The "Holy Spitball" Story

It was an ordinary day. Saturday! Payday! Today Mr. McConnell (Mr. Mac), St. James Church organist and choirmaster, was handing out envelopes after choir practice. The choir was a paid choir for both men and boys. I had sung in the St. James Boy’s Choir since I was eight years old. You needed to be able to read to participate. We had about 35-40 boy choir members who sang either Soprano or Alto. We practiced on Monday after school, Thursday at 7:00 with the men’s choir and Saturday morning. I was 12 now and my voice had graduated to Alto. This would eventually be my last year in the boy’s choir because my voice was going to change and I could no longer reach the notes. For the past year I was the Choirmaster of the Boy’s Choir. Something like the President of the United States, only on a much lower key. Get that! Mr. Mac had selected me at the annual Choir Recognition Service to be the leader of the Boy’s Choir and presented me with the Silver Cross that I had to wear every service. I also had to try not to lose it during the rest of the week or it would be deducted from my pay. Didn’t make me sing any better, though. I was also asked to be one of the two boys who after the services on Sunday would take the Hymn numbers off the boards in the church. After our practice on Saturday morning, I would have to put up the new numbers for the next day’s services. Now all of these extra jobs paid an additional amount. Since I was in my fifth year singing in the choir, my base salary for the month was $3.50. I received an additional amount of $1.00 for being the Choirmaster and $.75 for putting the numbers up on the board. $5.25 was a whole bunch of money back then!! Why was I the “Chosen One” you may wonder? Well, my Dad had sung in the choir since he was 8 years old and only missed 4 years when he entered the Army. He was the featured Bass soloist and Mr. Mac had to keep him happy. Mr. McConnell was a renowned organist and choirmaster and was called to St. James Church to lead the Boy’s and Men’s Choir in 1944. He had been an assistant to world famous T. Tertius Noble in New York before coming to St. James. Google him sometime. The Boy’s and Men’s Choir was featured often at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and at Valley Forge, PA. Every Lenten Season Mr. Mac would present a series of organ recitals which had been a church tradition for 75 years. He would ask his choirboys to help with the recitals by handing out programs before the recital began and help clean up after the recital was over. We had to wear our choir gowns to do this. I really liked wearing my choir gown. Very spiffy. Little did I know that he was exposing me to some of the best organ music in the world. To this day I hold him in high regard for all he did for me as a young boy. After Easter, Mr. Mac would take all the boys who had helped with the recitals to lunch at the Brunswick Hotel which was the premier hotel in Lancaster. We all would dress up for our day with Mr. Mac. Spiffy, again. Everyone would have “Chicken in the Basket” which is much like chicken tenders at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Fries and a drink were also part of the meal. Then after the meal we would all go to see a western movie at the Strand Movie Theatre. What a treat!!! Well, today we get paid. Hey! How come I only got $4.75 I said to Barry K. who sat next to me in the Alto section. “Look there, at your envelope,” he said. “He deducted $.50 for throwing spitballs during choir practice. And I thought he never saw me do it! Oh, the memories!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - On top right photo, my Dad and I are the two on the far right in the rear.