[Note: This page is under constant revision as I recall events about the Conservatory over forty-seven years.]

1950

 I was born on a farm in Iowa outside of a small town called Morning Sun. I began piano lessons at age 14 with Celine Mathews who had recently moved from New York to Morning Sun. During my senior year, I began looking for a college to attend. Mrs. Mathews, who was originally from Memphis, Tennessee, said that all of her friends urged her to send me to the Conservatory of Music in Kansas City to study with Dr. Wiktor Labunski. Labunski had come to the Conservatory from Memphis in the late 1930s.

My father, my teacher and I traveled to Kansas City in April, 1950, to audition with Dr. Labunski. We met him on Sunday afternoon at his home. I started to play, I didn't play very well, and suddenly Mrs. Labunski said, "Stop, Stop. We must listen to my brother-in-law play the piano with the St. Louis Symphony." She turned on the radio to hear this brother-in-law, Arthur Rubenstein, play the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganni by Rachmaninoff. After the performance, I had to sit down and play again. You can imagine my feelings at that point. Every time I hear this piece, I can still recall that afternoon at the Labunski's.

Even though my father and my teacher were not thrilled with the meeting with the Labunski's, ( I have left out a lot of details), I started at the Conservatory in June of 1950, about two or three weeks after finishing high school. I entered as a piano major.

The Conservatory was at 15 East Armour Boulevard. I stayed in a rooming house at 3535 McGee. I was all alone because my roommate to be in the fall didn't study that summer. One Sunday afternoon, I was doing my harmony lessons and the landlord was sitting on the front porch listening to the radio. Although I couldn't hear what was being said, I did notice a sudden change in what was coming over the radio. I ran downstairs and found out that North Korea had just invaded South Korea. More on that later.

During that first summer, the pianist, Maxim Shapiro, came and played both books of the Well Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach. He performed in the Unitarian Church which was west of Main Street and north of Armour Boulevard, directly behind the car dealership. It was hot, no air conditioning, but it was an exciting experience to hear someone play and discuss those magnificent pieces in one week. The Conservatory used the facilities of the Unitarian Church for many functions because there was not a suitable auditorium at 15 East Armour.

I had long hair in high school. When I started at the Conservatory, it seemed that everyone who had long hair acted funny. I went out and had my hair cut as a butch.

When I went home between summer and fall terms, I told my father that I got an A in harmony, A in keyboard harmony, and A in history. He asked about the piano lessons, which were, by the way, quite expensive. I had to tell him that I couldn't even play for the jury because Labunski said I would get a bad grade. The next term in piano went better.

Soon after we moved in, there was a fire in the lobby area. The next day, the fire marshal and others who came to investigate the fire. A Mrs. Martha Ryan Thompson worked as a receptionist and cashier in the office. When the firemen were standing in the lobby she said, "You know, it's funny. Soon after we moved into 15 East Armour we had a fire and now we've just moved into this place and we've had another fire." Needless to say, the firemen listened very carefully to what she said, but the origin of the fire was not arson so we were off the hook. About the same time, the Unitarian Church moved across the street form the Conservatory's new address in an old house. As before, we continued to use their building for some of our classes and teaching studios.

I never took typing lessons in high school. Every place I went while in the army, I was asked if I could type. I said no, but found out that I was the only one who could even type with two fingers. When I got to Korea and was asked the same question, I said "yes." When the Sergeant Major saw me type, he said "Learn to touch type in three days or you will carry boxes during your stay here." I leaned in three days!! Little did I know how valuable typing skills would be in the future, especially with the advent of computers.

I worked for the Labunski family. I chauffeured him and worked in the yard and in the house as needed for Mrs. Labunski. I received quite an education in Russian and Polish music history from both Wanda and Wiktor. Mrs. Labunski's mother, Mrs. Milnarski, had survived World War II and spent some time with the Labunski's in Kansas City. She was quite old and was supposed to stay inside when the weather was hot. Wanda Labunski often taught piano lessons in the afternoon when I would do some work in the yard. Mrs. Milnarski would slip down the stairs and come out to keep me company. Although she could speak many languages, English was not one of them. Nevertheless, we had a good time "conversing."

Mr. W.T. Grant of BMA Insurance Company had been on the board of the Conservatory for many years. He supposedly had a provision in his will to leave money for a new building. He decided to go ahead and make the money available so plans were drawn up and the new building was started. The Conservatory Board of Trustees held their annual meeting and the highlight was to recognize the gift of Mr. Grant. The building was already under construction. Mr. Grant got up and played the violin, sat down and immediately died of a stroke or heart attack. Needless to say, this was a terrible shock. Everyone was wondering what would happen to the building project. It was decided to go ahead and finish it which happened by the opening of school in September, 1955.

