fairfax virginia chapter, southern division, mid-atlantic

A fellowship of men devoted to the art of a cappella barbershop singing,

committed to excellence in musical performance and good will in the community.

Visit the Fairfax Jubil-Aires’s Web page at http://www.fairfaxjubilaires.org

Official Weekly Bulletin of the “Fairfax Jubil-Aires”

Fairfax Virginia Chapter, Southern Division, Mid-Atlantic District of the Barbershop Harmony Society

Vol. 61, No. 01 Chartered November 30, 1953 January 10, 2014 Editor: John Knueven: [email protected] Staff: Robyn Sandler. Booking Agent: Art Medici: [email protected]

http://www.fairfaxjubilaires.org/

mailto:[email protected]


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President: Randy Moller Immediate Past President: Fred Geldon Executive VP: Still Looking Music and

Performance VP: Cliff Shoemaker Membership VP: Aaron Watts Marketing and Public Relations VP: Harold

Weinberger Corresponding Secretary: Sam McFarland Recording Secretary: Ray LaTurno Treasurer: Kevin

Deasy Gig Master Art Medici Members-at-Large Doug Jones, Alex Laufer, and Paul Grano

Tonight we’re rehearsing at

Lord of Life, West

13421 Twin Lakes Dr., Clifton, VA

7:30 PM Rehearsal

NOTE: Performance times are approximate.

2014: Jan 11 2:30p Memorial Service for

Bix Doughty Jan 15 7:30p Jubil-Aires at Thoreau

Place

Jan 19 5:00p Installation Banquet Mar 14-15 Prelims (Host Chapter)

From The Back Seat

-Fred Geldon-

This is my last “Presidential” column.

(I know, as of January 1st I am only the

“Immediate Past President”, but I’m

bending the rules and writing this anyway.)

It is particularly

poignant to be writing my final column in a

special issue of What’s Happening? that is dedicated to Bix Doughty. Bix (along with his RingQuest colleagues) was the first Jubil-Aire

I met, in my office on Valentine’s Day in 2008. Roger was the official “Man of Note”

because he gave me his card, but the reality is that all four members of RingQuest were my “men of note.” And how bittersweet that

on December 22nd, as part of Men In Stripes (a partial reincarnation of RingQuest), we were the last to sing to Bix while he was

alive. Looking back, serving as president during

the past two years has been a privilege. Not because of the flashbulbs (the Hollywood

scouts have yet to appear), or the wonderfully silly “Hail to the Chief” serenade at each meeting (without four-part harmony,

alas). But because of the contributions that all of you—Jubil-Aires and Jubil-Ladies—make

to the wonderful hobby we have. I’ve been in a number of volunteer organizations, but never in one where so many jump in when

asked—or without being asked. It’s made my job easy and fun (at least, most of the time).

If I might paraphrase Winston Churchill, “Never was so much owed by so many to so many.”

Though we’ve had some unfortunate bumps in the road, the chapter is prospering

and will continue to prosper. Thanks to so many (and especially to Aaron), we’re growing in numbers—slowly, but growing.

Thanks to so many (and especially to Richard) we’re growing in singing

ability (and even, sometimes, in contest scores). Thanks to so many (and especially to Art and Cliff) we

are growing in strong, structured, singouts and performances. And

thanks to so many (and especially to Kevin and all of the above) our bank balance is growing.

So–our chorus is in good shape, and with Randy’s leadership (and a

strong board of directors) are in good hands in 2014. It’s all good.

As always,

It’s Great to be a Jubil-Aire!

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Memories of Bix

-Bill McDonald- Like many of you, I had

the pleasure of spending some time with Bix. First, as the bari and tenor of

RingQuest with John and Roger, we did gigs together,

were coached and performed at Harmony College, competed once, and made

the rounds at Southern Division hospitality rooms–the usual barbershop quartet stuff.

Bix loved it all. He sang with a twinkle in his eye and often cracked me up with his humor–like taking furtive glances at his watch

whenever the word time appeared in the lyrics. Four or five years in a row [EDITOR’s

NOTE: The summers of 2004 thru 2007!], we traveled to Cincinnati to sing for John’s mother and aunts at their senior residences.

