It's been a New Year Day tradition at the Pottsville Club for decades, a concert at noon with Pottsville's Third Brigade Band.
More than 40 of the band's 60 musicians will gather at the club at 201 South 26th St. on Tuesday to play favorites including "The Old Scottish Melody (Auld Lang Syne)," "A Christmas Festival," "Sleigh Ride," Armed Forces Salute" and "Turkey in the Straw," as people gather to raise a glass of egg nog.
But Leslie Kraft, Pottsville, the band's president, would also like them to toast the band's future.
In recent years, the band has been hurt by the troubled economy and it's become difficult to raise the more than $10,000 it costs to keep the band afloat every year, Kraft said Friday.
"Unfortunately, because of the strain of the current economy, few businesses and individuals are able to offer support. I've spoken to many local business owners who would be more than willing to donate if they were not facing shortfalls themselves. The same is true for individuals who value the arts in our community," Kraft, a trumpet player and an English teacher at Pottsville Area High School, said Friday.
Kraft said the band's budget varies from year to year.
"It's averaged at about $10,200 every year for the past five years," Kraft said.
Expenditures include:
- $1,700 in insurance, utility and maintenance costs for the band hall at 14 N. Third St. The property is owned by the City of Pottsville, which charges the band $1 a year to rent it.
- $7,900 to reimburse band members for time and travel expenses for attendance at gigs.
- $600 in band-owned instrument and music upkeep.
While the band is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, its musicians are usually reimbursed for their performances.
"It's usually $15 to $20 per musician per event," Kraft said. The sources of the money differs, depending on the concert and the venue, she said.
The Third Brigade Band has several loyal sponsors who make annual donations. She said they include the City of Pottsville, Norm Kauffman, The Walton-Ebert Insurance Agency, The Pottsville Club, Pod & Petal, Heisler's Dairy and M&T Bank, Kraft said.
"That does not include the time and funds donated by band members. Many members do not take reimbursement for gigs and volunteer their time and money to play, transport equipment to gigs, complete band paperwork and bookkeeping, solicit donations, hang fliers, advertise concerts and complete maintenance work at the band hall. There are also many jobs we play, as a band, without any reimbursement each year for veterans organizations and other memorial services, where the cause is worthy but the organizers do not have the funds to reimburse us," Kraft said.
Sponsorships give the band an estimated $3,700 each year.
"That leaves $6,500 that must be raised each year to keep the band in operation," Kraft said.
The troubled economy cut some funding sources over the years.
"In the past, much of this money has come from trusts and grants that have run out or become unavailable in the past five years. For example, the Braun Trust closed in 2008 and the band's Schuylkill County Council for the Arts grant was discontinued in 2010. While we have come close to breaking even over the last five years with one-time donations received from individuals and businesses, we have been using our very limited band savings to cover the difference. If we continue to run short of funds, the band will not be able to maintain operating costs for more than the next few years," Kraft said.
To raise funds, Kraft sends letters to potential donors, visits businesses and fills out grant applications each year.
"Anyone interested in donating to the band or becoming a sponsor should contact me at lkraft@pottsville.k12.pa.us or 570-294-4648," Kraft said.
The "Joseph H. Zerbey History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County," published in 1936, includes a bit of history on the band: "On Aug. 2, 1881, Gen. J.K. Sigfried mustered the band into the National Guards as the Third Brigade Band of Pennsylvania. After Gen. Sigfried was succeeded by Gen. JPS Gobin, the band still held its position on the Third Brigade staff."
Lee Wesner, a Port Carbon native who resides in the area of Boyertown, Berks County, began playing with the Third Brigade Band in 1956. He is the band's historian.
"I began playing with the Third Brigade Band in 1956. Then I played trumpet, but in recent years I have converted to Euphonium, the baritone horn," Wesner said.
Wesner and band members interviewed Friday weren't sure how many years the Third Brigade Band had been playing the annual New Year's Day concert at The Pottsville Club.
"I don't think anyone knows exactly. Word is that both John O'Hara and Walter Farquhar wrote about it early in the 20th century. As recently as the 1970s the band 'serenaded' around town on the morning of January 1, visiting our patrons, then going to the Pottsville Club to play the concert at noon. I personally remember some very cold New Year's Day mornings trying to get valves and keys on instruments to work," Wesner said.