Lobby, courtesy of Fairwinds, Brighton Court, Lynnwood
Veterans Day generated three gigs for me, and the first one was at Fairwinds, Brighton Court in Lynnwood on Saturday, 9 November 2024—two days before the actual Veterans Day (11 November). The other two performances will be covered in forthcoming blog posts.
I’ve now performed at 32 retirement communities, including many repeat appearances, throughout the Greater Seattle area. Fairwinds, Brighton Court is now the leader with six performances. My first trumpet show there was in 2018.
On this occasion, I appeared in my VFW uniform and presented my one-hour show, “I Stand for the Flag.” The audience was large and quite responsive. I used five horns: trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, bugle, and pocket trumpet. The show consists of about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. The audience sings along.
I look forward to returning for a seventh time in 2025, God willing. I offer six different shows, so next time could be entirely a different experience for the residents. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Outdoors at 9 a.m. on Saturday, 11 November, at VFW Eagleson Post 3063’s hall in Ballard, I sounded my first bugle call of the day, “Assembly.” It called to order their Flag Ceremony to dedicate the Post’s new flagpole. Two speeches followed, one by the Post Commander, Alyson Teeter, and the other by Harold Rodenberger, the Post’s legendary veteran. A plaque honoring Rodenberger was unveiled.
As the old, worn flag was lowered, I sounded “Retreat.” Then, as the new, crisp flag was raised, I sounded “To the Color.” Afterwards, the Post hosted an open house (please see https://vfwseattle.org/). Those were the first three of seven bugle calls that I sounded during the day, using my Getzen Field Trumpet (i.e., bugle).
Joseph Fitzgerald invited me to do this. He’s a good friend and a former student of mine (see my blog post of 17 November 2017 in the Archives in the left column). He is Captain of the Post’s Color Guard and a former Commander of Post 3063. By the way, the Post “willingly accepts for proper disposal all United States Flags that are no longer wanted or are worn and no longer fit for display.” The Post’s name honors Lt. James Mills Eagleson, Army, WWI, who died in 1919 (please see https://www.facebook.com/uwlibscimed/posts/696495093858841).
Veterans Park, Lynnwood
Pvt. Walter A. Deebach, WWI
At 11 a.m., I again sounded “Assembly,” calling to order the annual Veterans Day ceremony, hosted by VFW Post 1040 in the City’s Veterans Park in downtown Lynnwood. As the Post’s Bugler, I’ve been doing this since 2011. Performing several songs on his bagpipe was Kyle Gaul, Piper. To end the ceremony, Laurence Stusser and I sounded “Echo Taps.”
This post honors Walter A. Deebach, Sr. in its name. He was a WWI Army private who fought in France and Germany and suffered lung damage from mustard gas used by the Germans. He was the leader in founding Post 1040. Please see an article by his daughter at https://myedmondsnews.com/2014/11/looking-back-father-walter-deebach-wwi/. She writes that in 1943, he was appointed “Director of the VFW’s Rehabilitation and Service Department for the State of Washington, with his office in Seattle. For the next 25 years, until his retirement in 1968 at the age of 70, assisting veterans and/or their survivors was his work.”
Fairwinds, Brighton Court, Lynnwood
At 2 p.m., I opened my trumpet show with a march, “British Grenadiers,” that is more than 300 years old. This was my fifth performance at this retirement community. I have six one-hour trumpet shows, and when retirement communities celebrate the military, as on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day, Armed Forces Day, and others, someone always invites me to perform “I Stand for the Flag.” It consists of 24 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I wear my VFW Post 1040 uniform.
The two bugle calls in this show are my favorites [besides “Taps”]–“Sunset” (British) and “Tattoo” (American). When I started the show, there were about 20 people in attendance. By the time it ended, the audience had doubled. I felt like “The Pied Piper.”
I got home about 4 p.m. It was a very satisfying Veterans Day. We owe so much to those who have served, do we not? As the saying goes, “If you eat your meals in peace, thank a Veteran. Freedom is not free.”
This was my fifth performance at Fairwinds, Brighton Court (FBC) in Lynnwood–the most, so far, at any of the 29 retirements communities in the Greater Seattle area where I have presented at least one of my six trumpet shows!
Glenn Ledbetter plays “You’re a Grand Old Flag” on his Jupiter pocket trumpet.
The occasion, this time, was Flag Day, the 14th of June 2023. Flag Day commemorates the adoption on 14 June 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress, of the USA flag. The idea of celebrating this event was born in 1885. For more information about Flag Day, please use the Archives column to the left to see my blog post of 16 July 2019.
At FBC, I performed my show, “I Stand for the Flag,” which consists of about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I used four instruments: my Getzen trumpet and bugle, Super Olds Cornet, and Jupiter pocket trumpet. With the trumpet, bugle and pocket trumpet, I used my Yamaha Allen Vizzutti mouthpiece, and with my cornet, I used to two mouthpieces, a Denis Wick 4 and Bach 8C.
My last post here was in last July, about 9-1/2 months ago. Why so long ago? For a whole variety of reasons, but let me name the Big Four:
Too busy/lazy in most of July 2022
Traveling from August to mid-October
Fracture in lower back, plus sciatica, on 1 December
Recovery/rehab from December to present
Last December, I was forced to cancel four trumpet shows at retirement communities in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and La Conner, and neither could I sound “Echo Taps” at the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at Veterans Cemetery at Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle, as I have done since 2011. For three months, I had to cancel all by trumpet lessons with my students.
