Profiles in Life & Music
Meet some of the people who make the Hot Springs Concert Band a special community of musicians.
Jerry Pogue: Trumpeter... and then some!
By Jeff Olson
Back in November 2008, when I joined the Hot Springs Concert Band (HSCB), I right away sensed a feeling of belonging, of a camaraderie that comes natural within a group of likeminded people and/or people who share common interests. Of course, in the band it was about making music together and I could tell soon enough that was what these folks were all about – and I wanted to be a part of it.
Within the trumpet section, I hit it off early on with a few of the players, namely Tom Kleinsorge and Jerry Pogue. Jerry was one of the 1st Trumpet players and Tom played 2nd Trumpet. Since an “in chair audition” was required to confirm (or otherwise) sufficient skill to play in the band, Tom was my auditioner. As it turned out, I passed the audition and have since been playing in the band for over 15 years.
Jerry and I struck up an immediate rapport also, and one of the first things he asked me was if I had a church home. My answer was yes, as I was still living in Mena at the time and with no plans to move to Hot Springs anytime soon. For Jerry, that made no difference as he told me to come on to church anyway when I was in town. So I did, and subsequently started playing in the church orchestra at First Baptist Church in Hot Springs. That I’ve been doing now for most of ten years.
You get the picture. Jerry has been an influential person in my life, as he has many others as well. So, let me tell you a little bit more about this guy. Being the good man that he is, his hobbies are but a mere reflection of what’s underneath, so it is here I will start this brief journey about Jerry. And afterward, we will delve into Jerry’s music because there is more here than meets the eye or even the note on the page. While we know Jerry mainly as a trumpeter in the HSCB, his music background and acumen extend beyond our musical family.
Jerry was born in Farmington, Missouri, a small rural community in the southeast part of the state. The first 10 years of his life was living above a grocery store my parents owned and operated, and the next 10 years was living on a farm. He raised Shetland Ponies and probably had a total of over 30 by the time he was through.
Jerry always loved music, as did his family. Growing up in the First Baptist Church of Farmington and singing in the church choir helped to give him a firm Christian foundation and a love for church music which he still holds to this day.
His father played the mandolin and his sister the piano and trumpet. When he was about 7 years old, he took accordion lessons. Of course, how could he know then that his teacher had another pupil, Mary Schramm, who was destined to become Jerry’s wife. The teacher would sometimes have Jerry and Mary play duets, which of course was a precursor to a duet they would later play in matrimony. Incidentally, that two-part harmony has been going on now for over 60 years.
In 5th grade Jerry started playing trumpet, and wouldn’t you know that his first horn was a hand-me-down from his older sister. He played trumpet all through high school, but his talent and music extended to singing in the school Acapella Choir and Men's Double Quartet. He would often get a combo group together to perform for the annual talent show at school or a class dance party.
Jerry also learned guitar and mandolin from his father who was self-taught and couldn't read music. Jerry learned to play on his father’s acoustic guitar that had belonged to his younger brother (Jerry’s uncle) who was killed in WWII. He played the old 78 rpm records of Hank Williams and a few other to learn chords and play along with the music. At age 14, he bought a used Gibson ES-350 Electric Guitar and Gibson amp and started playing gospel music with "The Moyer Gospel Band" This band played at country churches all over southeast Missouri and sometimes on our local radio station KREI in Farmington. Jerry then bought a new Gibson Hummingbird Acoustic Guitar in 1962, which he still has along with several more he’s added through the years.
Jerry and Mary dated all through high school, eventually planning to get married. After high school, Jerry went to Barber School in St. Louis, so he could support his new family and finance college. Mary went to nursing school in St. Louis and became an RN. She retired after 40 years of serving mostly as an ER nurse.
Though Jerry had a scholarship in music for college and was set to go to SE Missouri State at Cape Girardeau, he changed his mind at the last minute and pursued a BS Degree in Civil Engineering from MSM (Missouri School of Mines), best known as UMR (University of Missouri at Rolla). There, he played trumpet in the “UMR Drifters”, a College Dance Band.
