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A brass band was organized in Forest in 1874. It consisted of eight people, and it lasted less than ten years.
In 1884, the Forest Excelsior Band was formed with ten people on its roster. Alfred Hill, the first reeve for the town, was the conductor. It played for a skating carnival, had an open air concert in Forest, played at the Caledonian games in Woodstock, and marched at the Orangemen parade in Warwick Village. It also started its annual tradition of playing at the town fair. Its instruments and uniforms were owned by the band. The uniforms were grey with cockades on the caps. The coats had long coattails with red stripes. The band competed in its first contest in May, 1885, and won first prize.
The band played at the bandstand, constructed in 1890 on King Street in Forest. A new bandstand was built on Main Street in 1894, and it included electric lights.
The town of Forest became well known partially because of the band. Town council was proud of that, but there was always a tension between council providing funds so the band could continue, or not contributing funds to the band to be financially prudent. In 1896, for example, the band was ready to quit unless the town granted them $100 each year. Alfred Hill stated that there were upkeep costs on the band instruments, music and band room rental costs, and transportation costs to go to other towns to play. The town council voted to contribute the $100 that was requested.
The band uniforms were changed up regularly. In 1888, the red stripes in the coattails were taken out, and the cockade caps were replaced by helmets with willow plumes. In 1908, the new uniforms were dark red with black trim and Sam Browne belts (a military style belt that included a strap going diagonally over the right shoulder). These were replaced in 1923 with grey uniforms, trimmed in black braid. In general, the band's uniforms were military style.
The military and marching bent of the band is evident in the executive positions the band had. In 1924, for example, the executive positions included a band sergeant and a drum major.
In the 1930's, the band was split into a senior band and a junior band. The junior band was the training vehicle for the senior Excelsior Band. Also in the 1930's, the band competed at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. It would board a special coach at the train station each summer and come back with awards and trophies. Besides competitions, the band played for the annual Christmas carol sing, New Year's Eve, the fair, many ceremonial functions, and minstrel shows at the bandshell.
Over the years, the band went through good times and lean times. The 1920's were lean years, where the band performed just once a year -- at Christmas time. Band leaders lasted a short time and then quit. In the mid-1950's, there was talk of scrapping the band, but the Forest Rotary Club stepped in to assist in hiring and paying a full time bandmaster. They hired Ernest Wetton in 1956, and he remained in that position for more than twenty years. A junior band was also formed in 1957 with the financial help of the Forest Kiwanis Club. This Kiwanis Youth Band reached an enrollment of forty and travelled to various towns to play. After about four years, they were incorporated into the Excelsior Band. In 1959, almost one thousand people attended the band tattoo in Forest. The crowd included bands from Strathroy, Seaforth, Thedford, Ridgetown, Sarnia, Exeter, North Buxton, and Ipperwash.
Once Ernest Wetton was ready to retire, the band decided to dissolve. But Gerald Morrison, Lee Crozier, Tom Wilson, John Hoyle, and Gerry Addison decided that was not going to happen. And they kept the band going. Plans for fund raisers for uniforms, instruments, and music were made. The band received a Wintario grant, and new uniforms were ordered in 1978 -- forest green blazers, grey skirts and slacks, white shirts, and green ties. This was a change from "business suits" which were the stated uniform in the 1950's and 1960's.
In 1982, Tim Hummel became the conductor. He had just been hired to teach at North Lambton Secondary School, the public high school in Forest. The band was in decline, with about twelve members. And Gerald Morrison was the band manager, a post he had held for 50 years. Gerald says in a September 18, 1982, Sarnia Observer article, that he had joined the band at age 15 to play the double B bass tuba. He says that the tuba was huge and heavy, so he needed to transport it by wagon. He sat in the band with players on either side who hit him on the arm for every wrong note. "Many a time I came away [from practice] with sore arms," he says.
For its 100 year anniversary in 1984, the band travelled to Ottawa to perform on July 1 on Parliament Hill and on August 19 at Queen's Park in Toronto. Also, in 1984, a mobile "band wagon" was constructed for the band, to be used as a concert stage as well as a platform for the band in parades.
Tim Hummel continued as conductor until 1991. During his stint as conductor, the band decided to become more of a jazz/swing band, and its popularity increased. They organized dances in Lambton County. Rick and Bob Hext recall the work needed to put these on. They and their families would organize the ticket selling and food and beverage ordering and handling. Besides serving beverages and snacks during the dance, the band would ensure that there was a "light lunch" later in the evening. Then there was the cleanup.
Dave Williams, also a music teacher at the Forest high school, took over briefly in 1991, and then Dan Dumais took over in 1992 when he became a music teacher at North Lambton Secondary School. Dan is presently conductor in 2020.
Today, the Forest Excelsior Band bills itself as the longest continuously running civilian band in Canada. It has gone through several forms, including a militia band (during world war I), marching band, minstrel show band, "old boys clown band", concert band, and now a jazz/big band.
The band members in 2020 are not just Forest residents; some are from Alvinston, Watford, Sarnia, Wyoming, and even London. The band continues to rehearse weekly at the Forest high school. It plays annually at fair and Christmas parades along with local dances and galas.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/forestexcelsiorband/about/?ref=page_internal
https://www.lambtonmuseums.ca/warwick_pages/history/
Mona Huctwith. Forest: Its Beginnings and More. Forest: DanCam Press, 2000.
The Official Forest Centennial Book 1872-1972
Ernie Wetton, Connie Furtney, Gerry Felsky. A History of the Forest Excelsior Band.
See IBEW
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