By JOHN BENSON

Special to The Gazette

In no small terms can you accurately describe Litchfield Town Band Conductor Kenneth Bradley.

Since Harry Truman was in office and swing music was still the rage, the Litchfield Township native and saxophonist has not only conducted the town band but also never missed a practice or a show.

At the age of 83, Bradley feels conducting and playing music keep him active and feeling young.

“I think it does,” Bradley laughed. “And we have a good time. Some practices don’t go like I’d like them, so sometimes we have to work the music out.”

The Litchfield Town Band specializes in march (or Sousa) music, as well as old time standards, swing, polkas and square dancing songs.

“We have a pretty well-balanced band this year,” Bradley said. “We’ve very low in clarinets but we’ve always had a pretty strong trumpet section. And that’s needed because the trumpet section almost always has the lead. We also have a good tuba section.”

Among the band that boasts more than 25 members, which includes musicians from Litchfield Township as well as Lodi and Vermillion, are members ranging in age from the early teens to their mid-80s.

When asked why not only the Litchfield Town Band has lasted so long, the bandleader replied, “We’ve lasted because we’re friendly. I’ve played in other bands and after a year of playing you still don’t know who you’re sitting besides.

“We have fun doing it, and I don’t use a big heavy stick. Nobody gets balled out. We just don’t do that, and there’s no such thing as a first or second chair. We’ve got some youngsters who just started coming in the last few weeks, and we’re playing music that’s beyond them but they have to start somewhere.”

Averaging about 18 shows a year, the Litchfield Town Band schedules numerous Ice Cream Social performances every summer. This year’s calendar includes 7:30 p.m. shows on July 18, 25 and Aug. 15 at the gazebo in the Litchfield Town Circle Park. Held rain or shine, the concerts are moved indoors to the old firehouse if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.

There is perhaps nothing more American than sitting in a park listening to a local band playing music from a gazebo. Norman Rockwell, where are you?

“I think people enjoy what we do,” Bradley said. “We play the kind of music that people want to here. We don’t play what I call longhaired stuff. We’ll play an overture once in a while, but it’s not a 15-minute deal.”

He added, “I think if people didn’t like what they heard, they probably wouldn’t come back.”

Benson may be reached at ididhear@aol.com.