Otto Mesloh : Family Recollections Of Otto

Since our initial "Spotlight" posting on Otto Mesloh, his great-nephew Karl contacted us with further information about his famous uncle. He recently found Otto's cornet and old band cap, and he related to us what his family members recall about Otto and his legacy. Here's what Karl added:

On the Mesloh musical tradition

"Musical talent ran through the maternal side of my great grandparents (that is, Otto's mother). Margaret Henning Boecker (Otto's niece, who remembers sitting on his lap at the age of 3 and receiving a beautiful tan sweater from him for Christmas), is a pianist and taught piano; Susan Durnbaugh (Mrs. Boecker's daughter) is a flautist; and my cousin, E. D. "Doug" Mesloh, and I are ('were' is now more accurate!) both cornetists-trumpeters."

On Otto's instruments

"Otto had two cornets, one that he played in various orchestras and the other which he played in various bands. At Otto's death, his brother, Harry, in Columbus, Ohio got both horns. The orchestra horn was lent to my cousin Doug, who played it through high school; it was given to Harry's grandson when Doug returned it. The second cornet was given to Harry's sister, Emma (mother of Louise Henning Laut and Margaret Henning Boecker), so that her grandson, John Laut, could learn to play. When John's mother, Louise, died recently, the cornet was given to Margaret, who then gave it to me. I consider it a real treasure."

On Otto's skill

"Of all Otto's talents, the two that impressed me the most were his ability to walk up to a cornet suspended on a string and hit 'high C'; hitting high C is the ultimate with cornet or trumpet players, and Otto did it with ease, extreme ease! The second was his ability to sustain a single note or a trill for upwards of three to five minutes by a system of reserving breath while inhaling. I tried and tried but was never successful in doing so."

On recent finds

"I had another thrill of a lifetime this week! As I was searching a storage area out in the barn, I came across a box under a bunch of stuff tucked away in the back corner; lo and behold, it contained Otto's Sousa Hat!"

Next: Criticism of Mesloh's style 1, 2, 3, 4, 5