“Band kids graduate, band dads march on”

Posted: 09 Oct 2010 07:01 PM PDT

By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 9:57 PM Saturday, October 9, 2010

HAMILTON — When Tom Weber's son, Tom Jr., joined the Hamilton High School marching band as a drummer in 1988, he and his late wife, Melanie, signed on as band parents.

"I started out on the equipment van and my wife worked concessions the first year," he said.

When Tom Jr. dropped out of the band during his senior year because he had conflicting interests, Weber told his family he was staying on, having found his niche as "Mr. Fix-It," the go-to guy for instrument repairs. His shirts are even personalized with his nickname.

So 22 years later, with Tom long graduated, he's still there for the band. Every game. Every competition. Every parade. Every practice. And he vows to continue working with the band for as long as he is able, having considered — and ditched – the idea of retiring after his 20th year.

"I always ask every year if I can come back, just because it's the polite thing to do," he said.

Weber is not the only one who stayed on after his children graduated. Wayne Parker is a 10-year veteran who started when his grandchildren, Elizabeth and Jacob Eichhold, were marching in the band.

Parker drives the equipment truck for road trips and mans the "gator" during competitions and home games. He also used his many connections in the city to come up with a new truck when the old bus kept breaking down on the band.

"There's nothing in it for me," Parker said about the rewards of being a band parent. "I just enjoy working with the kids."

This week, Weber and Parker will be busy getting things ready for Saturday's 34th annual Band-O-Rama, the competition hosted by Hamilton High's marching band.

Eleven bands will compete, including those from local schools Ross, Middletown and Fairfield.

The bands will compete for awards in their class, which is determined by school enrollment, as well as a rating based upon Ohio Music Education Association guidelines.

Bands that receive a Superior Rating will qualify for the Ohio State Marching Band Finals, held in Columbus.

The Band-O-Rama Committee will again present a traveling 6-foot-tall Grand Champion trophy to display in the winner's school for one year. Last year's winner was Kettering-Fairmont in the Dayton area.

Horn won't blow? See Mr. Fix-It

When Tom Weber first started volunteering for the Hamilton High School marching band, he spent a year as "just another father helping out," he said.

But then his legend grew.

After a year working on the equipment van, Weber found his niche when a clarinet player came up to him before a football game asking for help tightening some screws on her clarinet.

He and some other fathers began a frantic search for a screwdriver suitable for such a delicate task, and they ended up using a pocket knife to make the emergency repair.

"These kids are performers and they don't need to be worrying about things like that," he said. "So I started putting together a toolbox. I was in the Vietnam War and I learned to be ready, to be prepared, so I took this on myself.

"I didn't want to carry around a big toolbox, so I carried a few tools around in a fanny pack for a while, then I had to graduate to a canvas bag."

When Charlene Alfaro took over as the band director 10 years ago, she was glad to have an experienced handy-man aboard.

"I tell the kids early in the year, if you have a problem, see Mr. Fix-It," she said. "Most of the kids don't even know his name, I don't think. He'll figure out a way to help us fix anything."

Weber said he's a "quick-fix" artist, using whatever is at hand, and he tries to keep a variety of useful materials in his bag, but he most frequently uses rubber bands, paper clips and electrical tape. But he also carries around an extra whistle in case Alfaro loses or forgets hers, adhesive bandages, a stain stick and a sewing kit for uniform mishaps, extra lanyards for the saxophone players and valve oil for horns.

He's fixed xylophones with string and came up with a device to help him pick up the dropped sticks of marching drummers during parades.

"To try to carry around actual parts would just be too expensive," Weber said, and recalled a time that he put a baritone horn back together with electrical tape and told the student to take it in for repair on Monday. But the student liked the distinctive look of the repair job so much that he waited 10 weeks before getting it fixed.

"I'm living a dream come true," Weber said. "I grew up with the old Big Blue back in the '50s and that meant a lot to me. I serve no other band. These have been the best kids over the years and I'm going to go on as long as I can go."

He said he actually considered retiring after his 20th year, but then a student came to get a minor repair on his instrument and told him how much he appreciated Mr. Fix-It.

"That was it," Weber said. "I went off and shed a tear, and I'm still here."

Still, he shares credit with the many other band parents who devote countless volunteer hours making sure that the operation runs smoothly.

"I try to keep a low profile," he said. "I'm just one link in this big chain. Without the other band parents, I couldn't do what I do."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

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Graduate Job

Saturday, October 9, 2010