By the late
1950's, the band was trying hard to revitalize itself. They tried a variety of
new approaches including, for the first time, opening up band membership to
females.
The first half
of the sixties saw a new solution for the band. The band began a joint venture
with the Oil City American Legion Band. No band in the region has ever achieved the national stature of the Oil City Legion Band.
The Legion Band
had been one of the mainstays of Venango County music, winning a string of
eight national championships. The "40 and 8" had been one of the top
bands of the country in the post-war period, but they were also feeling the
pinch by the end of the fifties.
The two bands
never actually merged. The Oil City Band appeared on Monday nights; then on the
following Thursday, the same group would appear in Franklin, performing the
same concert in different uniforms as the Franklin Silver Cornet Band. Roy
Smith and Carl Brozeski alternated programs, but when Roy directed in Franklin
he was the "director" of the Franklin Band. When he directed the same
program in Oil City, he was the "assistant director" of the Oil City
group.
In 1963, Carl
was the leader of both groups. In 1964, the job was turned over to Harold
Pixley, and that marks the turnaround for the Franklin Band.
1964 was the
last year for the co-op band program. Franklin players felt they were
contributing more than the Oil City group, and withdrew from the partnership.
Pix began
actively recruiting players (both male and female) from the high school, and
the band's ranks began to swell again, after a period of stagnation. Most
significantly, Pix recruited the new music teacher at Franklin for the band and
for the director's chair-- by 1969 he was officially the band's associate
director.
Here's the
band, probably in 1969-- Ed can be seen in the third rown on the left. In the
back row, band president Richard Abel is standing on the end, and Pix is right
next to him. The majorettes are on loan from the high scho
