.
By Joshua Shelly and Scott W. Schwartz
Collection Overview
Title: Charles Strothkamp Papers, 1896-1983
ID: 12/9/128
Primary Creator: Strothkamp, Charles (1896-1983)
Extent: 0.5 cubic feet
Arrangement: Organized in two series: Series 1: Personal and Family Papers, 1911-1983 and Series 2: Sousa Band and Sousa Band Fraternal Society Records, 1911-1981. Each series' content is arranged chronologically.
Date Acquired: 07/07/2012
Subjects: Band Musicians, Military Music, Sousa, John Philip
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Consists of correspondence, contracts, performance route sheets, and photographs documenting Charles Strothkamp's career as a clarinetist in the Sousa Band between 1926 and 1931, as well as his two Selmer clarinets. The papers also include family photographs, military citations and medals, membership cards, school documents, birth and death certificates, and photographs documenting family trips made between 1919 and 1930. Of particular interest are Strothkamp's black and white photographs of the 1929 Colorado train wreck that involved the Sousa Band.
Biographical Note
Charles Strothkamp (1896-1983) was born in Manhattan, New York on November 2, 1896. His parents were Charles C. and Louise Strothkamp. He had two younger siblings, Elmer J. Strothkamp who was born in 1899 and Ruth L. Strothkamp who was born in 1903.
Charles began studying clarinet in 1911. He joined the Sousa Band for its 1926 tour as a clarientist and continued on both of the band's 1927 tours, an off-tour concert on June 15, 1929 held in Princeton, NJ, the 1929 tour, and one or more of the 1930 and 1931 tours. In addition he performed in the band's two radio broadcasts held in 1929 and 1930, as well as its March 12, 1931 recording and final April 9, 1931 radio broadcast. While on tour Charles was an avid amateur photographer who took numerous candid photographs of the bands's members, performance venues, and the communities the band played in.
In the first half of 1930, Strothkamp studied stenography and typewriting while attending New York's Drake School of Business. He successfully completed his course work and graduated that same year. During both World War I and World War II he served as a sergeant in the U.S. military. After leaving the Sousa Band he eventually worked for thirty years for the United States Postal Service, serving as a railway postal clerk. He retired from the postal service on December 30, 1965 and remained a lifetime member of the Sousa Band Fraternal Society. Strothkamp remained a bachelor throughout his life and died on July 10th, 1983.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Acquisition Source:
Marguerite Butler
Acquisition Method:
Gift
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Personal and Family Papers, 1911-1983],
[
Series 2: Music, 1911-1981],
[
Series 3: Scrapbooks & Photographs, ca. 1896-1983],
[All]
- Series 1: Personal and Family Papers, 1911-1983
- Consists of programs, membership cards, certificates, pamphlets, correspondance, and military medals documenting Charles Strothkamp's personal life and familial relations.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Commencement Program, Class of 1911 (Grade 8), June 28, 1911
- Folder 2: Ruth Strothkamp (sister) Commencement Program, 1916
- Folder 3: Membership cards, Clippings, Banking Documents and Pamphlets, 1918-1966
- Folder 4: Bike Diary, Vol. 4, September 4, 1920-March 18, 1923
- Journal includes a few loose sheets pertaining to biking tucked inside.
- Folder 5: Stockton Correspondence, November 17, 1928
- Folder 6: Drake School Certificate and Tuition Card, 1930
- Folder 7: Job Application, 1930
- Folder 8: A.G. Spalding & Bros. Reciept, January 21, 1930
- Folder 9: Bronze Star Medal Citation, Elmer J. Strothkamp (brother), August 16, 1945
- Folder 10: "Long & Faithful Service" Award and Correspondence, military, March 7-April 4, 1955
- Folder 11: Record of Birth of Charles Strothkamp, January 31, 1966
- Date indicates time of copy, not time of birth.
- Folder 12: Ruth L. Strothkamp (sister) funeral card, March 7, 1979
- Folder 13: Death notice, funeral card, and Certificate of Death, Charles Strothkamp, 1983
- Folder 14: Expenditure Sheet, undated
- Box 5
- Item 1: First Aid Packet - U.S. Army (unopened), ca. 1916
Unopened first aid packet with raised lettering, "FIRST AID PACKET - U.S. ARMY; CONTRACT NOV. 2- 1916; BAUER & BLACK, CHICAGO, U.S.A.; TO OPEN-PULL RING; PATENT APPLIED FOR"
Condition: Unopened; shows wear and tear; top left edge dented
- Item 2: Declaration, Medal, Good Conduct, May 11, 1944
- Item 3: Medal, Campaign and Service Victory, World War II, ca. 1945
- Item 4: Declaration of Faithful Service medal, 10 years, 1955
- Item 5: Declaration of Faithful Service medal, 15 years, 1955
- Oversize Portfolio Case 1
- Item 1: Baptism Certificate, December 20, 1896
- Series 2: Music, 1911-1981
- Consists of two clarinets, correspondence, newsletters, route sheets, programs and maps documenting Charles Strothkamp's career as a clarinetist in the Sousa Band between 1926 and 1931 as well as his membership in the Sousa Band Fraternal Society.
