Letter to the Editor- Memories of Stanley Wraspir

To the Editor:

Reading the August 4, 1988 history, I saw the name Stanley Wrasper and it brought back memories of me playing a gig with him and with Richard Totusek on piano.

This was in the summer of 1959 while I was working on the Ott ranch. I was given the oldest set of drums that I had ever seen in my 55 years of playing. The set had to be from the very early 1900s.

We played at a place in Wilson Creek. What I remember is Stanley and Richard whistling in harmony all the way from Irby to the gig. Not one song but one after another, and in my mind I can still hear them doing this.

Now, my style of drumming was a little bit different than theirs, as I had been in one of the first rock bands in the Northwest. I was lucky that we had worked jobs that did the twenties, thirties and forties style of music so I knew the music.

Now I don't remember if we got paid or not, but I was able to tell other groups that I worked with about the fun I had that night.

I can see Stanley in my mind coming down into Irby to the post office and sitting at the kitchen table, covered in dust from the open-faced combines, but those eyes would be sparkling as he talked.

Chuck Wood

Gig Harbor, WA