Although he is no longer able to share his own story the daughters of Chandler P. Worley were in Indianola last Friday to toot their father’s horn.
Worley, a World War II veteran, noted band director and brass musician, is credited with establishing and organizing several bands in the Delta and during his stint in the military, including the first one ever at Gentry High School.
The Worley sisters, DeLynn Worley Corica and Jane Worley Barrett, spoke to the band students at Gentry High to share their father’s story and give the band members a glimpse into history.
“I looked y’all up, I Googled you and ya’ll are pretty swell, a pretty special band,” Corica said.
As part of their presentation, Barrett and Corica showed the students news articles, photos and other documents that depicted the chronology of Worley’s life.
And the students were able to hold and play the very same instruments Worley played that won him many competitions.
Worley, who served as director of the Indianola High School band for several years, was from a very musical family.
His grandfather B.W. Worley was a band director. In addition, according to the book, Fevers, Floods and Faith, his father Chandler Worley could be listed in a “Who’s Who of the Delta” for his musical contributions.
Chandler Worley is recognized as having formed the first regimental band at the University of Mississippi in the 1920’s, plus he is credited with organizing as many as 13 other bands in various Delta towns.
As a little boy, Chandler P. learned to play the bugle and played it at Boy Scout camp.
The Worley men were not the only ones to fall prey to the musical lure.
Corica said their Aunt Sue was a bugler who played bugle for special occasions, but gave it up to never play again after a high-note mishap.
According to Corica, their father, Chandler P., fresh out of Sunflower Junior College and following in his dad’s foot steps, was in Indianola looking for a place to live after being offered a job at the junior college, and ran into school superintendent Mr. Lockard who offered him a job, teaching band at the high school.
Corica said their dad was all set to take the job at the junior college until he was introduced to the head drum major at the high school, a young lady who eventually became their mother. “He saw her and he said to Mr. Lockard, ‘I’ll take the job,’ Corica said.
She said he took the job because of her.
“And he became her math teacher and her band director and when she was old enough to date at 18, they went out together and then they got married and then they had all of us,” she said with a smile.
The sisters have four brothers.
Chandler P. worked in Indianola for just over a year before being called up to serve in World War II.
Corica said one of the first things he did in the military was organize a drum and bugle corps.
Before leaving for his tour of duty, Worley reportedly struck a chord of conformity with his aforementioned love interest. “He had told our mother, she was leaving for college, ‘Go to college, and have a good time, but just don’t marry anybody until I get back.’ So, that’s what she did,” Corica said.
However, Corica said their mother had become head majorette at Ole Miss and consequently several fraternity boys offered their fraternity pins to her and she apparently accepted some. She was even wearing somebody’s pin when their father returned home from war to see her at college.
Corica said their mother came downstairs wearing the pin, but promptly excused herself and went back upstairs. “And when she came back downstairs, she was not wearing the pin anymore. Their mom finished that semester and she and Worley were married in 1945.
When he moved back to Indianola, someone approached him about being the band director at Gentry because there were students who were interested in having a marching band so they could march in the town’s parades. “There was no band department, there was no band director, but he said yes,” said Corica.
Despite already having a full-time band director’s job and six children of his own, Worley took on the task of organizing a band for Gentry’s students. Corica said Worley agreed to teach the students one song so they could participate in the parades, but had to compile instruments and uniforms.
Corica said based on the stories they were told, “He worked so hard with all of the people in town. He looked for used instruments, he went to pawn shops, he asked people for money, he asked businesses to donate money and clothes.” She said black pants and white shirts were the first band’s uniform.
Although donations were received, Corica said it wasn’t enough so the students ended up contributing 10 to 25 cents or whatever they could afford each week in order to get their instruments.
During his tenure as director, Worley was fortunate enough to raise enough money at one point to take the band on an overnight trip to Memphis to march in a parade. Corica said Worley was really enthused about Gentry’s band.
“There were a lot of times when he said I just can’t wait to get over there,” Barrett added.
Corica read from a newspaper article that described Worley’s affiliation with the band. “As director of the band, Chandler’s only pay was his own satisfaction and extreme gratitude from the school and the students,” she said.
Gentry Band Director, Natarsha Ford said the sisters reached out to her first because they were searching for documentation and thought she might be able to help. Ford said after speaking with Barrett she asked the ladies to come and share what they had with the students because she felt it would be of interest to her musicians.
Ford said she would like to have the Worleys back to speak to other members of the community and possibly former band members. “I think this should be a bigger deal than just them in here,” she said.
