History
Capsule History of the Ridgewood, NJ Chapter
The first organizational meeting was held in the Pioneer Hall – Ridgewood, NJ, on October 7, 1947. The meeting was attended by a number of interested men and the entire Paterson, NJ, chapter sponsors.
The Charter was granted April 22, 1948 with 35 members. It was officially presented to the Chapter on June 16, 1948 at the then Ridgewood Elks Club, now the Village Hall.
The first President was co-founder Ed Spinnler, then with the Public Service Electric and Gas Co.
The first chorus directors were the late Gus Eppel of the Ridgewood News directing glee club numbers and Victor Ledeky directing barbershop harmony.
The first annual concert titled “Harvest of Harmony” was held October 9, 1948, in the Ridgewood High School Chapel. Unlike present day shows, this was primarily a parade of quartets, fourteen in number with two appearances of the Ridgewood Chapter chorus. One of the oldest members in the society, the late Jackson Nichol, sold about 90% of the ads in the program book. He passed on to Barbershopper’s land of eternal harmony a few years later at the age of 92.
Sadly, the Ridgewood Cavaliers of Harmony barbershop chorus has rung its last chord as of November 6, 2017, ending its 70 year history of preserving and encouraging barbershop singing in America.
Keep the whole world singing,
The Ridgewood Cavaliers of Harmony
