Also, Billy Murray was an influence on my interest in music. I had been sentenced to piano lessons somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10 but somehow they did not take with me. When Crittenden School started their marching band, my choice of instruments was a trumpet because I had heard Billy play his.

The Crittenden Band had four members – trumpet, clarinet, flute and accordion. We played for school events and were farmed out to churches for revival services. I think we were the only band in Grant county because that was about as far from Cincy that an instructor and instrument rental service was willing to travel.

My teacher, Mr. Hinkel, commuted from Cincy to Crittenden weekly on the Greyhound bus. I remember trying to play along with Harry James with a 78 RPM mechanical record player. I liked that part of the hobby more than the sheet music stuff.