One time we stopped along the way in Granville, home of Denison University, Bix’s

alma mater. He was eager for us to visit the alumni office, sing them some songs, and get his picture taken with the hopes of getting in

the alumni magazine. He was a performer

and he particularly loved his time in the spotlight as the lead when we sang “Old Bones”. He never failed to bring us a

standing ovation… well, not us, him. Of course, his age was part of it, but I think the

greater part was the vitality of his voice and the vitality of his spirit that brought people to

their feet and made them cheer. He seemed to like it when I called him a “rock star.” As John and Roger will tell you, we had lots of

good times. At some point in the fifth or sixth (and last) year of RingQuest’s run as a

registered quartet, I took over as Bix’s principal driver to Jubil-Aires practices and events, succeeding John and, before him,

Wes I think. It was a time when I got to know him better. I would usually call ahead

upon starting out and when his caller ID only identified my state he would answer, “Hello Virginia” or he might say “Who Dat.” He

invited me to become his partner in his Reston victory garden after his former

partner, a cute little lady from Thoreau Place with whom he spent enough of his time that people in his church were talking, moved to

Richmond. Bix taught me the ropes of gardening. After I started, he scaled back to

mainly strawberries and onions and I did veggies and a variety of other berries. Our conversations in the car had a wide range.

Frequently, we discussed topics in the morning’s Post. He read it more thoroughly

than I–the inside pages, selected sports articles. He often mentioned errors that had escaped the editors and new words that he

would then look up–like the color celeron (a light green). On the road he liked to point

out interestingly shaped clouds and would remark on the colors of the sunset. His favorite sport was tennis and he sought it out

on his cable TV. He could hold a conversation on most topics, sports or

otherwise. He told me how his father had been involved in the NY state Republican

party, about how his family had their own

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tennis court in the back yard, and how he had remodeled areas of his house in Beacon, NY. Because my wife is from the nearby Putnam

County seat, where he had spent many days

searching court records, we talked about things

happening on his old turf when Gail and I came back from NY

visits to her relatives. He said I “made his

day” when I once called him from Beacon and said I had taken a

picture of his old office (second floor behind tree).

Bix had a wonderful mind, even in his 90s. He could sing songs in English, French, and German and rattle off Gilbert and Sullivan

lyrics, usually without pause. He had an extensive repertoire of old songs that served

him well at barbershop woodshedding competitions and helped him win his prized Final Four hat [EDITORS NOTE: He also won

a Gold Medal as Tenor]. In the last year or so he learned Put Another Log On The Fire

and hoped to find a quartet with whom to perform it.

Up until his last few months, he was quite

self-reliant. He had full command of the Fairfax Connector and RIBS bus schedules

and got around on his own seemingly with ease. He was sometimes irritated if I walked ahead to open the doors and more than once

said something like, “I’m capable of doing that myself, you know.” So we took turns;

he would open one door and hold it with his cane and I’d get the next. Thinking back, the absence of a generational gap was one of the

things I liked best about our relationship. We could be friends with no conscious recognition

of the almost three decades difference between us. He aged with grace and was a

role model for us all.

My Buddy, Bix

-John Knueven- I remember bringing Bix to practices after

he quit driving. He was always full of humor, especially “play on words”. When I visited him during the last of his days at the hospital

he told me to help the chorus raise the rizers and then, at the end raze the rizers.

I will never forget his generosity in coming to Cincinnati (with the rest of RingQuest) to sing for my mother and her retirement

friends. Each year we went to a different special event.

This particular year we went to see the Cincinnati Red

Legs play (they lost), but we also

visited aquariums, museums, went for rides on the Delta

Queen, and others. My mom in a

wheelchair, and Bix walking along just as you please!!

On a personal note, Bix’s passing has had a profound effect on me. I have come to

realize I am mortal. With Bix around one tends to think he will live forever. I have

been thinking long and hard lately about what I yet want to accomplish. I just

hope it’s about a 10th of what Bix

has done. Here he is in one

of our many funny songs “Flying

Machines”.

