Karl L. King Municipal Band (From John Goodall)

Scan11556, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. By Judy Keen, USA TODAY FORT DODGE, Iowa — Generations of people have spent summer Sunday evenings listening to the Karl L. King Municipal Band play marches, waltzes and polkas at the Oleson Park band shell. The City Council in this town of 26,000 voted to ensure that the tradition continues by invoking a 1921 state law that allows cities to designate a portion of property-tax revenue to support municipal bands. Fort Dodge had been using money from its general fund to subsidize the band, but the vote guarantees that it will continue to receive about $32,000 a year. The vote was unanimous, and there's little debate here about the wisdom of supporting old-fashioned live entertainment in tough economic times. "If you want to start controversy, it would be to not fund the band," City Manager David Fierke says. When Fierke was hired, he recalls, Mayor Will Patterson, now deceased, advised him, "Whatever you do, fund the band." About 1,000 people attend each concert, and senior citizens are big fans. "It takes them back to the times when they were kids," Councilman Don Wilson says. Plenty of younger people show up for concerts, too. "I'm for the band and anything to keep that old history alive," says John Gailey, 46, owner of a plumbing and heating company. 'Still sounds fresh' One reason for the success of Fort Dodge's band is its namesake. Karl King, already a famous composer, conductor and musician, arrived here in 1920. He wanted to settle down after years on the road with circuses, including one that featured Buffalo Bill Cody. Fort Dodge had a band, but King recruited other professional musicians and it quickly gained acclaim. "In a short time, the concerts became the community's social life in the summer," says Duane Olson, the band's announcer and unofficial historian. King crossed paths with two other famous composers and band conductors: John Philip Sousa, known as "the march king," and Meredith Willson, author of the musical The Music Man, who was born 95 miles from here in Mason City. To give bands a reliable source of income, King and other band leaders lobbied the Iowa Legislature to allow property taxes to underwrite band costs. In 1923, Fort Dodge residents approved a referendum allowing the move. The results of that election remain valid today, says Maurice Breen, city attorney. Six other Iowa cities also collect taxes specifically for bands. When Breen was growing up, the King band also played Thursday nights on the town square. "You would stay in your car, and instead of applauding, you would honk your horn," he says. The band now plays three indoor concerts each winter. Jerrold Jimmerson, the King band's current conductor, says its 45 musicians provide their own instruments. High school musicians are paid $25 for each concert and professional players get $35. Those who live out of town get 30 cents per mile for travel. The music the band performs "still sounds fresh, and it's still very good music 100 years later," Jimmerson says. "If it's good music, it's good for all time." Enduring popularity Many municipal and community bands are thriving, says William Moody, co-conductor of South Carolina's Palmetto Concert Band and a retired director of the school of music at the University of South Carolina. The Long Beach Municipal Band marks its 100th anniversary this year. The Allentown Band in Pennsylvania has been around since 1828 and calls itself America's oldest civilian concert band. Bands charge admission, sell subscriptions or depend on city funds or donations, Moody says. Some perform marches and show tunes, others play classical music. Bands, unlike orchestras, have no string instruments. There are more than 1,000 community bands in the USA, says Don Snowden, president of the Association of Concert Bands. "Almost every week, another one is forming," he says. Robert Jorgensen, former president of the American Bandmasters Association, says one reason for bands' popularity is that musicians want to continue performing after high school or college. He conducts the Freedom Brass Band of Northeast Ohio, which has musicians ranging in age from teens to 80s. "We need to do what we can to preserve the band," including using taxes to help, he says. "It's a piece of Americana."