Like most of us with hobbies, Jerry couldn’t make a living from his, so he used his education and worked in various capacities in the engineering field, including Construction Manager for Continental Oil Company (CONOCO), City Engineer for the cities of Farmington, Missouri and Hot Springs, Arkansas. He also served as construction manager for the Garland County Detention Center, 911 Call Center, and Communications System. And, Jerry even went into business for himself as Business Owner/Operator for Best Mobile Home Sales and Mobile Home and RV Park for about ten years. As the song lyrics remind us about Jerry… ”there ain’t much this ole country boy can’t do.”
But when it’s all said and done, Jerry’s deeper passion is making music with his friends and, through this, telling the story of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has been faithfully doing for most of 70 years. He’s played in the First Baptist Church, Hot Springs orchestra and soloed regularly. He played in First Baptist Church Brass Ensemble which he started in 1998. He plays with the First Baptist Church Gospel Strings which he started about 2012. He has been a member of the HSCB since 1981, making him the current longest serving band member, at 43 years.
Jerry’s history with the HSCB though goes well beyond playing trumpet and being a friend. He served on the band’s board of directors for thirteen years, five of those as band president. As I can attest, this is a considerable investment in time and treasure. Jerry still enjoys sharing a good story or bit of wisdom with the band from time-to-time. He and I did our share of playing first trumpet and solos for several years, but are now enjoying the other trumpet parts while some other talented (and in some cases, younger) players do the heavy lifting.
Jerry Pogue is indeed one of the treasures in his community, his church and in his musical families. I for one am very thankful I can be counted among them. Thank you, Jerry!
PHOTOS -- TOP: Jerry with the Hot Springs Brass Quintet. INSET: Jerry with the First Baptist Church (Hot Springs) Gospel Strings. BELOW: Jerry with the HSCB trumpet section in August. 2017. SECOND BELOW: News article from 1984 highlighting Jerry’s successful mobile home business in Hot Springs. BOTTOM: Jerry (far right) with "The Moyer Gospel Band."
By Jeff Olson
Back in November 2008, when I joined the Hot Springs Concert Band (HSCB), I right away sensed a feeling of belonging, of a camaraderie that comes natural within a group of likeminded people and/or people who share common interests. Of course, in the band it was about making music together and I could tell soon enough that was what these folks were all about – and I wanted to be a part of it.
Within the trumpet section, I hit it off early on with a few of the players, namely Tom Kleinsorge and Jerry Pogue. Jerry was one of the 1st Trumpet players and Tom played 2nd Trumpet. Since an “in chair audition” was required to confirm (or otherwise) sufficient skill to play in the band, Tom was my auditioner. As it turned out, I passed the audition and have since been playing in the band for over 15 years.
Jerry and I struck up an immediate rapport also, and one of the first things he asked me was if I had a church home. My answer was yes, as I was still living in Mena at the time and with no plans to move to Hot Springs anytime soon. For Jerry, that made no difference as he told me to come on to church anyway when I was in town. So I did, and subsequently started playing in the church orchestra at First Baptist Church in Hot Springs. That I’ve been doing now for most of ten years.
You get the picture. Jerry has been an influential person in my life, as he has many others as well. So, let me tell you a little bit more about this guy. Being the good man that he is, his hobbies are but a mere reflection of what’s underneath, so it is here I will start this brief journey about Jerry. And afterward, we will delve into Jerry’s music because there is more here than meets the eye or even the note on the page. While we know Jerry mainly as a trumpeter in the HSCB, his music background and acumen extend beyond our musical family.
Jerry was born in Farmington, Missouri, a small rural community in the southeast part of the state. The first 10 years of his life was living above a grocery store my parents owned and operated, and the next 10 years was living on a farm. He raised Shetland Ponies and probably had a total of over 30 by the time he was through.
Jerry always loved music, as did his family. Growing up in the First Baptist Church of Farmington and singing in the church choir helped to give him a firm Christian foundation and a love for church music which he still holds to this day.
