The One And Only Genuine Original Family Band

Laura Bower was the eighth and youngest child of Calvin and Kizzie
Bower. She was born in 1880, and the story she tells of her family band
starts when she was less than a year old. For the earliest part of the saga,
she relied on letters and journals of—and conversations with—her older
siblings. Sounding a lot like song lyrics, she introduces the family:

Calvin Bower buys much flour For his children eight. Alice and Sidney, first of many; Mayo and Lu, then came two, Nettie and Rose, and after those, Grasshopper Quin, which made the fare thin; Then came Squizzie, And all these children were borne by Kizzie.

By the time "Squizzie" was born, her family had already migrated from
Wisconsin to Vermillion, Dakota, in the extreme southeast corner of
the territory. After Alice, a.k.a. Od, married newspaperman Joe
Carder from Rapid City (at the west end of Dakota), the entire family
moved to the Black Hills. They became very popular in the Hills as a
brass band, playing for various parades and all sorts of celebrations.

Laura originally wrote down the stories she had been telling
her children without the intention of them becoming a book.
But 80 years after the beginning of the recorded events, "The
Family Band" was published by the University Of Nebraska Press.

The publication includes a map of South Dakota, showing the
route the Bowers family followed from Vermillion to the Hills.
(Of course, it wasn't the state of South Dakota until 1889.)

There's also a homemade map showing the various places
that extended family members homesteaded and worked.

It wasn't finished until a couple of years after Disney's
death. It featured many actors who were already big names in
Hollywood and others who became famous in the following years!

	Walter Brennan, one of only three [male] actors to win three Oscars, as Renssaeler Bower, patriarch & leader of the family band
Buddy Ebsen, of The Beverly Hillbillies & Barnaby Jones, as Calvin Bower, son of Renssaeler
	Lesley Ann Warren, Golden-Globe-winning actress & singer, as Alice, oldest daughter of Calvin
John Davidson, actor, singer, & game show host, as Joe Carder, love interest of Alice
	Janet Blair, big band singer turned actress as Katie, wife of Calvin
Richard Deacon, of The Dick Van Dyke Show & Leave It To Beaver, as Charlie Wrenn, supporter of Benjamin Harrison
	Kurt Russell, one of the best actors never to have received an Oscar nomination, as Sidney, oldest son of Calvin
Pamelyn Ferdin, child actress & voice of Lucy in Peanuts specials, as Laura, youngest daughter of Calvin & author of the book!
	Goldie Hawn, who has made 30+ movies starting here, as the giggly girl, Joe's distraction at the barn dance

The cast also included
Wally Cox: prolific character actor & voice of Underdog;
Jon Walmsley: musician, composer & actor known for The Waltons;
Bill Woodson: film & television actor with numerous voiceover credits.

A highlight of the film is when Joe Carder is attempting
to entice homesteaders to Dakota. To help with that, he
performed the song "Dakota," accompanied by the Bower singers.
This Sherman Brothers tune has been used as a signature song
in the Medora Musical. Elmwood Court Jazz Band included an
instrumental version in their set called "U. S. Tour."

~ FURTHER READING ~

JUST FOR FUN

The book and movie are both great stories, but the movie
plot is largely fictional. Not to take away from anyone's
enjoyment of either, here are a few similarities & differences.

The Family Band	The O.A.O.G.O. Family Band
Rensselaer Bower was married to Christina.	Grandpa Bower was widowed.
Calvin's wife was Keziah, nicknamed Kizzie.	Calvin's wife was Katie.
Mr. & Mrs. Calvin Bower had eight children,
including Alice, Sidney, Mayo, Lulu, twins Nettie & Rose, plus Laura.
Their seventh child was a boy named Quinn.	Their seventh child was a girl named Quinnie.
The family moved to the Black Hills of Dakota.
The band was made up of Calvin's 2nd through 8th children; sometimes he sat in a bit. Alice was already married and gone.	The band was made up of Calvin, his father, his wife, & all the children. Grampa was the leader.
Calvin was a Republican.
Uncle Izzie was a Democrat.	Grampa was a staunch Democrat who composed a campaign song for Grover Cleveland's 1888 reelection campaign. The band was invited to play at the national convention.
The Republicans were in the majority in Dakota, so they wanted the territory to be divided into two states, so they could have four new Republican sentors in D.C.   In an ironic twist, shortly thereafter statehood was granted to Montana and Washington, & they sent four new Democratic senators to D.C.!