It all began innocently enough in the late 1960s when Dave Oppermann, a business person by day and a sing-along piano player by night, and drummer Bob “the Silver Fox” Gunther held forth performing weekends at various nightspots in Saginaw, Michigan. On occasion, they were joined by trumpeter Gary Miller, pastor of a local church, who on Saturday nights would visit local bars with the admirable goal of offering counsel and support to “lost souls.”
So it was in February of 1970 that this association led to the Reverend Miller asking Dave Oppermann to organize a seven-piece group for a single performance—a Dixieland worship service at his church. Just prior to the designated date, the church secretary was preparing the Sunday bulletin and needed to know the name of the band. With a kneejerk reaction, the Pastor responded “the New Reformation Dixieland Jazz Band.”
Perhaps more out of curiosity, the sanctuary was filled to near-capacity to hear the group perform a half-dozen familiar tunes chosen from the hymnal, backed by the Church’s 40-voice choir and organ. Closing with the inevitable “The Saints Go Marching In,” the experiment was gauged to be a huge success and inspirational religious experience.
One More Time?
The Deer Acres Amusement Park in Pinconning, Michigan, now abandoned, did have a pe
