Attakapas Study Club hears of big band days

The Attakapas Study Club of Crowley met on Wednesday, March 9, at the Crowley home of Joanna Pruitt.
President Barbara Lengefeld called the meeting to order and asked Parliamentarian Joanna Pruitt to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and the club collect.
After the roll call, the minutes were read and approved, the treasurer’s report was given and approved and committee reports were presented.
Shirley Griffin, chairman of the nominating committee, announced that all the present officers had agreed to serve another two-year term, so there would be no need for a ceremony to install new officers.
The business session was adjourned and the president called on Pruitt to present the program, which was entitled “Big Band Glory Days.” Those present took a trip down memory lane as Pruitt talked about big band music that was popular in the ’40s. Pruitt introduced her program and then called attention to her old Edison phonograph from the turn of the century. She used the Edison to play a song on a record that was about 1/2-inch thick and pointed out that the music from the “Big Band” era could be classified as either jazz or swing. The performers were mainly ensembles made up of 12 to 25 members.
Pruitt delighted her audience with information about many more types of music and played excerpts from a CD that included artists such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Woody Harmon, Harry James and Guy Lombardo. She ended her program with two handouts, one entitled “A Geezer Quiz” and the other “For All Those Born Before 1945.”
After the members thanked Pruitt and told her how much they enjoyed the program, the hostesses, Jackie Buescher and Erma Breaux, served refreshments.
The 13 members present were JoAnne Arnaud, Ella Bertrand, Breaux, Buescher, Bettie Duhon, Griffin, Lengefeld, Bonnie Matirne, Gerry Meche, Pruitt, Dot Simon, Ethel Thibodeaux and Roy Lynn Trahan.