[As I mentioned earlier, I worked for the Labunski's. When I told Wanda that Carolyn and I were to be married, she offered us a large electric fan as a gift. She said it had been used a few times but they didn't need it. We were glad to get it. We were married in a small church on The Paseo. It was customary to display the gifts at the reception, which was held in the basement. When we returned from our honeymoon, I apologized to Wiktor for not displaying the fan they had given us. His response was "If we had given you a cow would you have had it at the church?" ]

Dr. Labunski had become Director of the Conservatory in the late 1930s. Apparently he resisted efforts to merge with UKC. The Conservatory's board fired him. Of course, that was not the way it was presented in the papers. I remember when the chairman of the board made a glowing report of Dr. Labunski's accomplishments at an open meeting for students and faculty, and Dr. Labunski graciously accepted the praise and accolades. However, I was seated where I could watch him, and he was really working his jaws as though he was gritting his teeth.

I have seen the documents in which Dr. Labunski and the board secretly negotiated the language of the Labunski's official "retirement" press release as director.

The Conservatory faculty were not ranked, nor did we have tenure or many of the privileges that college professors have. Most of us taught on commission. One time, there was not enough money to pay the faculty. Mr. Henry Haskell, one of the editors of the Kansas City Star and a member of the Board of Trustees, came to school and wrote out a personal check. I took it to the Community Bank on Troost for deposit and then we were paid. The Community Bank was then owned by Mr. Jack Strandberg. He was a good friend of Mr. Lyle Kennedy so many faculty had their personal accounts at that bank. It's interesting to note that many years later, 1996 to be exact, that Mrs. Strandberg gave money to establish a the Jack Strandberg chair in piano at the Conservatory.

Since we were becoming a part of the University of Kansas City, there were many changes to be made. All faculty had to have ranks. I was fortunate to become an Assistant Professor.

Before the merger took place, Dr. Archie Jones from Texas was hired as a consultant to make recommendations about how to merge a private conservatory with a department of music. When it was apparent that a dean of the Conservatory was needed, Dr. Jones was selected. He was the right choice to join two faculties who, by tradition, had not gotten along very well. I remember that Dr. Jones called a meeting of the two faculties in Stover Auditorium and we had to decide who was going to teach what for the coming year. Everything went smoothly due to Dr. Jones' quiet but persuasive manner.

Dr. Labunski stayed on and taught piano. At one faculty meeting, Dr. Labunski stood up and praised Archie Jones as a dean and as a person. Labunski was profuse in his comments and moved that the faculty vote a resolution of appreciation and thanks. We all voted with enthusiasm. I always admired what Dr. Labunski did at that meeting.

The Conservatory had to merge with UKC because the school was going broke. Little did we know that UKC was not in good financial shape, either.

I finished the D.M.A. degree in Music History 1967 and was made an associate professor.

One day, three young men streaked through Grant Hall from the east to the west entrances. That was the most daring event of the time.

I became involved in campus politics in the late sixties and early seventies. There was a University Senate made up of faculty and administrators, and later, students. I was elected as a senator and soon became a member of the Executive Committee. Then followed a stint as Vice-Chairman and then Chairman for two years. I was also one of two members from UMKC to an Intercampus Faculty Council, a group of faculty from the four campuses who met monthly with the President of the University.

The University Senate voted to allow the schools of the Kansas City campus to develop their own Governing Practices. Several Conservatory faculty met during the winter semester of 1971 and we drafted our own document. There was a faculty vote in late spring which officially approved our draft and officers and committees were elected for the fall semester. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the approval, I circulated the following letter to the faculty which explains some of the events of that time:

CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

May 17, 1996

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday Governing Practices [now called By-Laws],

Happy birthday to you.

May 18, 1996, is the 25^th anniversary of the adoption of the Governing Practices of the Conservatory of Music.

To quote from the Minutes of the Special Faculty Meeting of 18 May 1971:

"The meeting was called to order in CAX [Conservatory Annex at 4420 Warwick Blvd] at 12:05 p.m. by Dean Joseph Blankenship with the announcement that the meeting had been called for the purpose of bringing to the voting faculty the proposed Governing Practices of the Conservatory of Music. The motion for adoption was made and seconded and the discussion began."

There followed several amendments to the document. Continuing with a quote:

"The entire document was then voted upon and passed by a large margin. Mr. Pogemiller proposed that the adoption be as of this date, at 12:37 p.m. The motion passed without a dissenting vote. Miss Petersen [now professor emeritus Marian Petersen] moved that the present structure remain in effect until the implementation of the Governing Practices. This passed by a large margin."

Elections were held for the first Executive Committee and the following list of officers is from the minutes for September 7, 1971:

Faculty Executive Committee:

LeRoy Pogemiller, Chairman [now professor emeritus]

Paul Sommers, Vice-Chairman [now professor emeritus]

Milton Hehr, Secretary [now associate professor emeritus]

Joanne Baker [member] [now Curators' professor emeritus]

Marian Petersen [member] [now professor emeritus]

As we continue our celebration of the 90^th year, we remember many important dates in our school's history. In my opinion, May 18, 1971, was a momentous date for the Conservatory of Music. There was excitement, a spirit of unanimity and anticipation of what could be accomplished. The adoption of that document forever changed the course of the Conservatory.

/s/ LeRoy