The Choo Choo Chorus Newsletter For August 3

You're receiving this e-mail because you are a member or friend of the Choo Choo Chorus

August 3, 2023

Barry Owens and Classic Harmony at UTC Game

In This E-mail

Script For Thursday's Meeting
From The Prez
From The Show Chairman
Barry's Celebration of Life
Barry Owens Remembered
Members Remember Barry

Calendar
(Click For Details)

Chapter Meeting, Thursday, August 3, 7 PM, Ponders

Lakeside Harmony Weekend, August 4-6. Details

Annual Show, Saturday, August 12, 4 PM, Colonnade. Details

Fall Dixie 75th Anniversary Convention, Friday - Sunday, September, 22-24, Oxford, AL. Details

Dixie District 75th Anniversary Cruise, Monday-Friday, September, 25-29, Carnival Liberty. Details

Christmas Show, Saturday, December 9

From The Prez

We’re heading down to the wire for our Show! Let’s all be sure we know our music and reflect the message of each song to our audience! If you don’t already, be sure you have a Uniform reflecting a past period of our history picked out to wear. Please stay after and enjoy the Afterglow with us if possible. We’re going to bid adieu to Barry and Becky Arp at that time. Finally, a big thanks to Bob Robbins for volunteering to assume Barry Owens’ responsibilities as Secretary for the remainder of the year! Until next week, KTTWS. SteveB.

Members Remember Barry

Barry grew up in East Ridge near my fraternal grandparents. Hence, we had an instant connection and he always spoke highly of them both. He recently brought me a photo that he believed was of my grandfather, although I’m not so sure it was. The gesture was nonetheless appreciated. Favorite remembrance of Barry has to be the first time I ever performed with the Chorus. We had concluded our set at a local nursing home and had gone out to meet and greet. A lady confined to a wheelchair motioned the then dark haired handsome Tenor over and as Barry got to her and leaned over to speak, the lady lifted up her skirt and flashed him! We laughed for quite a while at the throughly embarrassed performer! And, yes, I never tire of telling that story. RIP, Barry Owens. SteveG

Barry and I worked at Combustion Engineering, he as a boilermaker and I was a foreman. I had a habit of walking through the work areas whistling, humming or singing and Barry decided I needed to sing Barbershop. Of course I refused to visit the chorus for quite a while, but he was very persistent and after hearing it I was hooked, Barry got me to join shortly after my first visit. Wilbur

I got to know Barry fairly well during 2022 Valentines when our quartet covered 13 stops over the weekend. Barry was gracious to invite us to his home for all of our rehearsals, and he bought us all black bow ties for the weekend and to keep. Barry was a seasoned Barbershopper, having sung for years and serving in a number of Board positions, enjoying every minute of it! Barry would do anything for you at the drop of a hat. Whenever you asked him to do something, he was always front and center and got it done! He was truly a very nice, kind person. We will all miss Barry very much! RichW

Script For Thursday's Meeting

7:00 PM - Meeting at Ponders. Rehearsing these songs;

The Old Songs
Down Our Way
Shine on Me
Sweet Adeline
Blue Skies arr. by Clay Hine
Minstrel Montage
Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie
Fun in Just One Lifetime
Yesterday
Darkness On The Delta
When She Loved Me
Let the Rest of the World Go By
Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)
God Bless America
Keep The Whole World Singing

Annual Show Songs: Blue Skys, Darkness on the Delta, Fun in Just One Lifetime, God Bless America, Hello Mary Lou, Let the Rest of the World Go By, Minstrel Montage, My Wild Irish Rose, The Old Songs, Wait, Til the Sun Shines, Nelly, When She Loved Me, and Yesterday.

Repertory: America the Beautiful, Armed Forces Medley, Blue Skies, California Here I Come, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Darkness on the Delta, Georgia on My Mind, God Bless America, Hello Mary Lou, I’m Sittin’ on Top of the World, It’s the Music that Brings Us Together, Let’s Get Away from it All, Old Folks at Home, Star Spangled Banner, Welcome Song, When She Loved Me, When There’s Love at Home, Yesterday, and You Tell Me Your Dream

From The Show Chairman

Need to turn show program ads in this Thursday if at all possible. We need to give Steve Wixson time to get that all together and to the printer. If anyone has tickets that they don't think will be sold can turn those in Thursday also. We may have to get more printed. Pete

Barry's Celebration of Life

There will be a Celebration of Life for Barry Owens on Saturday, August 5th, at Heritage House located at 1428 Jenkins Road in East Brainerd from 12 Noon to 4 PM. This will be a come and go type gathering, but the family would like those willing to sing a song or two in Barry's memory to do so around 2 PM. More details will be shared as we receive them.

Barry Owens Remembered

Barry Owens was born September 30, 1943 in Chattanooga, and passed away on July 26, 2023. He and his late wife, Nancy, had three daughters, Mary, Billie, and Becca, and Nancy was one of the starters of the Choo Choo Belles. Some of his jobs were U.S. Navy and Combustion Engineering for 30 years. He taught sixth-grade math for 10 years. For more about Barry's life in general, click HERE to go to his Facebook Page, and HERE for his Obituary..

Barry was a card-caring member of the Salvation Army during his youth, and that's where he started singing. He was in the high school chorus his senior year. He sang in the Navy's Bluejacket Choir while in Boot Camp.

After seeing a Choo Choo Chorus Show at the Tivoli in 1985, he came to a meeting the next Monday, and was a member ever since, except for a few years when he was a [Charter] member of the Cleveland Chorus. He was Board Member at Large within a year, and served as Program VP, Show Chair, Publicity, Program and Printing with wife Nancy, Bulletin Editor and recently as Secretary.

He had been to Harmony College several times and many International Conventions. He sung in the River Blenders quartet, Mixed Blend quartet (Dixie Novice Champs, 1981, photograph below, Barry, Bernard, the late David Collins, and Johnny), and Classic Harmony shown in the photograph above (Barry Owens, the late Dave Abercrombie, members Clarence and Chuck). Barry had several 'Men of Notes' including current members Bernard and Wilbur.

Mixed Blend Quartet