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A Gentleman on My Soul

-Roger Lemieux- The single word to

describe Bix Doughty has got to be a “Gentleman.” Way back

in January 2001, John Knueven was organizing

a quartet to sing for his daughter’s upcoming wedding in June. Bix had

consented to sing Tenor in our newly formed

quartet RingQuest. That was the beginning of a long friendship. After the wedding we all decided to stick together

just for the fun, the friendship and the harmony.

For several years RingQuest traveled to Cincinnati to put on shows at John’s mother’s and aunts’ retirement homes. Bix & I usually

roomed together. Bix went to bed with a song and he usually woke me up in the

morning with a song. Several times I thought we would be asked to leave for “disturbing the peace.”

Bix was always very independent. Most often he would refuse the help we offered to

handle his suitcase. Towards the end he had to accept help because he walked with a

cane. On one of our trips west, we stopped at

Dennison College, Bix’s Alma Mater, and

viewed his 1931 Class Graduation Book from the archives. Bix had been in a quartet even

then. Bix had a memory for music that

astounded us. He would sing songs we never

heard before and he expected us to “woodshed” the harmony. One of these

songs was “T’was Only an Ol’ Beer Bottle” We played with it for a while and finally put it into NoteWorthy. Thanks to Tom Meier for the

Barbershop arrangement. Attached is a copy of the song. Enjoy. I don’t think it is copyrighted. :-)

RingQuest had a “process” to choose our songs. Each one of us had a turn to choose a

song. I remember choosing a song that two others didn’t particularly like. Well, the very next time Bix’s choice came around again, he

would choose that song. Bix worked at his music. He would sit at

his little piano and pound out the melodies until he had them committed to memory. Even in his early nineties, his memory for

music was phenomenal. I’ve never seen Bix get angry at anyone

over anything. He was above all pettiness and his friendship was solid and respectful, a perfect “gentleman.” We will miss him

greatly.

6





What I will Remember

about Bix

-Ron Obermeyer- Everyone, including

me, remembers Bix for

his outstanding and enduring performances of “Old Bones”, but

there are two things about Bix that will

forever be in my thoughts. The first was when I had the

opportunity last year to be with and sing

with Bix all day delivering Singing Valentines. We had a

full day starting at 0900 and running into

the late afternoon all over Northern Virginia. Some we had to walk a ways from the

parking lot or “drop-off” point to where we delivered the song. Others were up flights of stairs and all required getting in and out of

the car. It was a long tiring day that started getting to me, but there was Bix at 25 years

or more older than any of us keeping right up there, often leading the way. Never did he complain or indicate fatigue and when the

time came, he sang his part with excellence. That day was characteristic of Bix in all

phases of his barbershopping. The second thing that I will always

remember about Bix was his limitless

knowledge of words and melody to “old chestnuts” that he would “throw out” for one

and all to woodshed to. Most of them I had never heard as was the case with most of the Jubil-Aires. He must have learned them as a

young boy (I believe that would have been before recordings were available, so he

learned them by listening and singing them). They were great for woodshedding since none

of us “youngsters” had ever heard of them and couldn’t “lean on” some familiarity with the song to woodshed our part. He loved to

sing them and his repertoire was endless.

MEMORIES OF BIX

-Pete Bermel- Musical Repertoire:

When we rode together to meet the Vienna HHS car pool

Bix would often quietly sing a song or two to

himself. I was amazed at how many I didn't know—not just the

words but the tunes as well. They were from a different era,

probably the one SPEBSQSA was formed to preserve. I guess that's what made Bix such a hit at woodshed conventions in Baltimore.

That, and his ability to harmonize all four parts!

The Accident: When taking Bix home from a Jubil-Aire meeting a few years ago I was involved in a 4-car accordion-type accident in

Reston. A police car arrived, soon followed by a second. After seeing that nobody was

injured, but clearly most concerned about a very pregnant lady and a 96-year -old man

[no connection :-)], the first officer set about documenting the accident. While taking statements he went looking for Bix who had

been sitting in my Isuzu, but Bix was nowhere to be found.

