“From the moment he took the podium he was totally the ‘Mr. Chown’ we all knew in school,” said Barb Karas. “All the years disappeared.”

The prominent and iconic member of the Escanaba musical community, who led the Escanaba High School Band program for 32 years, passed away Sunday at the age of 95.

Chown came to Escanaba in 1959 when he was recruited by Escanaba’s school board president John Lemmer to become the EHS band director. That began his musical legacy in Escanaba that spanned more than 65 years

From 1959 to 1991, Chown educated and inspired thousands of students in the Escanaba school system, leading both the high school and grade school band programs. In a Daily Press article published May 1, 1991, upon his retirement, Chown was described as “the driving force behind Escanaba’s highly-respected music program.”

John Chown, former longtime leader of the Escanaba High School band and music program, died Sunday at age 95. (Contributed photo)

Chown was known as a tough yet motivating teacher, always challenging students to perform at their very best whether they were on the concert stage, marching in a parade or at a football game. “Mr. Chown’s commitment to excellence and disdain for mediocrity was an example I tried to follow in my teaching career,” former student Bill Van Effen said. “He would push the band to the absolute edge of their musical ability and was an inspiration.”

Chown’s bands earned Escanaba a strong reputation across the U.P. and Michigan for quality music education, receiving more than 30 consecutive Division I ratings at state band festivals. He was also known as an exceptional and commanding conductor to help students interpret the music and to draw the right sound out of bands, which at the height of Escanaba’s school population had close to 150 students in the band.

Throughout the years, Chown also brought many innovative concepts to the Escanaba music program. He invited top-notch guest artists to perform with the band to expose students to professional musicians, including “Tonight Show” band leader Doc Severinsen.

Chown also organized fundraising efforts, which were not common at the time, to raise money for new band uniforms, equipment and pay for band trips. “The school board told me we could go on trips but we had to raise our own money,” Chown recalled in an autobiographical film. “I talked to Fred (Sayklly) and said we needed to come up with something really different, so we came up with an orange and black wrap so it looked like it was from the band.”

As other organizations began to sell candy, Chown looked for his next unique fundraising idea. “I came up with the bird-brain idea to sell fruit,” he said. He contacted a fruit orchard in Texas and got Elmer Dagenais from Elmer’s grocery store to bond the shipment. Students sold grapefruit and oranges by the ton.

At its peak, Chown said, “we sold well over 120,000 pounds … and it really was quite an event when the whole (high school) commons area was full of fruit.”

He also brought unique opportunities to his students through band trips. Chown recounted the ones that stood out for him, saying, “the kids still talk about them today.”

In 1965, the Escanaba High School marching band caught the attention of the Green Bay Packers and were invited to perform at one of their preseason games. The Escanaba Daily Press covered the trip and the news article dated Sept. 9, 1965, included the historical significance of the game as the Packers’ field was officially dedicated to the memory of Curly Lambeau.

The trip was also personally memorable for Chown. “I remember that trip so vividly because I got to talk to Vince Lombardi before we played the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ … and Lombardi telling me, ‘You’ve got a hell of a band.'”

It was memorable for students, too. Kay Finstrom Bloom, a clarinet player in the band, reflected, “at age seventy-seven, it is amazing how often I recall and share memories of marching at the Packers games. Unforgettable and vivid as yesterday. He gave us memories of a lifetime.”

“The kids did such an outstanding job we were invited back to perform during a regular season game,” Chown said. On Oct. 25, 1965, the band attended the Packers vs. Cowboys game in Milwaukee and made broadcast TV history when they were the first to perform the national anthem on a televised game.

In 1978, Chown chartered two North Central Airlines jets to fly the band non-stop from the Delta County Airport to Orlando, where they performed at Walt Disney World, Circus World and other Florida attractions. “I remember getting a bill for $30,000 for the two jets” Chown noted in a 1991 Daily Press story. He added the band trip, like others, were paid for by fundraisers.

Chown retired in 1991 after a distinguished career with the Escanaba Public Schools. He continued to work for the next 10 years with Dixie Classic Festivals to organize and stage band and orchestra festivals and competitions across the southeast. He was also involved in organizing fundraising Monster Concerts with his wife, Ruth, that raised money for new lighting at the Escanaba junior high school and other local musical causes, and received a lifetime achievement award in 2023 from the Esky (HS) Band Boosters.

Chown was the oldest member of the Escanaba City Band, still playing trumpet this past summer alongside many former students, including Joe Hellberg. Hellberg said, “Jack was, is, and always will be a teacher, mentor and fellow trumpet player, but the best word that will be associated with him will be friend. His influence on my life and so many others will be everlasting and for that I will be forever grateful.”

Chown reflected on his career at the close of the “band years” segment of his autobiography by saying, “The first year I came to Escanaba I said I wanted the best band in the U.P. and I think I proved that year in and year out.”

John Chown’s obituary will be published in the Daily Press. Those wishing to share stories and memories with Chown’s family can do so via email at jrchown@gmail.com. Contributions in memory of Mr. Chown may be directed to the Esky (HS) Band Boosters, P.O. Box 905, Escanaba, MI 49829, or eskybandboosters.org; or the Soo Locks Visitors Center Association, P.O. Box 666, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.