Hinckley in DeKalb County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The Golden Age of Bands

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 24, 2025

1. The Golden Age of Bands Marker

Inscription. The center of town was the site of summer band concerts during the early years of Hinckley. Concerts were given in the band stand a few steps east of here and also in the middle of Lincoln Avenue and Sycamore Street. There were town bands, military bands and finally school bands. The most notable of the directors was R.B. Wight, who with the help of his wife Edna, attracted students to enjoy instrumental music from 1941 to 1966. The bands performed in parades, fairs, entertainment parks and concerts. Wight built school pride by writing the music to the Hinckley-Big Rock loyalty song. The Hinckley and HBR soloists, ensembles and bands won repeated superior ratings, state championships and the Governor's trophy during this period. The Wights demonstrated that many can excel in music.

Erected 2022 by Hinckley Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education • Parks & Recreational Areas • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1941.

Location. 41° 46.155′ N, 88° 38.367′ W. Marker is in Hinckley, Illinois, in DeKalb County. It is at the intersection of Maple Street and Lincoln Avenue (U.S. 30), on the right when traveling north on Maple Street

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. The marker is in front of the Hinckley Community Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 Maple Street, Hinckley IL 60520, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Illinois.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Lester Howard Wade (a few steps from this marker); William H. Rissman (within shouting distance of this marker); Irving Wade (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of the First Permanent Settlement in DeKalb County (approx. 0.6 miles away); Welcome to Hinckley (approx. 0.6 miles away); Bicentennial Grove (approx. 6.6 miles away); Stone Mill Museum (approx. 8.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hinckley.

Also see . . . The Hinckley Music Man. A 2020 newsletter from the Hinckley Historical Society includes an article about R.B. and Edna Wight, who are honored on this historical marker.

Excerpt: "R.B. studied music at the Columbia and also Vandercook Schools of Music in the 1920s. Over the next decade he created interest in forming bands in small towns from Maywood, Frankfort, Tinley Park and Mokena, to Elwood, Manhattan and Plano. At the time, band directing was not a full-time paid position so besides teaching in Plano, Wight cultivated interest in Big Rock in 1941 to add
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 24, 2025

2. Hinckley Community Building
2 or 3 days a week for grade school and high school instruction. By 1946, the Hinckley Board of Education voted to hire Wight as well. That fall Wight held combined band concerts with all three of his bands--Plano, Big Rock and Hinckley--in each town."

(Submitted on May 27, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, May 24, 2025

3. The Golden Age of Bands Marker

Close-up of R.B. and Edna Wight

Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 27, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 127 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 27, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.