How many of us will have the opportunity to retire twice as Ralph Todd has done -- and some 30 years apart?

   Todd's first retirement was as a colonel in the U.S. Army in the early 1970s and marked the end of 27 years of service in some of the major combat theaters of the 20th century: the Normandy invasion of World War II followed by time in France and Germany and later in Korea. He also spent tours of duty in Turkey, Japan, New Mexico, Georgia and the Pentagon.

   Todd's second retirement as a cornet player after 29 years in the Village Band will take place at the Horace Williams House at 3 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

   "At this concert, we will honor his years with the band," said Walt Martin, tenor sax and president of the band.
Now, the arithmetic of 27 years plus 29 more plus growing up time and a few years working adds up to 90 years. And Todd is definitely a young 90 at that.

   "He is an amazing man," said Jeff Fuchs, the conductor of the Village Band and director of athletic bands at UNC. "I hope I'm in that kind of shape when I am that age."

   Todd has been playing his horn for about 80 years, having started in elementary school. He was first chair in the Greensboro High School Band and later played in both the UNC-Greensboro and Greensboro College orchestras. He entered young adulthood at the beginning of the Depression -- an era in which people lived by their wits, when work was extremely difficult to find and unemployment stood at 30 percent.

   "Two things helped me," Todd said. "I had a typewriter and could type, and I could play. I kept in work."

   He played dances on Fridays and Saturdays and earned $3 to $5 a night. Not bad at a time when weekly salaries averaged $15. "Once in a while we would get a call to play in Southern Pines where we would get paid $15 a night," he said.

   Todd gained invaluable musical experience during those years. "We also played in country clubs, hotels, and furnished music for the silent movies, which were attractive because the movies cost a dime and the theaters were air conditioned. We used stock arrangements scored for three brass, three reeds, three to four percussion and piano. Some of the guys I worked with went on to play with the Les Brown and Glenn Miller bands."

   At the start of World War II, he and his friends in Greensboro volunteered for military duty. He trained at Fort Jackson, S.C., and Camp Sutton and Camp Lewis near Olympia, Wash., which led to his lengthy military career. Though he threw his horn into the unit supply truck in France, he did not play until after the war when he formed a combo for dances at an officers' club.

   In the early 1970s following his time as a career Army officer, he turned to his wife, Lois, and said: "For so many years, I have been making all the decisions about where we live. This retirement choice is yours."

   She chose Chapel Hill because it was a nice, quiet college town.

   After Dan Margoni, then band director at what were then called Phillips and Culbreth junior high schools, formed the Village Band in 1973, Ralph Todd walked into the second or third rehearsal and has played with the band ever since.

   "He was always the pillar of the band," said Margoni recently. "He had a staunch belief in the group in the difficult times."

   Todd's relationships in the band are warm, and the bonds are strong.

   "As we walk into rehearsal," said Joe Lowman, tuba player, "I always have a friendly, delightful human encounter with him."

   Former conductor Pam Halverson said of Todd, "He is an elegant man. He made me feel so welcome, and he was always sympathetic and gracious."

   Through the years, Todd has quietly and modestly learned his notes for the concerts. Not many band members in earlier years or now are aware of his story.

   Aarne Vesilind, former baritone horn until his engineering job took him out of the area to Bucknell University, shared a story about his friend: "One year, about 10 years ago, the band played at the Veteran's Hospital in Durham for Memorial Day. Ralph was there, and he had his medals on. He had never said anything to us about serving during World War II or that he had earned these commendations. I was so proud of him and of people like him, who quietly take pride in a job well done. And this is the way he has played in the band all these years. Third trumpet was just fine with him. This is how he could contribute, and he asked for nothing more."

   "We all identify with Ralph," said Lowman. "Nobody wants him to quit, because he is such an inspiration for all of us to continue playing when many of us have had a long periods not playing after high school or college. When he quits, we all realize that one day we will have to stop, too. That is sad."

   "Todd is certainly one of the gems of the community," said Fuchs. And also one of the stars embedded in the fabric of America.

   Though Todd is, in his words, "hanging it up" with the Village Band, he isn't exactly going to stop playing, because every weekend he drives about 70 miles to his cabin on Badin Lake southwest of Asheboro, where he plays his cornet with organ and piano for his church on Sundays and can visit with his daughters, grandchildren and great-grandsons.

   Contact:
   Michelle Westrom
   Marketing Director
   (919) 370 - 7160