Celebrating the centennial of Glenn Miller’s birth

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 28, 2004

By Ed Shannon, Albert Lea Tribune

One place in the nation where the memory of Glenn Miller is really revered is in the small city of Clarinda, Iowa.

Clarinda, located in the southwest corner of Iowa, is where the name of the popular musician and orchestra and band leader from another era really predominates. Clarinda has both an avenue and drive named in his honor. The local armory of the Iowa National Guard is named for the late U.S. Army Air Corps bandmaster. Also, Clarinda’s VFW is known as the Glenn Miller Post. And from June 9 to 12, the community will be hosting the 29th annual Glenn Miller Festival.

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All of this is based on the fact that Alton Glenn Miller (his real name) was born in Clarinda on March 1, 1904. He was 5 when the family moved to Tryon, Neb. The Miller family later moved to Grant City, Mo., then to Fort Morgan, Colo.. GIenn graduated from Fort Morgan High School in 1921, and later attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for several semesters.

However, Glenn’s main interest was with popular music. He worked as a trombonist and arranger with several of the nation’s best big bands for about 15 Years. Then, in 1938, he organized the musical group that was to make his name famous.

From 1938 to 1942 the Glenn Miller Orchestra had a tremendous influence on American music. His elite group was extremely popular with ballroom dancers, music lovers, radio listeners, record purchasers, and was featured in several films in 1941 and 1942.

In October 1942 Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Captain, and later Major, Miller soon became commander and leader of one of the liveliest and best of the service bands.

The band went to Great Britain in 1944 and was in the process of going to France to entertain the troops by the end of that year. Miller was a passenger on an aircraft which disappeared over the English Channel on Dec. 15, 1944.

Hollywood honored the memory of the popular musician with &uot;The Glenn Miller Story&uot; film in 1954, which starred James Stewart and June Allyson.

The original Glenn Miller Orchestra was only active from 1938 to 1942 under his leadership. Yet during those four years this big band group had nine melodies which sold more than a million records each. And it was the seventh one, &uot;Chattanooga Choo Choo,&uot; a jazzy vocal number featured by the band in a 1941 film, &uot;Sun Valley Serenade,&uot; which resulted in the awarding of the

nation’s first gold record.

The events in Clarinda are sponsored by the 1,700-member Glenn Miller Birthplace Society. Among the highlights for this year’s festival will be Glenn Miller displays at the local historical museum and high school, and appearances by former members of both the original civilian and military musical groups.

Each year this celebration has featured various musical groups, and this year’s festival will have a real bonus lineup. The Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Larry O’Brien, The Dallas Brass, the USAF Noteables from Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha (which have played in Albert Lea several times),

The Avi8ors from Omaha, Evensong from Clarinda, and the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Big Band are just part of this musical salute.

Coming to Clarinda from overseas will be the Jan Slottenas Orchestra from Stockholm, Sweden, the Swing Dance Orchestra from Berlin, Germany, Bill Baker’s Big Band from Rijswijk, The Netherlands, and Tamana Girls High School Band from Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan, making their seventh visit to Iowa.

There’s a correction to be made for the last column. Albert Lea’s Christ Episcopal Church was designed by architect Bernard Hein in 1954. As I emphasized, LeRoy Gaarder did design Austin’s Christ Episcopal Church in 1951. Thus, the number of area churches designed by Gaarder reverts back to 20.

(Feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears each Friday.)