Musical Chairs: New Book by Ruth Anfinson Bures
River Arts Alliance member Ruth Anfinson Bures has recently published a new book, Musical Chairs: A True, Forgotten Tale of Love, Music, and Furniture, which explores the lives of a group of musicians involved in the early years of the Winona Municipal Band.
Ruth says:
“Musical Chairs is a book I have worked on for nine years since the Winona Municipal Band Centennial in 2015. We dug into the WMB history and featured different historical band segments each concert that summer. Orville Reese, one of the characters in the book, directed the band from 1920-1940. His story fascinated me and I felt it needed to be shared. I hoped to (and did!) finish the story in time for the Bandshell Centennial this year. Terri Karsten was my editor and publisher.
I will present part of it at the Bandshell as part of the WCHS anniversary tour on May 4. The ‘History on the River’ cruise on May 30 will include my presentation on Musical Chairs along with music by our clarinet quartet. Musical Chairs is available on Amazon.com now and we will have copies available at the History Center by the end of April.”
The foreword of Musical Chairs reads as follows:
“When researching the history of the Winona Municipal Band for its 2015 centennial celebration (1915-2015) I came across a group of very interesting people. The director from 1920 until 1940 was O. W. (Orville) Reese. Reading through articles archived in the Winona Newspaper Database, I discovered information about Orville’s wife, Babette Heyer Reese, her sister, Freda Heyer Christensen and Freda’s husband, Walter W. Christensen, all talented musicians. I learned that they had formed a vaudeville act in the early 20th century called The Musical Reeses and toured in Canada, the midwest and central plains states. In the years before coming to Winona, they lived in Chicago, Illinois and South Bend/Elkhart/Peru, Indiana. In 1918 they all moved to Winona and bought a furniture store. I was able to make contact with Heyer and Christensen descendants who provided me with information about this group’s years before coming to Winona. Their lives took many interesting twists and turns. I hope you enjoy following them.”
Image: Book cover of Musical Chairs (graphic design by Heidi Bryant).
Ruth Anfinson Bures, Terri Karsten, and Heidi Bryant are members of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/membership/.