Frank Haight: Happy 100th birthday to former Independence Music Man

Yes, Virginia, there is a real, live “Music Man.” And on June 6 he will observe his 100th birthday at his home at Foxwood Springs Living Center in Raymore, Mo.

Since his introduction to the piano as a 9-year-old, music has consumed the life of M. Orville Johnson. And 91 years later, the former Independence resident is still teaching music to residents of Foxwood Springs – his home since 1982 – through his three monthly “listening to music” programs.

“I am trying to keep music alive here,” says Johnson, who answers to the name of “M.O.” and “Mo.” Those have been his nicknames since some of his music students asked their teacher some 50 years ago if they could call him “Mo” instead of Dr. Johnson.

Johnson said they could if they gave their very best effort in everything he asked of them in class.

“And do you know that within a week everyone was calling me Mo. Even the teachers were calling me that,” he says, sitting in his small apartment, surrounded by shelves containing some 250 CDs, stereo equipment and music memorabilia.

When Mo and his late wife, Margaret, came to Foxwood Springs some 30 years ago, they joined nearby Raymore Christian Church. And it wasn’t long before he was directing the chancel choir.

“I directed the choir there for 21 years ... and gave four concerts a year,” he says, explaining the church had a lot of people interested in making music.

Mo has come a long way as a high school music educator since taking his first teaching assignment in Miller, Kan., a small town west of Osage City, Kan., with 100 residents.

“I felt kind of fortunate (getting the position),” he says, “because jobs were hard to find in those (Depression) days and (teaching) jobs were not very plentiful.”

And neither were the students. There were only 53 high schoolers and four teachers, including the principal.

With a major in piano and in sociology from the Kansas City Conservatory, Mo spent two years there teaching social studies and directing a mixed chorus.

“That’s all we had time for,” he says of the chorus, explaining that since most students lived on farms and couldn’t stay after school to practice. “They had to get back to the farm to help with the chores.”

Mo couldn’t remember where his second teaching job was. Only that it was in a small town about 20 miles south of Topeka, Kan. There he organized a 20-piece community band using high school musicians and town folks.

In Marysville, Kan., where he next taught five years, conditions were better. The school had a band, but few musicians.

“And in those five years we finally got our band to a good size and gave our first concert, and I spell concert with a small ‘c,’ ” he says laughing.

Then it was off to Pittsburg, Kan., where Mo found many musicians and singers. So to keep them interested, he instilled in them that in their later lives they would use music longer and later than almost anything else in their lives.

“You can sing in a choir or you can sing in a group and you can have fun with your music,” he told them, adding: “You will enjoy it because your are a part of it.”

Apparently the kids got the message.

“That (advice) seemed to help a lot of them, because when they came back for a reunion, they would come to me and say, ‘Boy, we are sure glad you told us all about music.’”

And Mo is glad they listened, too, because the music groups and individuals under his supervision consistently won high ratings at both district and state music festivals.

What he stressed in the five years he was director of music of the Pittsburg public schools, Mo also expounded when he became director of music for Independence secondary schools in 1949.

As teacher of band, instrument and choir, Mo says he was pleased and excited to be in Independence because of its proximity to Kansas City, where he was born on June 6, 1912, and grew up with his sister.

When Mo, who taught almost 30 years in the Independence school system, reported to the old William Chrisman building on West Maple Avenue, he found there was nothing there for music.

Calling Independence “a tiring place to work,” Mo says the band and the choirs shared the same room, which he says was not ideal for music.

“When I stood on the podium to direct, my head almost touched the lights,” he recalls, then adds: “And it was hard on the kids’ ears as well as mine.”

Noting the school system had done nothing for music, Mo says he was hired to improve the situation.

“I got by,” he says, recalling conditions greatly improved when the new Chrisman High School opened in 1958 at U.S. 24 and North Noland Road.

In the long run, Independence became the ideal place to work, he says.

“I can tell you that out of 50 voices, there were at least 10 to 15 girls that took private lessons. And same with the boys. Well, that makes a difference in the quality of music, so (Chrisman) made high marks in music all the time.”

During Mo’s tenure as band director, Chrisman’s marching band was called upon to provide music on numerous occasions at local events involving Harry S. Truman.

One occasion was the day Truman returned home from the presidency. And Mo remembers it well.

“It was a rather cool night and we played as he came into his home. We were standing in the street and he turned around to say goodbye to the people. Then he came down to the (street) and thanked the band for playing.”

Says Mo: “That’s a pretty nice thing to do.”

How well did Mo know the former president?

“I think he at least knew who I was and I knew who he was,” Mo recalls, saying he and Truman often exchanged greetings as Truman walked past Chrisman when he was in town.

While Mo remembers more things than he has forgotten, his earliest memory is having his picture taken in front of his house on Wyoming Street as a 3- or 4-year-old.

“I remember that picture being taken just as clear as if it was yesterday,” he says.

As for his happiest remembrance, Mo says it was his marriage to Margaret Lazuway, whom he married in 1936. They were married 65 years and were the parents of two daughters.

Is there anything missing in Mo’s musical career?

“I would have liked to have directed a symphony orchestra one or twice,” he says.

Any surprises?

“I am surprised the things that have gone so well in my life,” he says. “Things I never dreamed I would be doing I did, and I did them successfully. I had ambition to do them when they came around. If you let the Lord lead, He will get you where He wants you to be.”

And on becoming a centenarian, Mo credits the Lord for his longevity, saying, “It’s quite an honor.”

Mo has faithfully served the Lord musically wherever he has lived.

“In every town I served, I did something with music in the church, and I have continued to do that even in retirement,” he says.

And lest I forget, Mo directed the choir at the First Baptist Church in Independence for about six months. He also was choir director at First Christian Church from 1951 to 1978.

Because Mo’s birthday falls on Wednesday, June 6, his birthday at Foxwood Springs will be celebrated in Homes Hall from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 3, so more family members and friends can attend.

Here’s wishing you a happy and musical birthday, Mo.