Ott's Band
D.R. Ott organized his first band at the insistence of Reverend C.B. Zook, pastor of the Methodist Church in Olathe. Reverend Zook's son was one of the first ten members of Ott's Boys Band in 1913. Charles “Buddy” Rogers also joined the band that year, playing baritone. Rogers later became a Hollywood movie actor and credited the band with giving him a start in the entertainment field.
The band broke up when the United States entered World War I, but Ott organized another band shortly after the war. By 1922 the band featured both boys and girls and was known as Ott's Band. A former school teacher and a mail carrier for more than thirty years, Ott said his greatest love was teaching youngsters how to perform like veterans on band instruments. He held practices on the third floor of the courthouse, and docked members $.50 for every practice missed. He outfitted the band in uniforms of white duck pants, blue military-type jackets with stand-up collars and brass buttons, and blue caps with visors.
The band held weekly summer concerts in the band stand on the courthouse lawn. These Thursday evening concerts were social events which attracted hundreds from Olathe and neighboring farms. The band also marched in the annual Priest of Pallas parade in Kansas City, played at conventions and county fairs, and performed several times on radio stations. For three straight years Ott's Band won the prize at the Kansas State Fair.
Besides launching Buddy Rogers’ career, Ott's Band also trained trombonists Ben and John Pickering, who went on to play with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. To honor Mr. Ott, Buddy Rogers had a new band shell built on the courthouse square in 1939. The band continued at least through 1946 but disbanded as Ott's health declined. The band shell was torn down to make way for the new courthouse, but many people fondly remember the summer concerts given by Ott's Band.
--ALBUM vol. 7, no. 2 (winter 1994)