Mighty Oak
Chorus History
In March
1982, five members of the Hanford Chapter got together to discuss the
possibility of forming the Visalia Chapter. They were Bud Case, Ron Dial, Claude
Feaver, Fred Hendricks, and Jim Moore.
They contacted the
International Headquarters of S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A., Inc. in Kenosha, Wisconsin on
July 25, 1982, under the sponsorship of the Fresno Gold Note Chorus, to obtain
its permission and procedure to charter a new chapter. Permission
was granted an the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop
Quartet Singing in America, Inc. allowed the Visalia Chapter to use official
S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A., Inc. music.
The first director of
the Visalia Chapter was Don Campbell, former director of the Hanford Chapter
(Kingsmen Chorus and the Redwood High School Choir Director.
The Might Oak Chorus
held its first meeting in the Redwood High School Band Room. One hundred and
twenty men showed-up at the meeting with about half that number made up of men
from the Hanford and Fresno Chapters (Kingsmen Chorus and Gold Note Chorus).
The men from the
Hanford Chorus and Fresno Chorus performed for the 60 or so ‘Rookies’ that
attended. Afterwards all 120 men joined together to sing:
“My Wild
Irish Rose”.
Ron Dial was elected
as the first president of the Mighty Oak Chorus. Under a special license granted
by S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A., Inc., the Mighty Oak Chorus held its first major concert at
the L.J. Williams Theatre in Visalia on November 6, 1982.
In
January 1983, sixty chorus members signed the chartering application (a very
large number for a new chorus) and on March 4, 1983, the Chapter received its
official charter.