The Putnam Standard
Community News
March 19-23, 2012 – Page 5
Barbershop quartet entertains Putnam Rotary Club meeting TEAYS VALLEY -- The first day of spring arrived in Teays Valley on Tuesday March 20 with a special performance of barbershop music by "Uncle Ernie's Boys," for the Putnam Rotary Club. Steve Patrick led the group which is a part of The ThunderTones, a group that meet's weekly at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Barboursville. "Most of you have heard music like singing in church," Patrick said. "Typically, the melody is in the top voice. Sopranos always get the melody. Barbershop has the melody in the middle, and all the other parts go around it. "The melody singer is the lead singer and below that is the bass -- almost always. Above the melody is the tenor -- almost always," he said. "And then the baritone has the sparkle, the tough job, really. When the lead goes down, he goes up; when the lead goes up, he goes down. The baritone goes in and out filling up the chords." Other members of Uncle Ernie's Boys are tenor Ken Stevens from Cross Lanes, Raymond Byrd from Barboursville singing bass, and baritone Jeep Dille from Chesapeake, Ohio. "Uncle Ernie's Boys" get together with others of The Thun-
"Uncle Ernie's Boys" entertain with Barbershop Harmony during a recent meeting of the Putnam Rotary Club. (From left) Ken Stevens, Steve Patrick, Jeep Dille and Raymond Byrd make up the group. The singers are part of the ThunderTones Chorus, which meets weekly in Barboursville. derTones Chorus for harmony and good times at Fellowship Baptist Church in Barboursville on Thursday evenings. Additional voices are always welcome. The group is part of the Huntington Tri-State Chapter of the Johnny Appleseed District of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Barbershop is a capella in style, and performance numbers
are generally taken from arrangements written especially for men's quartet, Patrick said. The Barbershop Harmony Society's Old Songs Library holds over 100,000 songs, the largest sheet music collection in the world outside the Library of Congress. Barbershop harmony began in the 1800s, Patrick said. "I think it was called 'barber-
shop' because around the barbershops -- where the men could hang around without the women -- they could harmonize and have a good time. It was really popular up until the 1920s," Patrick said. “When radio appeared, the barbershop style didn't translate well over the microphones and receiver sets of the time, and listener tastes turned to instrumental music.”
But in 1938, two Tulsa businessmen, O. C. Cash and Rupert Hall, invited their friends to a barbershop songfest. The event created a traffic jam in the city, and it marked the beginning of the "Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc." In 2004, the name was changed to the Barbershop Harmony Society. The organization's headquarters moved to Nashville in 2007. Not to be left out, the wives of the original Tulsa harmonizers formed a women's barbershop group in 1945 which quickly became the Sweet Adelines International. Local chapters of Sweet Adelines are active in both Charleston and Huntington. The ThunderTones chorus has members from the greater Huntington area, Chesapeake, Proctorville, Ashland, Milton, Teays Valley, Cross Lanes, and Charleston. Any man who likes to sing is invited to join the ThunderTones, which meets Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Baptist Church in Barboursville. For further information about the Chorus, call (304)302-NOTE.
Business Before Business event Putnam Tech Center hosts set for April 5 at Husson’s Pizza Career Day on March 29 SUBMITTED ARTICLE SCOTT DEPOT -- The next Business Before Business event hosted by the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce will take place at Husson’s Pizza sponsored by Employers’ Innovative Network, LLC from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 5. Husson’s Pizza is located at 4040 Teays Valley Road in Scott Depot. Business Before Business provides an early morning social, but professional venue for
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business people to make new contacts and expand their presence in the business community. Participation is open to all Chamber members and their guests. This event is FREE to Chamber members, RSVPs are required. There will be a drawing for a free e-Billboard. Breakfast will also be included. RSVPs are required by Wednesday, April 4. To obtain membership information or to make reservations, please con-
tact the Chamber at 304.757.6510 or chamber@putnamcounty.org. You can also visit the Chamber website at www.putnamcounty.org for up-to-date information on the Chamber events.
ELEANOR -- The Putnam Career & Technical Center is sponsoring a Career Day for high school students, adult students and community members on Thursday, March 29, at the PCTC in Eleanor. All community members who are seeking employment and/or post-secondary training are en-
couraged to attend. Times will be 8:50 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. It is suggested that participants dress appropriately and bring resumes with them for potential employers. There are no fees for this service which is a School-to-Work activity.