A recollection of a father's description of a connection between a 40's top music attraction and Atchison by former Atchison resident Gene Dolginoff sparked this finding. Gene, whose father ran Gore's Pool Hall in the 500 block of Commercial in the 40's as Gene was growing up, led me to this interesting discovery. Yes, the famed band leader Glenn Miller and his vocal ensemble, the Modernaires, did have an Atchison connection. It was an automobile connection. No, if you are looking at the Miller name in old Atchison, not Miller Chevrolet where I bought my first car in 1963. It was Dave Condon, Atchison Cadillac Dealer. The story unraveled as a mystery plot and came through as a series of inquiries, guesses and facts involving relatives of original Modernaires, a chance email sent to a recreational facility that played host to the modern day Modernaires last summer, a phone call from a neighbor of the Condon's - and some sheer luck.
 
First, we had only a photo of the group with captions identifying the members of the Modernaires during the 1940's. Gene thought he remembered the "round faced guy" in the group as being the one his father was talking about. Then, without a firm grasp of which member of the group was the actual connection, it was time to search the web for clues.
Hal Dickinson came first, as he was the leader of the Mods. Then Johnny Drake, Ralph Brewster, Fran Scott, Chuck Goldstein and Bill Conway. No luck. But Johnny Drake fit the profile of the "round faced guy."
 
I called in one morning to the KAIR (old KARE Atchison) radio station, and was on the air for several minutes questioning Rachel, Jason and Bryan on the Morning Wake Up Crew about the Modernaires. A lady who was once a neighbor of Dave Condon called in and said she knew it was Dave Condon's son-in-law that I was talking about. She did not give her or the son-in-law's name, darn it. But, what she knew was supportive of our truth-finding mission.
I found a facility out west where the Mods performed last year, and decided to send them an email for Hal Dickinson's daughter, Paula Kelly Jr. Nothing to lose, except being ignored. But, luck was with me this time. It was forwarded to Paula, and she kindly responded to me. The search took a turn when Mrs. Kelly's memory did not include anything about either Atchison or Dave Condon. "Well, keep searching. It has to be a relative of another "Modernaire," she said.
 
So, if Paula Kelly Jr's mother was not a Condon or a stepdaughter of Condon, then it must have been another member of the Modernaires that was married to the Atchison girl.. In sleuth-like fashion I determined that "The Modernaire" that was related to Condon was the husband of a Condon girl (daughter.) or perhaps even a stepdaughter. Maybe not a Condon at birth.
 
Then, out of the blue came this new message from Paula Cole (Paula Kelly Jr.,) and she told me "I was looking through some old articles, and there it was. Glenn Miller bought an Oldsmobile station wagon for Tom Sheils (his right hand man and later "The Modernaires" manager) at Ralph Brewster's Father's dealership in Atchison, Kansas. Mystery solved." Sincerely, Paula Kelly,Jr.
 
Ralph Brewster was the son-in-law of Dave Condon who owned the Cadillac dealership in Atchison. Ralphs wife was Bonnie. I'm just guessing, Bonnie Condon. Brewster was an original Modernaire, along with Paula Kelly Jr.s father, Hal Dickerson, and her mother, Paula Kelly.
 
The Modernaires now are: Paula Kelly Jr., her younger sister Juliann, Joe Croyle, and new member Ken Prescott . When the new Modernaires appear in the Kansas City area, I look forward to hearing their delightful sounds once again, in that same old inimitable style.
.03-29-06

 

Harold "Hal" Dickinson, 59, Modernaires vocalist ('40-'42) died on November 18, 1970 at age 56

Paula Kelly (Dickinson), 72, vocalist and wife of Dickinson ('41-'42),  died Apr. 2, 1992.


In April of 1937, "The Modernaries" (who later rose to fame with the Glenn Miller Orch.) recorded with the Hall orch., "Spooky" Dickinson (Hal Dickinson), sang with Dolly.

The Modernaires, now boasting its second generation of singers, is celebrating over 70 years in showbusiness, leader Paula Kelly Jr. said.

Kelly's father, Hal Dickinson, started the group while in high school in 1935 in Buffalo, N.Y., along with Bill Conway and Chuck Goldstein.
"They worked with many different bands before becoming the Modernaires, including the Ozzie Nelson Band," Kelly said. "They were known as The Three Wizards of Ozzie."
Just before they joined the Miller Orchestra in 1939, Dickinson got the inspiration for the group's name, she said.
"They were on the subway going to a job and were reading the ads on the subways and in the subway stations," she said. "One ad was for Modernaire Furniture and my dad said 'what a great name for a group.'"
Kelly's mother, Paula, joined the Modernaires in 1941, and sang with them until her retirement in 1978. Her daughter was the logical replacement as she had sang with the group from 1967 to 1971.
Before returning to the Modernaires, Paula Kelly Jr. had sung with her two sisters as the Kelly Sisters. Recently, Paula Kelly Jr. and her sisters, Martha and Julie Dickinson, carry on the family tradition in the Modernaires along with Joe Croyle, the lone fellow of the quartet. Today, The Modernaires are: Paula Kelly Jr., her younger sister Juliann, Joe Croyle, and new member Ken Prescott. Two guys and two girls.
Some of the songs by the group for the Starlight Bowl celebration were "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo," and "Perfidia." They also sang the Pied Pipers' favorites, "Dream" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street," made famous when the Pipers sang with the Tommy Dorsey Band.
This music remains popular, Paula Kelly Jr. said, because people can dance to it, one can understand the lyrics and the songs tell a story.
"And it has a melody, which is hard to hear in the music of today," she said. "It's Americana. Even young people come to concerts to dance. They dance together and it's been a while since they have done that."
Over the 25 years she has been a Modernaire, Paula Kelly Jr. has had the opportunity to sing with the big band greats of yesterday, like trumpeters Billy May and Zeke Zarchy, clarinet and sax player Willie Schwartz, and trombonists Paul Tanner, Jimmy Priddy and Al Klink.
"That was just incredible," she said. "Billy May was the best arranger in the business and Willie Schwartz was responsible for that unique Glenn Miller sound. They were all a lot of fun and upbeat and thrilled to still be doing what they were doing."
She is proud of the fact that the Modernaires were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Penn., in 2000.
Paula Kelly Jr. was looking forward to performing at the Fourth of July concert at the Starlight Bowl, especially at this time when the country is at war, she said.
One of the songs they sang was "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," which was a big hit during World War II, she said.
And, it is no surprise that "Moonlight Serenade" is Kelly's favorite.
"I think that's timeless," she said.
Much like the Modernaires.