Ah....those were the days!
Several have asked me questions about the insurance man's tour with the Choralairs. And since our reunion last week-end, we now have many original photos shared by all the members, so I have some to post. The Choralairs were put together by a man from Yakima, Washington named Tex Yearout. It started around 1960 and lasted until 1967. The insurance man toured and sang with them on their last trip. Tex would find musically talented teens from all over the U.S. and even Canada, and they would travel in the bus in the photo above, all summer around the United States. It involved a small choir of voices, and a live 'band' of instruments, often including such things as a harp and marimba. The teens were all Christians, and sang and shared their faith in many venues, but mostly in churches.
Of course, after seeing that bus, you would know that it broke down OFTEN. Many of the stories shared at the reunion were about the broken down times, out in the heat of the mid west or east coast. In this photo, the insurance man says that the van following the bus had broken down, and they were transferring music equipment that they would need that night for their concert into the bus.
Here is a photo of the choir in their performance clothes, and the insurance man is the guy on the top right, with glasses. Guys had bow ties, and girls gloves! They actually had three different sets of clothes to wear for performing; two formal and one informal.
Here is the other formal set. The guys changed jackets, pants, ties and pocket handkerchiefs, while the girls had shorter dresses, and wore black gloves and shoes this time.
The insurance man is on the end nearest the trombone. In these photos you can't really see the instrumentalists.
The guy in the tan jacket was the 'narrator', who did no singing or playing, but most of the talking. The insurance man is waiting his turn to give his testimony of Jesus in his life.
This is a photo of the insurance man's friend Wayne Field, who sang and played the trumpet. With him is Barb, but the insurance man doesn't remember what they were holding up. (It's only been 44 years!) Barb was at the reunion, but unfortunately Wayne wasn't able to make it due to work commitments.
Of course there was time for fun too, and goofing off. The insurance man is on the bottom right in the print shirt, and Wayne is on the 2nd row left in his 'shades'.
Of course, after seeing that bus, you would know that it broke down OFTEN. Many of the stories shared at the reunion were about the broken down times, out in the heat of the mid west or east coast. In this photo, the insurance man says that the van following the bus had broken down, and they were transferring music equipment that they would need that night for their concert into the bus.
Here is a photo of the choir in their performance clothes, and the insurance man is the guy on the top right, with glasses. Guys had bow ties, and girls gloves! They actually had three different sets of clothes to wear for performing; two formal and one informal.
Here is the other formal set. The guys changed jackets, pants, ties and pocket handkerchiefs, while the girls had shorter dresses, and wore black gloves and shoes this time.
The insurance man is on the end nearest the trombone. In these photos you can't really see the instrumentalists.
The guy in the tan jacket was the 'narrator', who did no singing or playing, but most of the talking. The insurance man is waiting his turn to give his testimony of Jesus in his life.
This is a photo of the insurance man's friend Wayne Field, who sang and played the trumpet. With him is Barb, but the insurance man doesn't remember what they were holding up. (It's only been 44 years!) Barb was at the reunion, but unfortunately Wayne wasn't able to make it due to work commitments.
Of course there was time for fun too, and goofing off. The insurance man is on the bottom right in the print shirt, and Wayne is on the 2nd row left in his 'shades'. The kids got to see America first hand, and 1967 was a turbulent time. The insurance man was in Detroit during the riots there, and saw many Viet Nam protests at colleges all across our country. I think the tour was instrumental in many of these kids' lives in helping them to grow up and develop character, in learning to accept responsibility, and cement their faith. It has remained a wonderful memory for the insurance man, and now we both have wonderful memories of the reunion, and in seeing first hand what God has done in lives as a result of the Choralairs.
1 comment:
Well written! And the photos are great. It brings it to life. Thanks for sharing this. What a neat thing that Dad got to be a part of. I enjoyed getting to understand it better.
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