Colby Eagles Alumni Association
Mr. William Beck
Copyright Colby Eagles Alumni Association @ 2014
Nominated 3 Times by Noel Collins, Steven Hedden, & Ora Dell Crawford McMahon
With this letter of intent, I am nominating Mr. William Beck for recognition as a postumuous honoree for the "High Flying Eagles: CHS Wall of Honor". As a past Colby schools music teacher, Mr. Beck was my trumpet instructor and band director from 1951 through 1958. It was his tutelane that inspired my ambitions to become a professional musician and music teacher; the dual careers of which have spanned over fifty years. The music education I received from Mr. Beck's pedagogical rigor greatly affected my music teaching regimens, and for a large part the successes I have realized during my many years as a performer and teacher are the result of administering his methods.
My knowledge of Mr. Beck's tenure at Colby is limited to the time I was his student, but I know that my senior year of high school was Mr. Beck's fourteenth year as the instrumental music teacher and director of bands. During that time the Colby High School Band (as well as the Jr. High Band, I believe) received fourteen consecutive One ratings at the annual district music festivals. He was a fervent task master and strong disciplinarian who tolerated no nonsense during rehearsals and performances. (I can attest to this as I probably hold some kind of school record for receiving the most "8th hour detentions" for talking during band practice.) In addition to his teaching and conducting expertise, Mr. Beck was a competent composer and as memory serves, we performed on of his compositions entitled "The Nor-Wester", a very spitrited and challenging march. Assuming this work is still in the school music library, I believe it would be apropos to include a copy of the composition in the Colby School's section of the Prairie Museum. Further, Mr. Beck's major instrument was the violin, and it would be great if his instrument could be located and also displayed with his original music.
After graduating from Colby High, I married another of Mr. Beck's students, Claudiene Mashburn, and as a gesture of respect we named our first child Pamela, after his daughter. I was able to inform him and Mrs. Beck of this while attending the 1965 reunion.
One of the proudest moments of my life was being promoted to the high school band and receiving my first Colby High School Band uniform. I had been anticipating that moment since the fifth grade when I would watch the band marching in parades and ball games and think, "one of these days I'm going to be wearing that great uniform". The uniform was basic black with an orange front and trim and was styled after the formal dress of West Point cadets. It had gold buttons with white belts that crossed in front and were held together in the middle with a big brass buckles. Our hats had a golden eagle on the front and were affixed with a large plume (gold I think) that fluttered majestically as we marched. Now that was real class! I know that those of our era who wore that uniform would be very grateful if it would be displayed along with Mr. Beck's own director's uniform and other artifacts as deemed fitting for this honor.
White attending the 2015 Colby High School reunion, I received a copy of your Prairie Winds publications that contained the marvelous feature story by Ann Miner entitled, Colby High School 1977: Mr. Beck's Band. I have for several years harbored the conviction that Mr. Beck was a "High Flying Eagle", and after reading that account of the trip to Washington D.C. and attending the induction reception this year, I determined that his accolades were long overdue.
I feel certain that there are many more of Mr. Beck's students who have followed in his foorsteps over the years, or were in some way influenced by his wisdom and diligence. I believe much more biographical data can be gleaned by contacting some of them, and a good start would be the cc: recipients of this missive. It will also be necessary to contact available members of Mr. Beck's family to accept the award at the 2021 reunion ceremony.
I will be most appreciative of your consideration for this nomination and trust that I have provided sufficient information to get started bestowing the recognition that William Beck so justly deserves. Sincerely, Noel Collins
You've already received a highly persuasive letter of nomination from Noel Collins, so my letter only needs to be supplemental rather than detailed.
My recollection of the "consecutive Division I ratings" for the CCHS band (using the designation the was current when Noel and I were in the band) was that the number reached at least 20. This is an incredible record of sustained excellence, given the challenges of recruiting/retaining young musicians every year. This record of sustained excellence was recognized in 1981 when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Kansas Music Educators Association. Another honor for Mr. Beck occurred earlier--in 1977 when he led the band to Washington D.C., where the group performed in the parade as part of the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter.
No other teacher in Colby has had a more profound and lasting effect on me than Mr. Beck. He prepared me magnificently to have success in the music program at KU, and I am forever in debt to him.
He is more than richly deserving of induction as a High Flying Eagle.
Steve Hedden, 2010 Inductee, High Flying Eagles
I would like to nominate our long-time band director, William Beck, to the Wall of Honor. Mr. Beck shaped the future of so many of us through an appreciation of music. I really appreciate our school board that made sure we had the best teachers and equipment available.
Thank you sincerely, Ora Dell (Crawford ) McMahon - Class of 1956