The officer groaned, "I've got a 4-car accident with a pregnant lady and now I've lost a 96-year-old man!" As he looked

around he saw a solitary figure standing on the corner a block or so away. "Is that him?"

Yes, it was. Bix had gotten bored, left without telling anyone, and was patiently waiting for a bus to take him home. Officer

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#1 told officer #2, "Get him home right away. I don't want to lose him again." And thus ended Bix's ride home with me from

rehearsal.

Valentines Day Quartetting: Singing with Bix

in a put-together quartet was a true pleasure. He might be the tenor or the bari, but he

always carried his part with joy. Valentines Day recipients always seemed to appreciate him more than the rest of us, especially the

courtly manner with which he presented the card or the rose or the candy. My guess is

that some honorees remember Bix better than they remember the quartet.

Reflections: Bix seemed to have been born

a barbershopper even though he found us only 17 years ago. There ought to be

another way of calculating membership years for guys like him. Like many others, Bobbie and I will truly miss him, and will treasure the

DVD of "Old Bones" he gave us.

MEMORIES OF

BIX

-Bert Johnson-

Bix Doughty was very

special to me and will always hold a place deep in my

heart. Bix sang tenor in our sanctuary choir at Vienna Presbyterian Church, and we sang side by side for years. Bix started inviting me

to go to a Jubil-Aires meeting soon after we met, and after my first time there, I must say

it was hard not to be drawn into this brotherhood of singers. I joined the Fairfax

Jubil-Aires, and Bix earned his "man of note", one of many that he has earned over the years.

I remember the Sunday he fell and injured his hip at Vienna Presbyterian Church, and I

just happened to be coming up behind him after he fell. We called the ambulance, and I found out later that he was singing to the

ambulance crew and passing out cards for his quartet on his way to the hospital. Bix was

one in a million!

I also sang with Bix in the Harmony Heritage Chorus (HHS), and he was always

amazing, ready to sing in every performance. Sometimes he would come home from church

with Dianne and I, and we would have lunch before going to the next performance. He

would always tell us stories of his experiences in World War II, and his times being an attorney. Bix was always so entertaining,

and we were eager to hear all of his amusing stories.

Bix was in our carpool going to HHS, and

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the very last time I picked him up going to a rehearsal in mid-November, he said to me: "Bert, do you mind if we leave a little bit early

today?" I said, "That is no problem. Do you have somewhere else to be?" Bix said, "Oh

yes....I have a luncheon with the ROMEO's today". (For those that don't know, ROMEO's

is "retired old men eating out") We will all miss Bix, and I know I will

always remember him and hope to be like the

person he was to me. I am sorry Dianne and I will be traveling and will miss his funeral

service…but I will be in the piano bar singing, just like he would be, if he were there.

Cheers to Bix, a great mentor to me! "Old Bones" forever!

MEMORIES OF BIX

-Pete Brintnall-

I shall remember Bix

for his wit, his gentleness and kindness of spirit. I never saw

him become angry or disparage anyone. We

once shared a back seat while delivering singing Valentines. Bix was in

fine form—and fine voice—and the day

passed in a flash as a result of the spirited repartee. Keeping up

with him was a real challenge. His was a long and well-lived life.

From: Johnson, Brian T. [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2014 12:55 PM

To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: [Members] Memorial Services for Bix Doughty

John, Kathleen and I are out of town and will not be

able to attend….we will be sorry to miss this

gathering in honor of Bix……..he is now on my

prayer list, that I might have the courage of my

convictions and the strength of character he

effortlessly exemplified.

In Harmony,

Brian

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2014 11:09 AM

To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Memorial Services for Bix Doughty

Thank you, John.

I will not be able to go as I'll be at an all-day a

cappella workshop. I'll miss him!

