For more than 50 years, the Seward Kiwanis KiTones have been sharing music with audiences.
Through three jacket colors (blue, yellow and gray) and dozens of members, the KiTones sang for international conferences, programs and the Fourth of July.
Now, though, the group is hanging up its jackets.
“It was such an honor for me to direct,” Director Paul Beck said. “Every Monday night.”
“At quarter to six,” member Phil Wurst added.
“This was really a faithful group,” Beck said.
Wurst and Jack Duensing are the only original members left from the first group in 1971. The first performances were for Kiwanis meetings.
The KiTones sang at four international Kiwanis conferences – Denver in 1974, Minneapolis in 1982, St. Louis in 1990 and Salt Lake City in 1996. While they were in Salt Lake City, Wurst said, they got to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Wurst has been the group’s announcer since the beginning. He said one of the Blackwood Brothers recommended jokes throughout the performances.
“I have a list of jokes,” Wurst said, showing sticky notes and slips of paper taped inside his three-ring binder. “Whatever you do, have a joke. It loosens up the singers and the crowd.”
To be a member of the KiTones, one had to be a Kiwanis member first, Beck said. Twenty members was the biggest the group got, and two women were part of it during its history.
“This group is active in the various projects of Kiwanis,” Beck said.
Harry Giesselman was the KiTones’ first director, and his wife Lois was the accompanist. She continued playing after he stepped down, Wurst said.
Cindy Mavis and Beck also served as KiTones directors. Wes Skelton and Dana Nottingham have been the group’s accompanists.
“When we were active, we’d perform two times a month, up to four times a month,” Beck said.
Nursing homes, reunions, funerals and hospitals were common places for them to sing. Wurst said he thought nursing homes brought the most joy.
“We’d sing songs people knew,” he said.
The KiTones were a fixture on the Fourth of July, singing every year since 1971.
A military medley featuring the service branch songs was a favorite. Beck said “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was one of his favorite pieces.
The average age of the KiTones in 2022 was 88, Wurst said. Adding Jonathan Jank dropped the age to 83.3. The Covid-19 pandemic shut down practices, and that led to the group’s retirement.