His father played the mandolin and his sister the piano and trumpet. When he was about 7 years old, he took accordion lessons. Of course, how could he know then that his teacher had another pupil, Mary Schramm, who was destined to become Jerry’s wife. The teacher would sometimes have Jerry and Mary play duets, which of course was a precursor to a duet they would later play in matrimony. Incidentally, that two-part harmony has been going on now for over 60 years.
In 5th grade Jerry started playing trumpet, and wouldn’t you know that his first horn was a hand-me-down from his older sister. He played trumpet all through high school, but his talent and music extended to singing in the school Acapella Choir and Men's Double Quartet. He would often get a combo group together to perform for the annual talent show at school or a class dance party.
Jerry also learned guitar and mandolin from his father who was self-taught and couldn't read music. Jerry learned to play on his father’s acoustic guitar that had belonged to his younger brother (Jerry’s uncle) who was killed in WWII. He played the old 78 rpm records of Hank Williams and a few other to learn chords and play along with the music. At age 14, he bought a used Gibson ES-350 Electric Guitar and Gibson amp and started playing gospel music with "The Moyer Gospel Band" This band played at country churches all over southeast Missouri and sometimes on our local radio station KREI in Farmington. Jerry then bought a new Gibson Hummingbird Acoustic Guitar in 1962, which he still has along with several more he’s added through the years.
Jerry and Mary dated all through high school, eventually planning to get married. After high school, Jerry went to Barber School in St. Louis, so he could support his new family and finance college. Mary went to nursing school in St. Louis and became an RN. She retired after 40 years of serving mostly as an ER nurse.
Though Jerry had a scholarship in music for college and was set to go to SE Missouri State at Cape Girardeau, he changed his mind at the last minute and pursued a BS Degree in Civil Engineering from MSM (Missouri School of Mines), best known as UMR (University of Missouri at Rolla). There, he played trumpet in the “UMR Drifters”, a College Dance Band.
Like most of us with hobbies, Jerry couldn’t make a living from his, so he used his education and worked in various capacities in the engineering field, including Construction Manager for Continental Oil Company (CONOCO), City Engineer for the cities of Farmington, Missouri and Hot Springs, Arkansas. He also served as construction manager for the Garland County Detention Center, 911 Call Center, and Communications System. And, Jerry even went into business for himself as Business Owner/Operator for Best Mobile Home Sales and Mobile Home and RV Park for about ten years. As the song lyrics remind us about Jerry… ”there ain’t much this ole country boy can’t do.”
But when it’s all said and done, Jerry’s deeper passion is making music with his friends and, through this, telling the story of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has been faithfully doing for most of 70 years. He’s played in the First Baptist Church, Hot Springs orchestra and soloed regularly. He played in First Baptist Church Brass Ensemble which he started in 1998. He plays with the First Baptist Church Gospel Strings which he started about 2012. He has been a member of the HSCB since 1981, making him the current longest serving band member, at 43 years.
Jerry’s history with the HSCB though goes well beyond playing trumpet and being a friend. He served on the band’s board of directors for thirteen years, five of those as band president. As I can attest, this is a considerable investment in time and treasure. Jerry still enjoys sharing a good story or bit of wisdom with the band from time-to-time. He and I did our share of playing first trumpet and solos for several years, but are now enjoying the other trumpet parts while some other talented (and in some cases, younger) players do the heavy lifting.
Jerry Pogue is indeed one of the treasures in his community, his church and in his musical families. I for one am very thankful I can be counted among them. Thank you, Jerry!
PHOTOS -- TOP: Jerry with the Hot Springs Brass Quintet. INSET: Jerry with the First Baptist Church (Hot Springs) Gospel Strings. BELOW: Jerry with the HSCB trumpet section in August. 2017. SECOND BELOW: News article from 1984 highlighting Jerry’s successful mobile home business in Hot Springs. BOTTOM: Jerry (far right) with "The Moyer Gospel Band."
