Legends of Pine Village, Indiana: Trumpeter Samuel C. Fenton in Pryor’s Band

Samuel C. Fenton (1877–1921) may have been high strung, but he was a talented musician in Pine Village, Indiana. On hot summer evenings, residents sat on their porches and listened to his melodious playing. He performed with several bands in northwestern Indiana. Ultimately, Samuel played cornet in the well-known band led by Arthur Willard Pryor (1870–1942), who had served as assistant conductor of John Philip Sousa’s band and who was a famous trombonist. Pryor composed “The Whistler and His Dog,” a popular concert piece. Eventually, Samuel split his lip and decided to forgo the cornet. He returned to Pine Village, where he gave piano lessons. He was married to Bessie Ogborn (1881–1967), daughter of Levi Ogborn. Samuel and Bessie had one daughter, Dorothy Fenton, who became an accomplished pianist. For graduation exercises in 1919, Dorothy joined Adele LaPlante in performing the “Poet and Peasant Overture” piano duet.

Samuel C. Fenton

Trumpeter in Pryor’s Band

Musical ability, as well as artistic talent, ran through the Fenton family. Samuel’s first cousin, Charles Albert “Charley” or “Cobbie” Cobb (1883–1931), who was the son of Magnolia “Nolia” Somerset Fenton Cobb, played several instruments. Nolia was a professional photographer. Readers who have been following my posts on Facebook have seen photographs of Charley running a Reeves steam engine and a homemade tractor. I have the violin in a photograph depicting Charley with a guitar. Charley organized his own band, known as “Cobbie’s Band.” Lena Fenton Rhode (1884–1962), a first cousin of Samuel and Charley, studied piano at the Chicago Conservatory. She served as pianist for the Methodist Church in Pine Village. In her seventies, Lena continued to play hymns, but the minister occasionally had to awaken her. By the way, Barbara Brutus played the organ for the church, and I eventually became a church pianist.

Charles A. “Charley” or “Cobbie” Cobb

Cousin of Samuel C. Fenton

In the footsteps of my Fenton ancestors, I briefly majored in piano performance at the undergraduate level at Indiana University before switching to English, and I performed clarinet in ensembles of the IU Department of Bands for nine years, while earning my bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees. Whenever the Marching Hundred performed a march by Sousa or Fred Jewell, I felt transported back to the era of my Fenton ancestors. When the Summer Concert Band entertained the crowd beside Showalter Fountain, I thought of Cobbie’s Band on July evenings bringing smiles to faces while the fireflies flew.

Charley Cobb Holding Tuba in Center of Back Row

Cobbie’s Band, with Charley Cobb Kneeling in Center,

Cousin Claire Rhode Standing Toward Right,

Guy Blind Fourth from Right in Back Row, Decoration Day 1901

Cobbie’s Band, Charley Cobb with Back Toward Camera

Pine Village, Indiana, Sheet Music, Courtesy Indiana Historical Society