical and behavioral disabilities, including hearing loss, language and behavior disorders, learning disabilities, mental retardation and multiple handicaps.
Over the years the Society's chapters, quartets, auxiliaries, and friends have contributed over $12 million to the research and educational programs of the Institute. Under the recently formed Harmony Foundation, in addition to Heartspring, the Society now supports Sing America/Sing Canada. This program funds a variety of projects to encourage vocal music in our education systems and our communities.
In 1992 the Sons of he Severn adopted a local service project, the North County Emergency Outreach Network (NCEON). The "Network" maintains a food pantry and provides intervention services for families and children in crisis. Each spring barbershoppers from around the region come together to perform in a benefit show, with the proceeds of both food and cash going directly to NCEON. As a result of the chorus's hard work- particularly that of Orville Henschel, who has chaired the project from the beginning-the Sons have been honored with the Harmony Foundation Award, for the highest per-man contribution to charity in the Mid-Atlantic District for the past two years, 1997 and 1998. This shows the commitment of our chorus to making a difference in our community.
The Sons of the Severn over the years have recognized their own for outstanding contributions to the chapter. Each year the chapter recognizes a deserving member with the Barbershopper Of The Year Award. The 1998 recipient was longtime member Ed Sutton.
From 1977 to 1981, the "Jack Wagner Award" was given to the chapter member who demonstrated a desire to achieve a greater proficiency in our hobby. The Wagner family gave the award on behalf of Jack, a 17-year member of the chorus who passed away in 1976. H&M Wagner & Sons bore the expense of sendng the member to the Society's annual week-long Harmony College in St. Joseph, Mo., with the expectation that he would share his new and valuable knowledge with the chorus.
A lot has taken place in 50 years, members have come and gone, and many are now with us only in our memories. But one thing has remained constant throughout the years-the Sons of the Severn remain dedicated to bringing our audiences the best in barbershop harmony, and to being an important part of our community.
Here's to "50 Years of Song and Service to the Community"-and here's to 50 more!
