Runnels Co., TX - Newspaper - Winters Band, Beatrice Grant *********************************************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: "Jan Pittard" Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgenwebarchives.org *********************************************** Abilene Reporter News July 20, 1975 “Citizens Turned Out When Winter Band Practiced” Picture: Attie GRANT, picture of early band, and the 1905 version that appeared in the previous articles. The small schoolhouse rang with the sound of music as the brass band warmed up for its Friday night practice. The steady second note of the alto horn delighted the listeners even as it startled them to see a young girl performing with the men members. Back in 1889 (must be a typo, the band started in 1899). It was unheard of for a girl to entertain publicly but Beatrice (Attie) GRANT knew that her brother, Charlie needed her and she played in the Winters Brass Band and held her own. “No one said a word,” she recalle. “They just kinda looked big-eyed about it.” Much of the rest of the article is repeat of the previous two… added comment on the sailor collar/lawn blouse bass player on their first engagement: “This was so funny that it broke us up and we forgot to be scared.” ‘There was no uniform for a girl, so Mrs. BOWDEN, the Methodist preacher’s wife, made mine. It had fancy curly cue gold braid on one the jacket, just like the boys.” “Our first out of town date was at Robert Lee where we played for a reunion. This was the most exciting trip for me,” said Mrs. CORDILL. “We spent the night on the road and camped out. ‘Slept out’ we called it, on pallets. The men did the cooking and I just enjoyed the trip. It was proper for me to go because my brother was along.” When Attie was married to Asa CORDILL on October 27, 1901, at the home of her sister, Mrs. J.H. KIPP, in Winters, the band played for their wedding music. “I was too excited to recall what the numbers were, but the musicians sat on the front porch and serenaded us while we ate supper,” she said. The CORDILLs moved to Ballinger where he was in the jewelry business, but Attie kept up her interest in the band and played with them whenever possible. “It still wasn’t considered quite proper for a woman to play in a public band, but my husband encouraged me.” (Note, Attie wrote directly on the article copy with a box around this paragraph - NOT TRUE! And mentioned it in her letter to Kathryn, her niece, youngest daughter of Charles and Mattie. She also wrote by the side of her picture, “Do you blame me for laughing?). The band performed for the coming of the railroad to Winters in 1909, when there was such a deluge of rain that the town was nearly washed away. Winters now has an outstanding high school band started in 1920, when instruments were collected from retired band members and band music was introduced in the school. The high school band now plays many out-of-town engagements. Mrs. CORDILL who will be 97 in August was able to attend the dedication of the Winters Brass Band Marker in Winters on April 18, 1968. Located in front of the Scout hut, the marker is in recognition of the contribution the band has made to the cultural life of the area.