Brownie Moyer had an orchestra from at least 1927-1948, and perhaps later. He would call for the square dances. In the early days Mae McConnell played piano; Chet Mather, fiddle; and Howard Addington, drums. They practiced one night a week at Chet Mather's on Brimfield Street, Clinton. Lee and Mae McConnell, with baby son John, attended Brownie (Ralph) and Doris's wedding. As a young child, John remembers his parents telling him they bedded him down in a basket behind the bass drum.
Brownie Moyer's Orchestra, Maccabee Hall, 1940s
They played at Paris Grange Hall, Dorn's hope house on Alabam Rd, Oriskany Falls; Taits' Bar in Middleport, Lean-to across from what is now the New Hartford Elementary School; Hilltop at Deerfield on New Year's Eve and Sangerfield Inn owned by Steve Karram.
Later, Ray Restle, Bill Kilts and Hank Snyder played drums. Dulcie Timian (Laura Peck's mother) replaced Mae McConnell on piano. Bob Mather and Gifford Miller played trumpet. They played at Power Dam; upstairs in Lumbard Hall, Clinton; upstairs in Paris Hill Grange; in Maccabee Hall, Deansboro; and in the Sauquoit and Waterville Schools.
Other orchestras around the area were "Woodhull Boys" who played at Madison Lake Pavilion and Suburban Park at Manlius. There was Andy Allbright, who was active around Hubbardsville, and "Happy Valley Boys" around Morrisville. There was "Lee Love" in Munnsville and "Bill Hamer" at Jacobus Dance Studio on Oneida Square. The "Blue Valley Boys" played at Madison Lake Pavilion and, in the fall of 2006, also played at Critz Farms south of Casanovia.