A few Sarnia businessmen who loved playing music began this band in 1875. They included George Storey, Adam Laschinger, Fred Gorman, Charles Wanino, and George Wanino, and numbered fifteen to twenty members. They bought their own instruments and music and met once a week above the Sarnia firehall. They called themselves the Sarnia Independent Band. Once they expanded to twenty members, they began getting invitations to play at dances, skating rinks, and parks. David Barr was the band's first conductor and then Michael Flemming took over. Michael Flemming, the manager of the Lambton Loan and Investment Company, also donated money to the band and encouraged other businesses to donate as well. Those donations helped the band flourish.
In 1879, Arthur Clappé, previously bandmaster of the Governor General's bodyguard, became the band's bandmaster. He was the organist at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Under his direction, the band's reputation grew. The band went to various competition and was recognized as "the third best band in the dominion".
See the Sarnia Canadian Observer, July 8, 1938
and https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sarnia-ont-emc