Sally

----- Original Message ----- From: Roger Lemieux To: John Knueven ; Bill McDonald (Barbershop) ; Bix Doughty Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 10:13 PM

"From the President’s Corner

Last week RingQuest made your yearly pilgrimage

to Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. As the year

before we sang at the WestPark Nursing Home

where John’s Mom is cared for. We had a great time

as usual, and the staff was especially

appreciative. We also put on a show for the Retired

Sisters of Charity next door to St. Joseph’s

College. Sister Gonzaga, a little bubbly nun six

months younger that Bix, and as much of a clown,






9





was in the pilot’s seat for Flying Machine. She was

a riot!

This year’s excursion was special for Bix. We

stopped at Dennison College near Columbus to sing

for the staff of the Alumni Affairs Office. They had

us see the 1935 (God, I wasn't even born yet!)

graduating class Year Book with a handsome young

gentleman named Francis Doughty. I was surprised

that the book wasn't printed on papyrus or written in

cuneiform script! The staff also took pictures for

their next newsletter."

Roger

Gee, we must be singing

something other than “Old

Bones”.

Two “Old Men” comparing ages at

Richard’s Birthday.

Yes, he sang in any quartet that needed any Part.

10

President: Randy Moller Immediate Past President: Fred Geldon Executive VP: Still Looking

Music and Performance VP: Cliff Shoemaker Membership VP: Aaron Watts Marketing and

Public Relations VP: Harold Weinberger Corresponding Secretary: Sam McFarland

Recording Secretary: Ray LaTurno Treasurer: Kevin Deasy Gig Master Art Medici

Members-at-Large Doug Jones, Alex Laufer, and Paul Grano

“steadfastly courageous and resolute; valiant.”

Definition of “doughty”

Francis Edgar Doughty was born January 10, 1914 and was named after his Uncle Edgar

Doughty, a judge in Brooklyn, NY. This picture of Uncle Edgar is

from a handbill in the early 1900s when Judge Doughty had already

been sitting on the bench for twelve years and was once again up

for reelection as the Republican candidate. Uncle Edgar would

prove to play a very important role in the lives of Bix and his father.

But let’s go back even further and talk about Bix’ grandfather, an

accomplished singer and violinist. “Grandfather Doughty was a

smart man,” says Bix, “who put himself through Williams College

in Williamstown, Massachusetts, earning both bachelors and

masters degrees in just three years.” After that he went to the

University of Michigan Medical School, during which time he

received a letter from the War Department directing him to report to

the Union Army. He wrote back to the War Department, explaining

that if they would exercise a little patience, he would finish his training and enter the army as a

field surgeon, and the government apparently agreed with that logic. Grandfather Doughty

served in the Civil War as a field surgeon, and he must have seen a lot of terrible injuries during

the war. After the war was over, he set up his medical practice in Matteawan. One day a man

came with a badly mangled thumb that had been injured on the job as a carpenter. The patient

was in excruciating pain and begged Dr. Doughty to just cut it off. “No,” said the good doctor,

“I did enough of that during the war.” So he went to work and saved the thumb. When all was

said and done, the man thankfully had use of his opposable digit, but he no longer had sensation

in the thumb. Later, when the man sued Dr. Doughty (probably at the suggestion of his attorney

because he couldn’t sue anyone else), Grandfather Doughty refused to respond to the complaint

or pay the man a single penny. With all of his assets in his wife’s name, the man couldn’t get

any money from him, but the court did make him spend nights in jail up in Poughkeepsie for a

month or so. “He would report to jail each night, and every morning he would leave jail to go to

work at his medical office. But he never did pay that man a dime.”

Grandfather Doughty must not have spent too many nights in jail, however, because he found

time at home to team up with Grandmother Doughty to have 3 girls and 4 boys. Bix’ dad and

Uncle Edgar were two of those children. “My father started out as a newspaper reporter,” says

Bix, “but then he tripped on the subway stairs and injured his knees very badly, so he had to stay

off his feet for a while.” The result was that he spent the next year in Uncle Edgar’s law office

“reading the law”, after which he took and passed the bar exam and became a lawyer.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Bix’ father (with some help from Bix’ mom) was also

prolific, having 4 boys and 4 girls. “My mother was a very smart woman,” explains Bix. “She

graduated from the University of Michigan and then went to Chicago for a year to study piano.

