Misty River Music Makers still hitting high notes
Don't let the term "women's barbershop chorus" fool you into thinking this is just sweet harmony from the Gay '90s or even later.
When the Misty River Music Makers hit the stage June 13 and 14 at Wheaton Academy in an international competition they are hosting, you'll hear plenty of songs you'll recognize.
"We sing a huge variety of songs," said Donna Pelletier of St. Charles, who is serving her third year as president of the local chorus that is now in its 25th year of entertaining in the Fox Valley.
Pelletier said the Misty River Music Makers sing "Yesterday" by the Beatles, "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz," as well as numerous patriotic tunes and uplifting love melodies like "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Keep Your Sunny Side Up."
The group is part of Harmony Inc., an international organization for women's barbershop choruses and quartets that promote the presentation of a cappella, four-part harmony singing in the barbershop style. The members are excited about hosting a multistate contest that will be open to the public in the Fine Arts Center on the campus of Wheaton Academy.
"We perform at a lot of senior citizen centers, charity events and parades, and we recently did a show at Arden Courts," Pelletier said.
Two Geneva ladies, Barbara Yeh, who serves as the group's booking agent, and Shirley Davis, who is known as "Lunch Lady" at Geneva High School, have been with the chorus for many years. Davis is a charter member.
"Most people will recognize us as a barbershop quartet, or a four-part harmony, like the Sweet Adelines," Yeh said. "But we also have 21 members for a larger chorus, and then the quartets."
Information about joining the Misty River Music Makers or attending the state competition is available by calling Pelletier at (630) 673-0800.
Pancakes and tunes: It was great to see the storms that popped up last weekend take just enough of a break to allow one of the great small-town events in the Tri-Cities area to unfold without interruption -- the annual Memorial Day pancake breakfast at the Geneva United Methodist Church.
The patrons were lined up along Hamilton and around the Third Street corner most of the morning, so that's good news for the charitable organizations that benefited from this fundraiser.
Howie Pribble, a parishioner at the church, used his singing voice to provide a pleasant atmosphere, crooning many tunes, including these two when I was hanging around -- "Day by Day" and "Bridge over Troubled Waters."
Walking shoes: A quick exchange with Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, as he marched along Third Street in the Memorial Day parade decked out in his suit and dress shoes, gave him another chance to display his quick wit.
"Are those the best shoes for walking?" I asked.
"These are my corrective shoes. I've been using them since third grade," Burns shot back.
About those buildings: When Fred Rosenthal sent news releases about a used cell phone collection to aid a building project for St. Patrick parish in St. Charles, I realized it was a pretty safe bet most of us have old cell phones stuck in drawers or sitting in boxes in storage closets.
What I had either forgotten, or didn't even know, was that the St. Patrick Building Fund had been established to build a new school and rectory near the Crane Road church.
In case you missed the story last week, The Rosenthal Group in St. Charles is collecting discarded cell phones and turning over 100 percent of the rebates offered for recycling cell phones to that building fund.
Rosenthal estimates that recycling of a cell phone, depending on make and model, could net between $2 and $15 for the building fund. So he's hoping people will be happy to discard unwanted phones, which will have data deleted for security reasons. He'd like to see thousands of dollars raised for the project.
Until more drop-off locations are set, those interested in getting rid of their phones can send them to or drop them off at 1232 S. 10th Street in St. Charles. More information is available by calling (630) 926-3109.
Give more Iron: If the official push hasn't already started, put me down on the list of people who can't wait for the sequel to "Iron Man." If you haven't seen it yet, but have a fondness for these comic-book character action flicks, this one is definitely worth seeing. And my wife thought it was great, so that was a pleasant surprise as well.
dheun@sbcglobal.net