Band camp concludes Friday with preview show
August 6, 2025
Jeanne Newby
It is hard to believe that school is about to start and summer break is over. Many of us can recall the feeling of excitement that school was starting. We had new clothes, new school supplies, and we were excited to see old friends again. But back in the back of our minds, we were a little sorrowful to give up the summer freedom and fun. Do you recall the summer fun of “the good ole days?” I happen to have a few memories to share with you. The dates of these memories range through quite a few years.
Jim Murphy recalled: “Our favorite playground was the chat piles, which was a vast area (or so it seemed to us). It reached from the north end of town all the way to Oronogo and beyond, then east to Carterville. The chats, as we called them, were the greatest playground a young boy could possibly ask for. We spent countless hours roaming around and exploring just about every inch of the chats. From the top of the big chat pile, at the end of Liberty Street, we could see airplanes take off and land at the Joplin airport… what a view. We rode down the east side of the chat pile on our bikes – the west side on an old car fender. What a ride! In the winter we would sled the chat pile… but that’s another story!”
Joseph F. Williams said, “I remember riding down the chat piles on a piece of tin.”
Bob Chancellor remembered, “Playing in the tailing piles (chats) north of Webster School was lots of fun – even more so since it was forbidden!”
Joe Williams declared, “I don’t think there was an area of chats that Sam Peek, Bill Mayfield and I didn’t cover as kids. We were free to explore and experiment and grow. What better place for boys to grow up than Webb City.”
The chats were great to play Army, according to Jim Bunch. The old mine sites had nothing left but foundations and they made great forts for games.
John Powell said, “I remember the Webb City Drive-In theater. I would go to Monte’s Creamy Cup across the street from the drive-in and get a foot-long hotdog and a chocolate malt for 52 cents. I would go crawl under the fence at the drive-in to see the movie. Does anyone remember Blackie, the police officer hired by the drive-in to try to keep us out? He ran us off more than once, but we kept coming back!”
Meg Berrian just lived a short ways from the Webb City drive-in, and she said, “I remember watching the Webb City Drive-in fireworks display through our mimosa tree on South Madison Street.”
Dixie Lee McDonald Hughes’ childhood memories include her mom popping popcorn and packing food for the drive-in. She said she remembers “the summer wind blowing in your face.”
I have a summer memory of the ’60s when we had a band concert at the drive-in on a Saturday daytime adventure. The band was on the roof, and we were dancing in the parking lot! So much sun, but we didn’t seem to notice!
Mary Ann Campbell Baker remembered the Memorial Park band concerts.
Jim Murphy said, “I can remember band concerts in the evening at Memorial Park on Daugherty Street. Lots of people would show up, the parents actually listened to the music while the kids would play around the park.”
Frank Byrd recalled, “One of the great times we used to have in the summer was the Friday night band concert in the park. We played on the lawn while the concert was performing.”
Wilma Burns Head said, “My Uncle Ira and Aunt Fern lived at 115 S. Ball St. Ira played a trumpet in the city band, which played every Friday night at Memorial Park. The music was great, and band members wore cream colored uniforms with gold braid trim. Bob Toutz was the director. Very large crowds attended.”
Kenneth Kneeland remembered, “One of our highlights of the summer was the band concert on Friday night at Memorial Park. It was a good place to see and talk with girls and walk them home. Almost everyone was poor, but we enjoyed life.”
Bill Perry played in the city band. He received two dollars every Friday night when the band played from 8 to 10 p.m. They also marched in parades and once a year would play at the T.B. Hospital. They practiced on the third floor of the Roney building (Webb City Sentinel building). So this well-known young man, who felt he didn’t play a clarinet very well, played in the city band from 1925 to 1942. When the band was disbanded due to the war, Bill said he never played his clarinet again.
Our youth of today will have summer memories of baseball, soccer, swimming, vacations, video games, texting friends – and some of them will have drive-in theater memories if they’re lucky enough to attend the restored Route 66 Drive-In on the west side of Carthage.