After that she became a principal of a High School in Upper Michigan.” But when Bix described

how many brothers and sisters he had, he further explained, “That’s what my mother did after

11






she got married. She was a full-time, stay-at-home Mom.” And she made sure that there was

music in the home. Bix, his father, and two other brothers formed a quartet. One of the songs

they enjoyed singing and that has stuck in Bix’ mind was, “Tobacco is a Dirty Weed; I Like It.”

[Editor’s note: The complete lyrics go something like this: “Tobacco is a dirty weed. I like it. It

satisfies no normal need. I like it. It makes you thin, it makes you lean, It takes the hair right off

your bean. It's the worst darn stuff I've ever seen. I like it.” A special prize will be awarded to

anyone who can find an audio or video of this song.] Bix took some piano lessons, but he relates

that he had an older brother and an older sister who were, like his mother, accomplished pianists,

so there was always someone to play the piano when the family gathered around to sing.

Holidays were special in that regard, with the singing going on and on. Bix loved it then and has

never stopped loving the simple act of joining together with others and lifting voices to the

heavens.

Bix’ father was not only a good lawyer, but he also was involved in local politics. He was

instrumental in creating the town of Beacon. [Editor’s note: According to Wikipedia, “Beacon

was named to commemorate the historic beacon fires that blazed forth from the summit of the

Fishkill Mountains to alert the Continental Army about British troop movements.”] The area

occupied as Beacon was originally settled as the

villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing in 1709,

which were among the first communities in the state.

Bix’ father pushed for combining these villages, and

Beacon was incorporated as a city in 1913,

amalgamating the two villages as well as a small

portion of the hamlet of Glenham from the town of

Fishkill. Bix’ father became the first city attorney for

Beacon.

After matriculating from Beacon High School, Bix was

off to Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, where he took pre-med courses, graduating in

1935. But rather than following in his grandfather’s footsteps, Bix went home to work for his

father in the law office and soon decided to head off to Fordham Law School. After graduation

in 1942, he went into private practice with his father in Beacon. Within a year of graduation,

however, duty called, and Bix volunteered for the Air Force. “I don’t remember much about the

depression,” says Bix, “and I marvel that my father was able to keep three children in college

throughout that time, but the war demanded sacrifices from everyone.” At first, Bix was

disappointed that he was assigned to KP duty, but it didn’t take long for the test results to reveal

that he could serve in other ways. Stationed first in Biloxi, MS, he learned Morse code, and after

some more tests, the Air Force decided he would make a good radio operator. So he was off to

radio operator mechanic school at Scott Field, Illinois (across from St. Louis, MO). At the end

of that, someone mentioned openings in a radar school in Boca Raton, Florida, and Bix thought,

“Oh, that sounds interesting.” So off he went. “They put me up in a hotel, and it was a great

place to be stationed.” After he completed the school, he was asked to stay on and teach pilots

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beaconpic.jpg

12






and navigators about radar and radar jamming equipment. They promoted him to SSGT, and he

could have stayed there, enjoying the beach and great golfing weather, but he was bored and

wanted to do more, so he put in for OCS (Officer Candidate School) in Miami. After he was

commissioned as a second lieutenant, he figured he would probably go into the legal corps, but

the Air Force decided he was too valuable in the new and growing radar field, so he was sent

back to Boca Raton for electronics school, where he learned how to maintain radar. Half of Bix’

class went directly to Europe, but Bix was on a path for the Pacific theater. First he went to

Langley Field in Virginia (where he sang in the Langley Chapel Choir), then to Lincoln,

Nebraska, and finally to Salina, Kansas, where they were getting squadrons of B-27’s ready for

the Pacific theater. Bix was scheduled to be the radar maintenance officer for one of the

squadrons. Finally the time came to deploy, and he was flown to Guam (with an overnight in

Hawaii). Once there, however, he learned that the Air Force had decided to combine his

squadron with two others, and they brought in brand new radar equipment that he had never

worked on. “So my maintenance of our squadron’s radar equipment involved loading whatever

was broken into a jeep and hauling it to the group maintenance shop for them to fix. I stayed in

Guam until the war was over, spending most of my spare time making ice cream and developing

film in a darkroom I built with a friend of mine.” After the war, Bix boarded a ship, picked up

more guys at Saipan, and sailed back to Mare Island, CA, where he was discharged and sent

home. His biggest regret from those years in the service was that he didn’t find more

opportunities to sing during that time.

