Beginnings: Musical Influences

Harold Meehan (1925-2000) was the orchestra and "stage band" director at South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas. It was Mr. Meehan who introduced Dave to jazz and classical music, both of which became his passion, along with poetry--this, of course, was before his having met María. Mr. Meehan had had a profound influence on Dave's life and Dave kept in touch with his mentor up to the latter's death in 2000. Dave's favorite teacher, Mr. Meehan was originally from St. Louis, Missouri, where he had heard in person the bebop giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Mr. Meehan would purchase jazz and classical recordings with school funds so that his students could listen to them. Dave began to buy recordings on his own, and would build up a sizable collection that served him well as a future writer. In the coming years, Dave would write two poems about Mr. Meehan, one in the first section of a three-part poem entitled "Jazz God & Freshman English" and the second a section in Dave's "Teachers at South Park High."

The South Park High School "stage band" was called such because dancing was frowned on in the Bible Belt. Seated in the middle of the front row is Hubert Campbell on lead alto sax; he would also occupy the same position in the Lamar State College dance band, The Technicians, and would marry Martha Sanders, who was on the staff of the Lamar student literary magazine, Pulse (see below).

After Harold Meehan had taught for years in Beaumont and later in Temple, Texas, he retired with his wife Marge to property near Nacogcoches, which she had inherited from her family. Dave visited the couple on several occasions and thoroughly enjoyed Marge's piano playing and her sense of humor and Harold's improvising on his alto sax and performing fiddle tunes that he had learned from local musicians. Unfortunately, Harold developed macular degeneration and had to depend on the services of Reading for the Blind and the Talking Book program. He ordered an audio copy of Dave's Texan Jazz and could hear his former student's tribute to him in the Preface. When Dave and his son Darío visited the Meehans circa 1995, Darío photographed Harold looking through a book entitled Bebop: The Music and the Players, by Thomas Owen, which Dave had brought along to show to his mentor. Harold has remained for Dave one of the most important persons in his life.

As a first-semester freshman at Lamar State College of Technology in Beaumont, Dave was an English major, but the second semester he switched his major to music. He greatly enjoyed playing in the college dance band, The Technicians, and being recorded in 1958 on its album, Take Four. In fact, performing with the Technicians was one of the most memorable experiences of Dave's life. Nevertheless, he still feels distress from having missed notes on the recording, which can be heard during the tune entitled "Dancing on the Ceiling." His range of notes was always limited and he "fluffed" several in that piece. He realized at the time that he would never become a professional musician.

Professor Richard Burkart (the last figure on the far right in the top row) formed The Technicians on arriving in Beaumont in 1956 to begin his teaching career at Lamar Tech. To the professor's left is Worley Hines, who worked in the oil fields but performed with the band as "screech" trumpet, meaning that he could play very high notes. At one time Worley was with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, and in 1968 he and Dave would start a student band at New Mexico Junior College, in Hobbs, NM, where Dave was then teaching and Worley was there working in the oil fields.