1889 College Band

How's this for a great photo?

 

 

The three men in this picture all attended college in the late 1880's and early 1890's, at the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute.........now known as Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Besides being a business school, Valparaiso was also then a school for musicians. Attending college in the 1800's
was somewhat of a rare thing back then....a real feat. These three men formed an unusual college band. This picture was taken in 1889.
 
The man in the middle, is J. J. WILLIAMS from Cross Timbers, Hickory County, Missouri. He was a violin player.
 
The guitar player on the left is W. P. MILLIKEN from Bolivar, Polk County, Missouri. And the zither player on the right is my great-grandfather, Louis "Big Louie" MAURATH, from Millstadt, St. Clairy County, Illinois. His family had originally moved to Millstadt from St. Louis, Missouri. His father was from the Black Forest, Germany and his mother was from Lorraine, France. He lived to be 97 years old and died in 1962. He wrote detailed information on the back of the picture, and that's how we know the identity of his two friends.

 

For more information on Louie MAURATH and his family, click here.

 

Submitted by John Maurath

 

Posted June 2008; revised July 2008

 

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