Herbert Gentry

Herbert Gentry had the patience of Job and was a saint. All this came about in his later life when folks tend to get more crotchety and have less patience. Instead, he took a class of ill-behaved, tone deaf kids and turned them into a band (eventually). The first couple of years and especially the first few classes sounded like a torture and killing chamber for screaming cats.

I played the tuba, and Damien O'Brien, who played the euphonium used my tuba for basketball practice. He would roll up a potato chip bag (they were made of aluminum foil in those days) and sink a longshot in my instrument. I wasn't aware of it until I hit a very low note and emitted a wicked rattle.

Mr. Gentry could play any instrument, but he was a master on the trumpet and violin. When he did lose his patience, he would yell at us "Were you brought up or brang up?".

I always like music because it was a constant drama. It was amazing how red Mr. Gentry's head would get when he hit high C on his trumpet. I always expected a Monty Pythonesque blowout of his head valves with blood covering the walls.

And woe betide the flute players in the first row when he opened the valves and blew the spit out of his trumpet. I was amazed at how much collected in that small cavity.

Mr. Gentry was a gentleman, and a music scholar and a valuable asset to OCHS.