During the final weeks of December, as New Year’s Day quickly approaches, string bands participating in the annual Mummers Parade are extremely busy. It’s crunch time, with props to finish, costumes to tailor and arrangements to perfect.
Still, this high-pressure time of year didn’t stop the Langhorne-based Uptown String Band from breaking out champagne-filled Dixie Cups in the middle of rehearsal to celebrate longtime member and Huntingdon Valley resident Robert Haywood, who was inducted into the Philadelphia String Band Association Hall of Fame.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Haywood said of this honor, which welcomes him into the ranks of past inductees such as Joe Ferko, John Fralinger and Quaker City Captain Bob Shannon.
Haywood, who was nominated for Hall of Fame status by his fellow Mummers, marked his 50th — and final — parade in 2022, at the age of 71. Marching in the usually-frigid temperatures of January began to be too much, with Haywood’s cardiologist recommending he take it easy from strenuous activity … especially after having three stents installed several years prior.
Still, Haywood remains heavily involved with Uptown, helping out at rehearsals, performing at smaller gigs and more. He’s also able to look back with pride on the past five decades, which saw him fiercely stick by the band throughout a slew of changes.
Haywood’s journey to Mummering began during his years as a middle schooler in the Bensalem Township School District, where he joined the Cecelia Snyder band as a trumpet player. Eventually, following the graduation of his tuba-playing older brother, the marching band required a new tubist, and Haywood volunteered to switch his instrument of choice.
Over the next few years, Haywood lent his newfound tuba skills to the Southeast Pennsylvania District Band, the All-State Collegiate Band and the Pennsylvania Collegiate Band, all while student teaching and preparing to become a math instructor.
Meanwhile, Haywood’s brother, as well as his brother’s friend and the friend’s father, were part of the Greater Bucks County String Band. In 1965, it became the first non-Philadelphia-based string band to take home the first-place prize in the Mummers Parade. However, after a dispute between the owner of the band’s charter and its elected executive board, the members walked out. Soon after, a deal was struck with the Kensington-based Harrowgate, which had recently disbanded.
With his brother’s band now based out of Bucks County, Haywood decided to join. The only catch was, Harrowgate, which would go on to acquire the Uptown charter, had no use for a tuba or trumpet player. But that wasn’t a problem. Haywood taught himself to play tenor saxophone, and was welcomed with open arms.
“So that’s how it happened. It was because my brother was there, and because his high school best friend was there, who was there because the father of my brother’s best friend was a banjo player in the Bucks County String Band,” Haywood said with a laugh. “That’s how I got my foot in the door.”
The year 1972 marked Haywood’s first time marching in the Mummers Parade. The theme was “Philadelphia Fantasy,” and he donned an exceptionally fancy costume borrowed from a past member, since he joined later in the year.
For Haywood, countless fond memories come to mind when he reflects on the past 50 years. Yet two will forever remain at the forefront of his mind. In 1976, when Harrowgate performed a locomotive train theme, Haywood, who was serving as assistant music director at the time, was asked to arrange “Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Goo’bye)” by Al Jolson for the band’s exit tune. Harrowgate ended up securing the top prize that year.
“As the judges are marking the points on the cards, the very last thing they hear is your exit tune as you march away from the judges’ stand,” said Haywood. “So I arranged music that was part of a winning string band. We had a big party that night.”
His second favorite memory is from a few months after Harrowgate’s big win. Various string bands took part in a parade that wrapped around the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Naturally, the band played a tune that was just becoming a staple of the location.
“We came around the corner into the area where all the bleachers are and we broke into the theme from Rocky. The people were cheering so loud, I couldn’t hear myself or the other guys playing,” he said. “The crowd was so loud, I had to really, really concentrate on where we were in the music. It was the loudest noise I ever heard.”
Another point of pride, Haywood was instrumental in executing the 1990 deal that saw Harrowgate purchase the Uptown String Band charter, officially making the band a member of the Philadelphia String Band Association, which it wasn’t previously. He also aided in moving its headquarters from the William Penn Firehouse in Hulmeville to the Parkland Fire Company hall in 2015.
Of course, not everything was always sunshine and rainbows. There were directors that Haywood didn’t agree with, and decisions made that he felt negatively toward. Still, despite these occasional rough times, it was never a thought for him to abandon the band and jump ship. While spending 50 years as a Mummer isn’t unheard of, Haywood explained how rare it is for someone to stay with the same group for that long and not see if the grass is greener elsewhere.
“I’m someone who tries to be dedicated to anything I do,” he said.
This is true regarding Uptown, and also all other aspects of Haywood’s life. For example, since the late 1980s, he has served as the organist — and eventual treasurer and property manager — for the First Mennonite Church, located on Huntingdon Pike. Though his religious background is Lutheran, Presbyterian and non-denominational, there was a need and he was more than happy to fill it.
Haywood and his wife Kathy, a native of Frankford, moved to Huntingdon Valley after getting married. They wanted to reside in a nice suburb with a good school system, and it seemed like the perfect fit. For this musical couple (Kathy is part of an accordion orchestra and, along with their daughter, a member of the Abington Choral Club), their current home is even more perfect.
The house was purchased from the owner/director of the Huntingdon Valley Dinner Theater, which closed in the late ‘80s due to the next generation not taking an interest in a buffet meal and musical. Haywood described the home as a “handyman special” that required a lot of repairs, but he was thrilled to live in a space previously occupied by a true lover of the arts. In fact, when the Haywoods moved in, there were still photos of Andrea McArdle in Annie and other memorabilia.
His original intended career as a high school math teacher was possibly the only short-lived endeavor of Haywood. While student teaching in his last semester of college, he realized that the classroom simply wasn’t for him.
“I enjoyed the teaching part. I did not like the discipline part,” he said, recalling how some of the tougher teens would talk back and refuse to cooperate.
So, Haywood switched gears and found something that fed his passion for numbers, but didn’t require him to issue detentions: serving as the budget manager for the U.S. Navy’s half-a-billion-dollar budget for helicopter parts. He was able to take an early retirement about 20 years ago.
As Haywood adjusts to his second retirement, this one from marching up Broad Street on New Year’s Day, he’s keeping busy by maintaining his duties at the church, performing smaller Mummers gigs through the year (including a 100th birthday party in Hatboro), and offering help to the next generation of Uptown members if ever needed.
According to Haywood, this is possibly the band’s youngest leadership team to date. When he joined, nobody on the executive board was under the age of 50. Now, many are around the age of 30. He’s excited to witness what’s in store for the future of Uptown, but also the entirety of string bands.
“The whole thing has evolved,” he said. “There’s more saxophones, big band music, rap music. It’s no more just sing-along songs.”
Ultimately, Haywood hopes that younger Uptown members are inspired by his dedication and don’t feel compelled to look elsewhere if, and when, things get difficult.
“I would get phone calls from former members trying to recruit me, saying, ‘Come to this band.’ And I said, ‘No,’ ” reflected Haywood. “I stuck by our band.”
In fact, he has an attic that’s jam-packed with feathered and sequined costumes to prove it. ••
