| 1970 - For
the chorus to repay Jeb Stewart for using his quartet in 1970s
annual show, we elected him as our president. Some things never
change and operating on a theme that is near and dear to our
hearts, we performed Happiness is a
Barbershop Quartet. The Four Renegades, from Chicago, and
the Merry Mugs, from Kansas City were hired to "WOW" yet
another audience. The Pensachorjills kindly consented to help us
again and, of course, no show would be complete without The
Shoreliners.
1971 - Another quartet, Song Machine, was formed within the
chapter. Bill Seigmiller sang lead; Jeff Hanks, tenor; Jeb
Stewart, bass; and Bill Fox, baritone. The chapter was not the
only one who thought they were good. Song Machine took the
1971-1972 Sunshine District championship. A lot of good things
happened in 1971. The chorus performed the famous Fiesta
Showboat show at the Pensacola Municipal Auditorium but
this time, the Pensacola chorus did it solo. Pin Pinnel was the
show chairman that year and he introduced the idea of reserved
seating and the elevated flooring in the auditorium. All of that
cost about $100.00. The Shoreliners did their act along with a new
quartet called The Villagers. The name was derived from the fact
that one of the members had a connection with The
Italian Village, a popular restaurant of that time. The
guest quartets for the show were the Renegades, who graced our
stage again, and the Interstate Four, from Orlando. We had dancing
girls a'plenty intermingled with cotton bales and, hush my mouth,
if there wasn't a real gangplank coming down from the Old River
Queen. That's pretty heady stuff but that's the way it was in
1971.
Hank Williams took over as our
president. You could tell that he was "Dr." Williams and
worked at the University of West Florida because all of our
publicity in the Pensacola News Journal took on a definite slant
toward the "clout" side. Hank was not only a good
president, he was also a fine bass singer and a good musician.
This writer had the envious pleasure of singing in a quartet with
him and would welcome the pleasure of doing it again.
1972 - The chapter produced and performed Melodies
for Millions at the Pensacola Municipal Auditorium. Other
talents were the Miracle Strip Four, Dapper Dans from Disney
World, and our local quartet, the Song Machine.
1973 - Pin Pinnell, a local real estate broker and retired
Naval aviator was our president. Pin was a very active booster for
barbershopping. Using the Val Hicks
Harmony Package, he visited all of the local high schools
on a quest to promote barbershopping. The fifteenth annual show,
under the chairmanship of Cass Phillips, was performed in a new
location. Pensacola High School auditorium was acquired for that
occasion. The Roaring 20s and The Song Machine were the principal
quartets. We made money that was well-spent on new chorus risers.
One highlight of 1973 was the chapter quartet competition and
family night. Six quartets competed and were judged by a Sweet
Adelines quartet, The Performing Arts. That was one of the
happiest and most successful events in many years.
1974 - April 7th through 14th, 1974, was International Harmony
Week and Pensacola was taking part. The Song Machine had enlisted
Bob Kean as their tenor and a new quartet, The Sound Idea,
comprised of Bill Flynn (lead), John Smith (baritone), Oliver
Leonard (bass) and Fred Bond (tenor) had formed and were getting
ready for contest in Tallahassee. Oops, something happened to Fred
Bond and the omnipresent Cass Phillips was catapulted into the
position of tenor.
1975 - Danny Liane Jr., son of Dan Liane, one of our members,
had the destinction of being elected as the new president.
Pensacola got lucky again and the Sunshine District competition
was held in the Pensacola High School auditorium. Along with other
choruses and quartets from the Sunshine District, the competitors
from Pensacola were the Song Machine, Sound Idea, and Pensacola
Fiesta Chorus. The show featured the Sweet Adelines from Mobile,
Alabama. Not only did the Pensacola chapter find time to host the
district competition but also to perform a show at Pensacola
Junior College, the theme was Southern
Memories. The setting was on the front lawn of a very
luxurious old southern mansion. The Shoreliners got back together
to entrance the audience for this one performance. It's just like
riding a bicycle; once you have it, you never forget. All of this
along with a new quartet, The Unimpeachable Source. Naturally, no
program would be complete without the Song Machine and Sound Idea.
And so another great performance was history.
1976 - What year could possibly be more suggestive of
patriotism? Frank Wilson, an active duty Naval officer, became our
president. The time was right for a patriotic theme and so we made
plans to do just that. The Pensacola Municipal Auditorium was the
location again. The seats were really hard but the price was
right. With stars and stripes flying all over the U.S. of A., we
did a two hour Salute to America
extravaganza. This show featured the Unimpeachable Source, Sound
Idea, and Song Machine. What a country and what a performance.
Listen to this — $2.50 for adults and $1.50 for children. We
didn't care. We had stars, and stripes, in our eyes and patriotism
in our hearts.
1977 - Bruce Spurlock ascended to the presidency. May 2nd
through 6th, 1977, was designated as Harmony Week by Mayor Barney
Burkes. The Sunshine District Convention was held in Orlando; the
chapter and a new quartet, The Sunshine Statesmen, competed. We
also competed in Jacksonville in the fall. The Sunshine Statesmen
had as lead, Bill Flynn; as tenor, Bruce Keyon; as baritone, Paul
Weitlisbach; and as bass, Oliver Leonard. Paul was a very funny
fellow. He kept the audience on the verge of a happy breakdown.
This fine quartet placed third in the district competition. Our
show in 1977, Mister Music, was
a salute to Irving Berlin's music. The venue was the Saenger
Theater and the cost of production was on the way up. The Song
Machine and The Sunshine Statesmen sang their hearts out while The
Vocal Gentry, 1976 Sunshine District Champions of Orlando, got the
money.
1978 - Bob Romaine was the president, taking over when Bruce
Spurlock was transferred in June. The Fiesta Chorus boasted a 52
member roster and they were all planning to go to contest. Vaudeville
'78 was in production and things would be a little
different this year with an organ grinder, a baton twirler, and a
puppet group. Who could forget the Struck brothers, Paul and Elmo,
who did a soft shoe to Me and My
Shadow? A new quartet, Animal Crackers, and The Panhandlers
with Ray Harrison (lead), Cass Phillips (tenor), John Smith
(baritone) and Hank Williams (bass) did a fine job in the show.
Talk about a class act, The Panhandlers had it all. They're often
imitated but never equaled version of One
of Those Songs, complete with an impression of Jimmy
Durante, was legend. Out of towners were The Port City Sound, a
Sweet Adelines quartet from Mobile, Alabama, and The Wonderful
Daze from New Orleans. The only down side of the show was that our
director, Oliver Leonard, was hospitalized just before the show
and was not able to be a part of the performance. All things have
a positive side and in this case, Bill Flynn stepped into the
breach and did a great job of directing the chorus. Thanks, Bill.
We were able to repay a kindness by
helping in the licensing of the Fort Walton Beach, Florida,
chapter and furnished much of the entertainment for their show. We
ended the year with 59 members and were, again, number one in
"plateau four."
1979 - Bob Romaine was elected to the job of president again,
this time running on his own ticket. We cooperated with the Fort
Walton Beach chapter by putting on a show for them and furnished
such talent as The Panhandlers doing their famous Durante act.
Also present was Wonderful Daze from New Orleans. We went to
contest in Sarasota and placed 6th out of 13. The chorus returned
home from competition and immediately did a show in Atmore,
Alabama, receiving $500.00 for our efforts. It seems such a shame
to take money when you're having so much fun. We had some help in
the show from the Mobilaires, a Sweet Adelines quartet and Skytide
from Fort Walton Beach.
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