Newspapers / The Caduceus (Charlotte, N.C.) / Aug. 31, 1918, edition 1 / Page 16
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16 Qiittzfnfi National %ank I G. B. ARMSTRONG President ' A. G. MYERS Active Vice-President W. H. ADAMS Cashier CSafitnnm, CH. RESOURCES $2,000,000.00 Checking Accounts Welcome MATINEES I Labor Day AT 2 and 3.30 p. m. FOLLOW, THE CROWD TO THE THE CADUCEUS. THE MINSTREL SOME DRUMMER A TOUCH OF LOCAL “COLOR” ON SUNDAYS. NAT WILSON TELLS MISSIOiN' OF THE STICKS. Sunday afternoon at the Base Hos pital. By JOE LAWLOR. . The sun is still high in the heav ens and every living thing around the hospital grounds has sought refuge from the oppressive heat. Walking westward from “A” street towards the new convalescent barracks one is struck by the silence which hangs like a mantle over all. Truly the name “Day of Rest” has at last come into its own once more. As we approach “D“ street, howev er, strange sounds are wafted to wards us--singing,-laughing and much loud talking. Wo are surprised that any one in the hospital had the energy to so disport themselves on such a hot afternoon, but it is not until we have passed the “D” wards and have come into the open roadway which encir cles the hospital grounds that the mys tery i.s solved. Down at the Selwyn last Sunday evening a quiet unassuming gentleman Muld oe noticed on the other end of a Havana Perfecto. By a mere turn of co'i^ersation brought out the lact that It was none other than the drummer lor Victor Herbert for four years, and also connected with Ziegfield Pol- lies Being in an inquisitive frame of amiable musician and thereby learned a few secrets about the different phrasings that go to make up a big league orchestra. Seated on camp stools in the shade afforded by the bridge which connects “D” street with the “E” group are fifty or sixty negroes—patients in the hospital. We have found them giving their Sunday afternoon entertain ment. Garbed in multi-colored bath robes and pajamas, barefoot ( although supplied with slippers) and with hats made of newspapers they add an Orien tal touch to the usual colorless sur roundings. For instance we have all sat and listened to the cadence of the Poet and Peasant and William Tell Over tures and seemed to lean towards the of the outfit, not giving the other section the credit that was due to them, this being mainly due to the certain degree of flash and fire that the trumpets of Jericho -carry - On a stool in the centre of the group sits a negro of remarkably large physique, w-ho is busily engaged strum ming on a guitar. Two negroes of smaller stature are are demonstrat ing their dancing abilities and the re mainder of the crowd chant negro ly rics to the rhythm of the dance music. At a little distance away are collected several large tool chests and from the vicinity of these can be heard emanat ing in excited but appealing tones the familiar phrases, “come seben, come eleben,” indicative of a qiuet game of “bones’’ In concealment. Now to get back to the drums many people imagine that a drummer Is a sort of a mechanical creature who plays just as he feels and don’t care a darn who knows it, but such persons are due a rude awakening, playing under a man like Victor Herbert he re lies as much on the roll of a timpani in certain passages as he does upon the delicate Stradavarian Violin In a light aria. Lack of space forbids me to go further into this interesting branch of the orchestra. @ Skirting the outermost circle of- the audience, dressed In a robe more decorative than those of his fellows, and assuming a well-borne air of super iority is a negro whom all address as sergeant. His badge of office consists of three strips of adhesive fastened horizontally on the upper right sleeve . He seems to have taken unto himself the task of keeping the crowd in order and, true to the suggestion lately is sued by the War Department, does not necessarily mix with the hoi pollol of his command. Wilson at the present time is under study to Jean Dumontal the head Drummer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and also let the writer m to the immense .amount of detail that goes with such an organization. He then went over to the piano and played the different scores of the various shows he was with and he then confided to me that.he had never taken a lesson in his life but has been so used to playing the bells that he just naturally picks out the melodies on the piano. After spending an Inter esting hour we called It a day and parted. Female colored visitors from the city are present in goodly numbrs, but do not approach the immediate vicin ity of the crowd. They are seen In groups some distance away, surround- d by numbers of colored pa tients, The bright dresses of the wom en alongside the many-hued bath robes of the men give the whole af fair the appearance of a mid-summer carnival. That the festive gathering depends on the guitar player is. evident from the fact that the crowd disperses on his being called away. His name be ing called out by an orderly from a near-by ward, the musician drops the instrument and lazily responds. Be fore taking final leave of the crowd, he turns around when a few yards away from them and issues this warn ing: "Don’t none of you niggers back yonder monkey , with dat box till Ah comes back,” and having allowed the full Import of his words to sink In • deeply, he wheels around and disap pears through the rear door of one of the wards. At his departure the entertainment is at an end and the audience picking up each his own stool, wend their way to their respective wards to await the evening meal. By SBRGT. PATRICK COiSGROVE. i
The Caduceus (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 31, 1918, edition 1
16
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