Biography & random reflections

[DF Cramer]

Fellow List Members:
    I have been visiting Delaware County for the past week and have been
able to read the postings, but have not been able to reply.

Biography:

    I was born in McKeesport, PA in 1953 and lived in Liberty Borough until
1962.  My parents took me on a streetcar ride before we moved so I could
experience them.  I do remember the crossing in McKeesport with the B&O and
my older brother getting his shoe caught in the girder rail in the middle of
the street.
    We moved to Ford City for a year and then I moved into my current
residence outside of Kittanning.  Aside from switching from Lionel trains to
HO Scale, there is little remarkable about my youth dealing with rail.  The
very first HO model I did get for Christmas (circa '63) was a Tyco Nob Hill
single truck trolley that I still own.
    I earned my BS in Music Education from Indiana University of PA in 1975
and then had a quick stint with the US Army, the PA Department of Public
Welfare (Maximum Security Unit Counselor for Youth Corrections), substitute
teaching and work as a carpenter.  It was the mid 70's---times were tough.
    One item of interest was a job the summers of 73 & 74.  I worked as a
laborer in a beehive coke works in Armstrong County.  I earned plenty of
experience with 600 volt DC overhead.  We had lauries, levelers, coke
pullers, motors and all sorts of power tools that ran off the overhead.
More than once, I had to stand on the back of the welding truck and hold the
wire up to the ear as it was welded back into place.  We could not turn the
power off as that would stop production.   One just hoped the truck was not
parked in water.  Fred mentioned smoke--it was truly unbelievable.  There
were times you could not see 5 feet in front of you in the yard between the
ovens.   I worked for three months, each of the two summers, made a ton of
money, but would be cleaning black coal dust out of my nose in late October
while back at school.
    I have been a band director/music teacher at Ford City High School since
1977.  I earned my MA in Music from IUP in 1982 and have had a wide variety
of music experiences.  I am a former member and conductor of the
Championship Kittanning Fireman's Band, played in a wedding combo from 1980
to 1986, and am the founding music director, manager and president  (1984)
of the Armstrong Concert Band, a non profit, all volunteer adult band.  I
have been a member of the Butler Symphony Orchestra since 1986 and have been
Principle Trombone since 1990.  I also currently play in the Armstrong Brass
Quintet, play lead trombone in the New Ken Pops Orchestra (AFof M) and
Sinfonia sacra.  I have also volunteered by time for the past four years as
a member/arranger with the IUP Trombone Choir.  I have studied trombone with
Richard Thorell, Dr. Christian Dickinson of IUP and Rebecca Bower and Robert
Hamrick of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
    I am a past President of District 3 of the Pennsylvania Music Educators
Association and have presented clinics on instrument repair, leadership and
trombone techniques to a wide variety of educators on the local, district
and region level.  I am currently the webmaster for District 3.  I have been
lucky that my job has so closely tied to my interests.
    I have always had an interest in rail travel and became a member of PTM
in 1993.  Since that time, I have worked my way from an operator/docent to a
docent instructor to an Instructor/Supervisor.  I can tell you, the people
who are actively involved in the museum are great and give a person every
opportunity to utilize their talents.  Over the past two years, I have been
actively involved with EHL in the writing of my book, The Trolleys of
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.  The museum published this book on two small
West Penn lines in March of 2000.  I have also led the ACBand in
performances at PTM as well as providing a Dixieland Band for the rollout of
New Orleans 832 and a ragtime band for Old Pittsburgh Days.
    Hindsight is wonderful when it comes to "We should have saved........."
Historians the world over have lamented the loss of all sorts of items from
historical documents to music manuscripts and more.  Thank heavens for the
development of languages, the photograph and sound recordings.  Why not work
on what we have instead of wasting our energies on what ifs?  How many of
you have contacted the Educator at PTM to record your Trolley Memories?
Sondra Furedy has started an Oral History Project and would love to hear
from you.
    My wife (also a musician) and I have traveled the country riding behind
steam, diesel and under wire.  We are great fans of our massive national
parks out west and especially the mountains of Colorado.  The beaches of the
Atlantic also call to us on a regular basis.  Retirement is still in the
future, however we find new and exciting places to visit on a regular basis.
Music conventions around Pennsylvania and in Chicago keep us busy and up to
date.  With a busy performance calendar (I average 4 or 5 performances a
month throughout the year) it is sometimes hard to do everything one wants.
I am a strong believer in volunteerism and encourage each and every one of
you to give of your time to make the world a better place.

Dennis F. Cramer--Teacher-Trombonist-Historian-Conductor

       www.geocities.com/armconband