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Music lesson notebook, March 4, 1911-April 20, 1912
- Folder 2: Clarinet purchases - correspondence and reciepts, June 29, 1920-March 18, 1940
- Folder 3: Unidentified correspondence re: Sousa Band, March 22, 1925
- Folder 4: Uniform reciept and "Hartmann Tourobe" pamphlet, 1926
- Folder 5: Sousa Band route sheets with notes, 1926-1930
- Folder 6: Maps and hotel information, ca. 1926-1931
- Folder 7: Non-Sousa related musical correspondence, 1926-1982
- Folder 8: Correspondence withy Jay G. Sims, June 21, 1927-August 13, 1931
- Folder 9: List of personnel of Sousa Band, 1928
- Folder 10: Sousa Band contracts, 1928-1930
- Folder 11: Derailed train telegram, September, 1929
- Folder 12: Lieber Correspondence upon leaving Sousa Band, August 13, 1931
- Folder 13: Sousa Band, Atlantic City Steel Pier program and pass, September 5, 1931
- Folder 14: Memorial Concert to John Philip Sousa, program, March 13, 1932
- Folder 15: Sousa Band Fraternal Society - addresses of members, August 1, 1974
- Folder 16: Sousa Band Fraternal Society, March 1, 1980
- Folder 17: John Philip Sousa Post No. 112 Newsletters, 1980-1982
- Folder 18: Sousa Band Society News, July, 1981
- Folder 19: Sousa Oral History Project correspondence, undated
- Item 2: Clarinet: H. Selmer, model number 55, M6916, undated
Accession number: 2012-1209128.001 (A-F)
Physical condition: Good
Material composition: Grenadilla wood and nickel-plated brass
- Item 3: Clarinet: H. Selmer, model BT, 15742, undated
Accession number: 2012-1209128.002 (A-E)
Physical condition: Good
Material composition: Grenadilla wood and nickel-plated brass
- Series 3: Scrapbooks & Photographs, ca. 1896-1983
- Consists of individual and scrapbooks containing candid photographs documenting Charles Strothkamp's and members of his immediate family, family vacations, time playing in different military bands, and his travels with the Sousa Band between 1926 amd 1931. Nearly all of the photographs contain detailed captions of the scenes and indivdiuals pictured in the images. Of particular interest are Strothkamp's photographs of the 1929 Colorado train wreck that involved the Sousa Band as well as many photographs of the cities and theatres that Band played in during Strothkamp's career, and a candid photograph of Mr.and Mrs. Sousa in their bathing suits at Atlantic Beach.
- Box 2
- Folder 20: Family and personal photographs, ca. 1896-1930
- Folder 21: Photographs of Strothkamp, ca. 1912-1918 and ca. 1980
- Folder 22: Signed Sousa photograph, 1927
- Folder 23: Military photographs, ca. 1932-1943
- Includes photographs of Strothkamp's time in military bands.
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Young Men's Symphony Orchestra, April 22, 1923
- Folder 2: Scrapbook 1 - Part 1, 1926-1930
- Includes labeled photographs of the Sousa Train wreck (1929), Sousa Band members and towns visited during the Sousa Band tours.
- Folder 3: Scrapbook 1 - Part 2, 1926-1927
- Box 4
- Folder 1: Scrapbook 2, 1913-1934
- Includes photographs of young Strothkamp (January, 1913), and family vacations in the late 1920s-early 1930s.
- Folder 2: Scrapbook 3, February 2, 1929-November 9, 1930
- Includes additional photographs of August 9, 1929 Sousa Train wreck, as well photographs taken of cities the Sousa Band toured and family vacation photos.
- Oversize Portfolio Case 1
- Item 2: Panoramic photograph of the Sousa Band at the Steele Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, July 1926
- Black and White Photograph
- Item 3: Panoramic Photograph of the Sousa Band at the Steele Pier, Atlantic City New Jersey, July 1926
- Black and White Photograph
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Personal and Family Papers, 1911-1983],
[
Series 2: Music, 1911-1981],
[
Series 3: Scrapbooks & Photographs, ca. 1896-1983],
[All]
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