From Innovation to Laughable Derelict: 8-Track Tapes

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Today the 8-track tape is considered a failure of technology, a “laughable derelict from the Seventies,” but at one time these tapes were an important innovation.

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8-Track  Tapes, HCHM Music Collection

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, several new technologies were developed including the 4-track tape, 8-track tape and the Play Tape format. The reel-to-reel was the first prerecorded tape format available to consumers in the 1950s. The 8-track format was developed by an unlikely group that included the  Ampex Magnetic Tape Company, Lear Jet Company, RCA Records and Ford Motor Company. The success of the 8-track tape over the other technologies can be attributed the Ford Motor Company.

In September 1965, Ford Motor Company offered 8-track players as an option in their 1966 model cars.  A Ford spokesperson reported that 65,000 players were installed in the first year.  As a result of the popularity, the 8-track player soon became standard in all Ford cars.

Now the driver had the ability to listen to music of their choosing while in the car.  The 8-track tape was the first tape format that was widely available across the nation and easy to use. Music became portable for the first time.

Eight-track tape players for the home were not introduced until 1967-68.

The popularity of the 8-track tape was relatively short from 1968-1975. There were problems with the 8-track tape. Perhaps the biggest problems were that the tapes were unreliable, sound quality diminished over time and they were more expensive.

While the outer casing was virtually indestructible, the internal parts were cheaply made and broke easily.  Anyone familiar with 8-track tapes might remember how easily the tape could become a tangled mess.  When brand new, the sound on the 8-track was good, however over time problems occurred. Sound would also fade out or bleed through from one track to another over time. A person could not rewind the tape. As one blogger on Flashbak noted, “the eight-track would play for all eternity . . . or at least a few hours before it busted.” Finally, cassette tapes became more affordable and the quality was better longer.

By 1980, 8-track tapes were obsolete thanks to the much cheaper, more reliable cassette tape. After a brief moment of popularity, the cassette was replaced by the CD and then iTunes and mp3s.

 

Sources

“A Revelation to Our Citizens:” Newton’s ‘Colored’ Band

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A program, “The Latest in Home Entertainment: Enjoying Music in Harvey County,”  will be given on Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 2:00 at the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives.  Join us to learn not only more about the way in which “how” we listen to music has changed, but some of the early musical leaders in Harvey County.  This post highlights one person who enriched lives with his passion for music. 

By Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

A small  announcement in the August 11, 1909 issue of the Evening Kansan-Republican, indicated the start of a new venture in Harvey County.

Evening Kansan-Republican, 11 August 1909, p. 5.

Evening Kansan-Republican, 11 August 1909, p. 5.

The “Colored Band”**  was formed March 3, 1909 with a local man, Lloyd Rickman, serving as director.  For some band members this was a brand new undertaking.  Several could not even read music.  They “applied themselves diligently to practice”  and their first concert at the Newton depot in August was a success.  After the performance, the band left on the train for Peabody, Ks, where they played for the Peabody picnic. The editor of the newspaper noted that it “was a revelation to most of our citizens who heard it.  Many have not known before that this organization existed.”

The Band was also one of three bands that marched in the Booster Parade November 2, 1909.

November 1909 Parade Order

Evening Kansan Republican, 2 November 1909, p. 1.

Evening Kansan Republican, 2 November 1909, p. 1.

 

Lining Up for the Parade

"Rickman's Band" Booster Day Parade, 1910, standing in formation at Main and 8th Street, Newton

“Rickman’s Band” Booster Day Parade, 1909, standing in formation at Main and 8th Street, Newton

The 1922 50th Anniversary ed of the Newton Kansan noted that the band was a “self-supported organization and pays its expenses out of what can be raised through concerts and entertainments.” With the money raised, they purchased instruments and uniforms.

The editor further noted that Rickman’s band was one of the “best colored bands in the state” and the fifteen member band hoped that they “may inspire the people to become better citizens.” The editor concluded that they “work hard to give Newton an admirable colored band.”

Lloyd W. Rickman

Lloyd Rickman

Lloyd Rickman. Courtesy Jullian Wall, Find-A-Grave.

Lloyd Rickman was the driving force behind the band.  Born September 19, 1887 to  Patrick Rickman and Amanda Burdine Rickman, he married Hazel and they had three children; Lloyd, Kenneth and Ruthabel.

Lloyd W. and Hazel Rickman. Photo courtesy Jullian Wall, Find-A-Grave .

Lloyd W. and Hazel Rickman. Courtesy Jullian Wall, Find-A-Grave .

After the death of Hazel in 1949, Lloyd remarried Josephine Gross Rickman.   He was a member of the Hall’s Chapel A.M.E. Church in Newton.

At different times, he worked as a janitor  in the city building and auditorium.  He also worked as assistant station master for the Santa Fe Railroad.  Lloyd Rickman died March 6, 1985 at the age of 97.

Sources

  • Evening Kansan-Republican; 13 October 1902, 20 February 1903, 24 February 1903, 11 August 1909, 2 November 1909,24 September 1909, 8 May 1914, 14 September 1917, 2 August 1919, 26 May 1921,  2 July 1921, 25 July 1921, 26 August 1921.
  • Newton Kansan: 6 March 1985, 7 March 1985, p. 5.
  • “Band Music Has Prominent Place in Newton Community Life,” Newton Kansan 50th Anniversary Edition, 22 August 1922, p. 80.
  • U.S. Census 1930, 1940.
  • Lloyd Rickman, Hazel Rickman and Josephine Gross Rickman, Find-A- Grave Memorial.