With the war over, Bix returned to the practice of law, but it wasn’t long before he met and

married Dorothy. “I met her at church. Her sister and my sister contrived to have us meet, and

they were right. We hit it off right away. We were married in March of 1948.” Their first son,

Roger, was born in 1949; Peter came along in 1950, and Jonathan was born in 1955. Roger lives

in this area and works for Northrop Grumman. He has two daughters, both of whom are married.

Peter lives in Minneapolis and has one daughter in college. Jonathan lives here and has a

daughter in college and a son in high school. After 46 years of marriage, Dorothy died on June

6, 1994. One of his regrets is that Bix did not become active in barbershop during those 46

years. He would have loved presenting Dorothy with a singing Valentine.

It would require a complete book to describe all of the singing that Bix has done throughout his

lifetime, but let’s focus on some highlights. After the war, he was a paid soloist at a church in

Poughkeepsie, and, like his grandfather (who put himself through school singing), Bix sang in

numerous choirs for many years. For about ten years, he sang with a double quartet known as

the Octavians (who not only sang, but also played the bottles). His father had been active in the

Beacon Choral Society, sending Bix and a younger brother

there to take vocal lessons when they were young, so Bix

naturally was also active in that group. In 1996, after his

wife died, he went to visit a niece, and she took him to a

barbershop show. He immediately joined the

Poughkeepsie barbershop group and has been

barbershopping ever since. In 1998, Bix went to Tampa to

13






the senior quartet competition and was introduced to woodshedding. Realizing that this is what

he had already been doing since he was a child, he quickly qualified in all parts as a

woodshedder. One of his biggest thrills at the competition was singing with the Jurassic Larks,

the winning quartet that year.

The 1998 trip to Florida completely changed Bix’ life. He suffered a heart attack on the golf

course there and came to Virginia to be with his son while he recuperated. After several trips

back to Beacon to wind up affairs, like selling his law office building, Bix retired and moved to

Reston, where he has been living since. The Poughkeepsie club was sorry to lose his voice, but

they told him that a former director, Bill James, was directing a group in Fairfax, and they wrote

to Bill, telling him to take good care of Bix, “Which they did!” says Bix. “I called Wes Kriebel,

who lived a few blocks from my son’s house, and he took me to the Jubil-Aires. Wes was my

sponsor in May of 1998. First Wes, then John Kneuven, and now Bill McDonald have always

been there to pick me up and bring me to and from the Jubil-Aires, and I really appreciate being

able to sing with the group.” In 2001, Bix started singing with RingQuest with Bill McDonald,

John Kneuven and Roger Lemieux. Bix continues to sing with the Vienna Presbyterian choir,

where his son Roger sings. Their practices are on Thursday evenings. On Wednesday nights

and most Sundays (unless Vienna Presbyterian is doing something really exciting), Bix sings

with a small church in Reston. “I’m really a baritone, but I like to sing all the parts. In the

church choirs, I just sing whatever is needed most. In college I took two semesters of voice and

sang some opera (including Largo al factotum, or, as Bix chuckles, “Figaro, Figaro!”[Editor’s

note: Appropriately, a song about a barber!]). Over the years, I soloed a lot, but what I really

love is group singing, especially the barbershop.” And I know I speak for every Jubil-Aire in

saying that we love singing with Bix.

But I love life, I'd like to do it again

Though I might not be much more than I've ever been

Just to have the chance to turn back the hands

And let my life begin

Oh yeah, I'd like to do it again

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fairfax virginia chapter, southern division, mid-atlantic

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