The story of The Hempfield Band Sub
- Rene
- Aug 21
- 4 min read
In recent Facebook groups, several inquiries were made to when the sub was created, one reply included (below) the peculiar history of how the Hempfield Band Sub, now over 50 years going was brought to here:
They are a Band Tradition! The history read – courtesy of Thomas Methven: in 1965. The band director was Tom McKenna. We sold everything from Wilson’s candy bars to Bayberry candles to raise money to attend the Cherry Blossom festival in Washington DC. The following year 1966 when we showed up for band camp there was a new band director, a unique gentleman, frantically throwing out catch phrases such as “The monkey is on your back” or “I am talking about the big P”. Mr. McKenna had left to join the priesthood, and here is this man that came from Oklahoma State, chain smoking, drinking coffee all day long and confusing the heck out of us kids. His name was Jack Irwin. After a few weeks he announced we would sell Subs to make money. Trust me, it was 1966, we all knew what hoagies were, but subs were underwater vessels. It probably was another few days until we knew they were sandwiches! There was no Band Parents organization yet, we kids were on our own. The Band Director handled everything. Knocking on doors at our usual Christmas card customers we had to explain what they were buying without actually knowing what we were selling. As a result from memory the total number sold was only around 180 at $1.00 each.
We had a Friday home football game. After, we reported to the Kennedy School house in Youngwood ( near the A&S pistol range ). Only about 20 band members and 10 parents showed up to help make the subs. There were 4 tables set up, with nothing on them. The building had no food in it yet. After an hour of waiting, Mr. Irwin shows up with all the ingredients, heads of lettuce, tomatoes, buns and such. It is then we realized that only one person brought a sharp knife, and we could not have been less prepared if we tried. Some Youngwood mothers went home to get trays, knives, and other gear to get the ball rolling. Then the process starts with Mr. Irwin explaining the way to make the subs. It is then that Mrs. Eicher, the lunch lady at New Stanton Elementary, said in a loud voice “We have to put pickles on them! They are not hoagies without pickles!” To which Mr. Irwin replied, “ They are not hoagies, they are subs, and we are NOT putting pickles on them” Mrs. Eicher says “If we are not putting pickles on them I am going home”, to which Mr. Irwin said, “thank you for coming, and please take your pickles with you”. She left!
It is now Midnight and we are stuck there, the kids that drove had Jr. Licenses! The subs get made, wrapped and labeled onion or no onion. Everything except the meat and cheese was cut by hand by our Mothers as us kids watched. Looking back, it was like watching a child learn to walk with it’s mother holding its hands all the while. We finished at around 3:00am and most went home with their parents. The leftover meat went home with my Mom and put in our freezer. I was stuck with 8 other kids in Youngwood. We had a band member with us that lived 2 blocks away so we all crashed on her living room floor. When we could drive in the morning we went home to deliver our subs. Do the math, that was a 26 hour shift with the Friday school day, the football game performances, and the sub sale.
I think we sold 500 for the next sale, and moved to the New Stanton fire hall. Everybody still brought their own knives, trays, table cloths, and gear. You were responsible for making all the subs you sold, if you got help that was great, but some kids only sold 2 or 3 and would leave as soon as they made them! When I had my last sub sale in 1968 we were selling 1800 to 2000 at $1.50 each. We took a trip the Cotton festival in Memphis in 1967, and the Apple festival in Winchester in 1968. We developed the assembly line, 2 color wrappers, brown for “onions” so we did not have to label, and everyone stayed until the job was finished.
Making subs became fun, our customers loved them, and we did not have to sell them stuff they did not want or have a use for. I can still smell the ozone from all the electric knives we burned up slicing buns! Now my Grandchildren are addicted to them, I still eat ½ of one for breakfast when they arrive, and the other ½ for lunch, and they taste EXACTLY the same as they did in 1965. How many thousands have been sold? Millions? I don’t have that answer, but I do know thanks to the tenacity of one Mr. Jack Irwin, the strange man that came from Oklahoma State University to direct our band, you and all the band members from 1965 until now have all made very nice band trips on the money from sub sales. And still NO pickles!