History

History of the W.F. West Bearcat Band

The W.F. West Bearcat Band has a long and proud history in Chehalis, WA. Below is a timeline of important events in the band's history along with a historical list of band directors.

Timeline

1921: First picture of band appears in W.F. West HS (Formerly Chehalis HS) Yearbook

1934: First time music is offered as a class for credit (as opposed to a club)

1951: New (current) campus opens up

2016: Band hosts 1st WFW Bearcat Band Alumni Concert, with over 40 alumni (and three directors) in attendance.

2018: The Bearcat Alumni Concert tradition continues, with close to 30 alumni and three directors in attendance.

Music Directors

1921: Zella C. Melcher, Music

1924: Godfrey Kurtz, Music and Drama

Miss Millicent L. Brown, Orchestra

1925: Katherine Steele, Music Supervisor

1926: A.T. Flagg, Music Committee

Katherine Steele, Music Supervisor

Dana Small, Music Committee

1927: Kathryn Steele, Music Supervisor

1928: Leila Berry, Music Supervisor

1928 - 30: Leonard Odegaard, Music Supervisor

1931 - 37: Carlson

1938 - 40: Calvin Storey

1941 - 50: Sam Stone

1951 - 56: W. F. Van Fredenburg

1956 - 82: Ron Simpson (d. 1982)

1967 - 97: Tom Larsen

1982 - 06: Dan Judd

2006 - 09: Geoffry Gilbert (d. 2009)

2009 - 12: Gary Riler

2013-Present: Adam Campanga

The video below is by W.F. West Band member Michael Carter. It was created for the first W.F. West Alumni Concert. Special thanks also to Kate Amrine who helped with scouring the yearbooks for photos of the music program at W.F. West!