Less than an hour ago, I drove my five guests from the Bowling Green State University’s Men’s Chorus across the street to join 130 of their fellow singers on the busses. What great guys these were!

The BGSU Men’s Chorus was, at one time, one of the finest in the nation. It was the era of gang wars and bathtub gin, but the “Roaring Twenties” were fairly quiet on the campus of a young teaching school in northwest Ohio, Bowling Green State Normal College. The quietness was broken in 1923 by the sounds of the first Men’s Glee Club. The chorus began touring Ohio and later sang as far away as Chicago and Niagara Falls. Unfortunately, the group’s first golden age dimmed bit by bit as World War II pulled away the choristers. The once-great group contained only 15 members when it disbanded. The chorus was reunited after the war, and in the late 1940s, the baton passed to Dr. James Paul Kennedy. Under his direction, the chorus survived until 1953.

The sound of men’s voices raised in song vanished from the campus until 1971, when Professor Richard D. (affectionately known as RD) Mathey revived the group. From a membership of 12, the chorus has grown into the active touring chorus it is today, with a membership well above 100. Mathey retired in 2000 after an incredibly successful 28 years at the helm.

My good friend, Brody McDonald, sang with the ensemble all throughout college and is probably the undisputed protege of RD Mathey. I have met this treasured soul several times and it is easy to see just why the chorus was as powerful as it was under his reign.

The men sang at Christ Methodist Church at 7:00pm, and following the concert the men were introduced to their host families. I had always been fortunate to have the best host families when I was at Ball State, and I was determined to be the best for my guests. Immediately there was chemistry between the Haas family and the five comedic tenors who spent the evening with us. After their luggage was piled into the trunk, two rode with me back across the street while Matt and Jose escorted the other three.

They settled quickly, making themselves at home. I don’t think Moses and his people witnessed any swarm of locusts that could empty an entire empire as quickly as these guys did with four pizzas and numerous liters of soda. We listened to several numbers of RD’s BGSU Men’s Chorus CD’s, and spent the rest of the evening laughing and chatting – but mostly laughing. Suddenly, I was no longer 41, but 20 again, and sitting up laughing until… well, the first went to bed at 2:00am. The others, knowing they had a 6:00am bus call, continued to impersonate Bill Cosby, Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse and a host of other notables. At 3:00am, the last four college guys decided to head to bed.

We were originally told the church would be hosting a breakfast, but learned Thursday night that we should provide something. So, at 3:20am, I took off for Wal-Mart to get some roles, donuts and bagels. I had a ton! At 5:30am, most of it was gone. The boys dressed back in their tuxes following a procession to the shower, and we loaded their luggage, and along with Flyer, piled into the car. At the busses, the current director rushed up to pet Flyer who was thrilled to be around so many people. The boys told their director that they wanted me to adopt all five of them. And, as nice (and funny) as these guys are, Brian Beckwith, Tyler Hawk, Lamont Green, Adam Cramer and Josh Sanders would make great sons!

To learn more about the BGSU Men’s Chorus, please visit their website:
http://www.harmonize.com/bgmc/aboutus/index.html