Links to other posts on Harvey County Musicians, and posts related to the Rickman/Anderson family, and Joe Rickman.

Texas Cowboy, Desperado, & Businessman: Hugh Anderson

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

“He sat at the faro-table with the whole of his expressive face in full view, . . . I recalled the hour when three years before, in a Newton dance-house, I was a looker-on and saw the silver-mounted pistol now peeping out at his breast send death into the bosoms of three human beings.  This was Anderson, the Texas desperado, the horse-thief . . . the red-handed murderer.  I had written of the dance-house  tragedy.  I had held him up to public execration . . . had even advised the formation of a vigilance committee to inflict on him summary vengeance.”    (J.H.E., “Meeting of the Desperadoes” New York World, 22 July 1873 reprinted in full in Ellison,   “The West’s Bloodiest Duel-Never Happened!”  p. 3)

 Part 2 of  two posts  For: Part 1.

What Did Happen to Hugh Anderson, Texas Cowboy and Desperado?

One basic fact proves that the duel story written by Allegro/Harington was fiction.  Hugh Anderson lived another 40 years. He married twice, had three children and was a successful stock man.  U.S. Census records show the movements of the larger Anderson family including Hugh in Texas and New Mexico.  He clearly did not die in a duel in the fictional town of Medicine Lodge, I.T. in July 1873.

Hugh Anderson was born in DeWitt County, TX on 25 November 1851.  He was the third of 10 children born to Walter Pool “Wat” and Louisiana “Lou” Bailey Anderson.  In 1868, Hugh and his older brother, Richmond were involved in a “blood feud” between neighboring families named Taylor and Sutton in Texas. Richmond reportedly killing a man during this time.  During the summer of 1871, Wat, sent a herd of longhorns up the trail to the new shipping point at Newton, Ks. His son, nineteen-year-old Hugh was on the drive, perhaps to remove him from the feuding families.

While holding the herd near Newton, Hugh met the soon-to-be famous killer, John Wesley Hardin, who was pursuing a Mexican outlaw named Bideno. Hugh rode with Hardin and was present when Hardin killed Bideno.  Hugh then returned to his duties watching his father’s herd near Newton. Perhaps when he arrived in Newton, he learned of the death of Bill Bailey, who had been shot by Mike McCluskey earlier in the week. The death of Bailey angered Hugh and he threatened McCluskey.  Bailey may have been a relative of Hugh on his mother’s side adding to the motive for vengeance.

After the shootout in Tuttle’s saloon, an injured Hugh was secreted out of Newton by his father with the help of several Newton businessmen.  He returned to Texas.  Maybe the experience taught him something as he seemed to ‘settle down’ and live in a more law-abiding manner.

On July 11, 1872 in Bell County, Tx, Anderson, age 20, married 22-year-old Amanda Tomlinson. In May 1873, their son, Oscar was born.  The supposed duel took place on July 4, 1873. The article in the New York World appeared July 22, 1873.

Three years later, Hugh, still very much alive, but a widower, moved with his young son, and several other family members to McCullock, Tx.   The 1880 Federal Census listed Hugh, 28, and son, Oscar, 7, living with his parents and working as a “stock raiser” in McCullock County, Tx.

Hugh Anderson. Courtesy Simon Duran, Find A Grave #13728884 .

In 1884, at age 32, Hugh married a second time, Mag Cooke.  They moved to Chaves County, New Mexico Territory and Hugh continued to work as a stock man. They have at least two girls. The U.S. Census for 1900 listed Hugh as a widower.  In 1910, Hugh is listed as a stock man and living with his married son, Oscar, and three grandsons.

Hugh Anderson died 9 June 1914 at the age of 62 while herding cattle in Lincoln County, New Mexico. He was struck by lightening “and instantly killed . . . He had taken refuge under a tree while the storm was raging.”

Hugh Anderson. , Courtesy A. Firefly, Find A Grave #13728884 .

Hugh Anderson. , Courtesy Delma Ingram, Find A Grave #13728884 .

Years later, Hugh’s younger brother, Wyatt, described his father’s cattle drive during the summer of 1871 to Newton. He confirmed that Hugh was on that drive and had killed a man in Newton during the big fight.  He also detailed the actions of the oldest Anderson brother, Richmond, who was involved in two killings, one in Texas, the other in Wichita, Ks during the early 1870s.   He made no mention of a supposed duel at Medicine Lodge or anywhere else.

One wonders if Hugh ever read Allegro’s account of his death and what he might have thought of the “West’s Bloodiest Duel.”

Sources

  • United States Census 1880, 1900, 1910.
  • Muse, Judge R.W.P., History of Harvey County: 1871-1881. Newton, Ks: Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives, 2013. Originally published in Edward’s Harvey County Atlas, 1882.
  • Ellison, Douglas.  “The West’s Bloodiest Duel-Never Happened!” Western Edge Books, 3 December 2014 at westernedgebooks.com.
  • Hugh Anderson. , Find A Grave #13728884 .

For the full article by Douglas Ellison see The West’s Bloodiest Duel – Never Happened.