Any event held on the museum campus is, of course, historic --- but Thursday evening's "Peanut Day" concert by the Chariton Community Band with guest performer Jon Hodkin, Britain's "Triking Tubador," was especially memorable.
This music was terrific, the weather (a cool breeze on the shady patio) ideal, a crowd of some 160 registered guests gratifying and the peanuts, memorable (Bob Ulrich and his crew did an especially fine job this year of toasting to perfection in the 1889 Royal roaster the raw peanuts donated by Hy-Vee).
The band led off with the National Anthem, of course, then a Karl King march, before performing "Chariton Chronicles," a piece of music, premiered this spring, that was composed for the Chariton High School Band by Vince Gassi under a Lucas County Historical Society commission.
Hodkin (above) then was introduced and performed two pieces on his traveling tuba, accompanied by the band. Introductions were made by Dave Hendricks (left) of Chariton's Connecticut Yankee Pedaller, Jon's principal sponsor for his two-month journey from the north of Scotland to the middle of the United States of America. Hodkin, based in Thurso, Scotland (the most northerly city on the British mainland), has traveled across Great Britain for years, performing benefit concerts on his tricycle, hauling his tuba behind in a custom-built cart. The tuba was shipped from Scotland, he's borrowed a trike for his Iowa travels and Connecticut Yankee is finishing up just now the cart he'll use during the next few weeks while navigating Iowa byways.
Now registered for RAGBRAI, participation in that huge cycling extravaganza will be a highlight for Jon. Chariton is one of the pass-through cities on this year's RAGBRAI route and, if all goes according to plan, Jon will be performing again at 11 a.m. on July 24 at the Larry Clark Bandstand on the square with a RAGBRAI-based brass ensemble. He'll be moving around Iowa, raising funds as he goes for a Blank Childrens Hospital project, until late August, so keep your eyes open for him this summer.
This also was the week Scott McGee and his crew arrived to install new concrete walkways to open up part of our lower campus and provide ADA-compliant access to the Bill Marner Blacksmith Shop. The crew was amazingly efficient, but as of Thursday morning there still was a big pile of dirt on the patio as the backfilling continued.
Then members of the Chariton Volunteer Fire Department pulled up late in the morning to wash down the approach and the patio itself and by evening, everything was immaculate.
All in all, it was a great evening --- so on behalf of the Lucas County Historical Society board and staff, thanks to all who made it possible! This also was the Community Band's final performance of the summer season, directed by Diane Tordoff, and we're especially happy that they agreed to add this concert to the schedule to feature Jon and to appear on the museum campus.
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