And now, finally, after a total of almost five months, thank God, “I’m Back in the Saddle Again,” as Gene Autrey crooned in my youth. Proof? A bone-density test showed that I don’t have osteoporosis. Recent X-rays revealed that the fracture has healed. I don’t have to wear a back brace anymore. I still use the walker or cane often, for safety, but not always, as I had to for the first three months. I’m getting out-and-about more and more!
And the best proof of all is that on 21 April, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “In Retrospect,” at Aljoya, Mercer Island, driving myself on the freeways, both to and fro. It consists of about two dozen hit songs from the residents’ era, and they get to sing (and hum) along! I used four of my five horns—trumpet, cornet, pocket trumpet, and flugelhorn, but not my bugle. It was my third appearance at Aljoya, M.I. They have now seen/heard two of my six shows. This was the first time I’ve been able to play my new flugelhorn in public. It was a Christmas gift from my wife. I used it for “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” “Alfie,” and “St. James Infirmary Blues.”
Meanwhile, just for the record, here are the 17 articles that I could have written and posted during the past 9-1/2 months, if this or that had or had not happened:
2 July – “I Stand for the Flag” performed at The Bellettini in Bellevue
17 June 2022 – “Where Were You, Back Then?” at Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre
4 July – “I Stand for the Flag” at Aljoya, Thornton Place in North Seattle
5 August – Attended 71st Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland (our fifth attendance)
30 September – Performed “Taps” for my high school classmate, Eddie Ray Hendrikson, USAF Veteran, at Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Texas
1 October – Performed abbreviated show for my classmates at our high school reunion in Texas
2 November – Performed “Echo Taps” with Laurence Stusser, trumpeter, as the “echo” at the dedication ceremony for the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Lynnwood
9 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at The Bellettini
10 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at University House, Wallingford in Seattle
11 November – Entire ceremony at Veterans Park cancelled by the City of Lynnwood; no “Echo Taps”
12 November – One of my trumpet students played “I Ain’t Worried” at Lessons In Your Home’s Fall Recital in Phinney Ridge in Seattle
14 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at Fairwinds, Brighton Court in Lynnwood
2, 5, 16, 17, & 22 December – the five cancellations mentioned above
So far this year, I’ve been very cautious about committing to my usual busy schedule of performances. Right now, I’m booked for only 8 more performances. But now that “I’m Back in the Saddle Again,” I’m ready for more!
By Angel Johnson of Aljoya, Mercer Island:
Singing “When I’m 64”
By Greg Asimakopoulos:
Flugelhorn, “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”
In early July, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” at five different retirement communities in the Greater Seattle area. Naturally, they clustered around Independence Day, the Fourth of July. In order, they were:
Merrill Gardens at the University, Seattle (1 July)
Aljoya, Mercer Island (2 July)
Fairwinds Brighton Court, Lynnwood (4 July)
Emerald Heights, Redmond (7 July)
Merrill Gardens at Burien (9 July)
This show consists of 25 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I wore my VFW Post 1040 uniform and played three instruments (my Getzen Eterna Severinsen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, and Jupiter pocket trumpet) and used three mouthpieces (Yamaha Vizutti, Bach 8C, and Denis Wick 4).
Partial view of audience, “I Stand for the Flag” trumpet show at Fairwinds Brighton Court, Lynnwood, Independence Day, 2019
It was a special joy, coming back to Fairwinds Brighton Court in Lynnwood to perform my second one-hour trumpet show there. The audience was large—about 60. It’s where my dear mother-in-law, Ruth MacDonald, occupied Room 344 for three years, and she used to love to come to the room pictured above to hear musicians play and sing.
Juna Davies, piano, accompanies Glenn Ledbetter, Getzen trumpet
This time, my show was “I Stand for the Flag,” comprised of 25 patriotic marches and songs. It was on Independence Day, the Fourth of July, in the afternoon, right after I had marched among other veterans in the Edmonds Parade, carrying the Navy flag and my Getzen bugle. My former performance at Brighton Court was of another of my shows, “Showtune Favorites” (please see my blog post of 29 September 2018).
At both performances, I was accompanied on the piano for certain songs by Juna Davies, a fellow resident and friend of Ruth’s. Together, we played six songs this time:
“The Navy Hymn” (Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
“This is My Country”
“America the Beautiful”
“God Bless America”
“You’re a Grand Old Flag”
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Photos are courtesy of Fairwinds Brighton Court. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
“You’re a Grand Old Flag”—Glenn Ledbetter, Jupiter pocket trumpet, and Juna Davies, piano
Residents of Fairwinds Brighton Court in Lynnwood applaud Trumpet Show, “Showtune Favorites,” by Glenn Ledbetter
Ruth M. MacDonald celebrates her 84th birthday on New Year’s Day, 2010
Last year, when I first thought of performing a trumpet show at numerous retirement homes, Fairwinds Brighton Court (FBC) was my initial target venue. That’s because my dear mother-in-law, Ruth M. MacDonald, lived there in Room 344 for three years, 2010-2012. She enjoyed the various shows on Sunday afternoons, and we relatives enjoyed attending with her often. So, on 23 September, I dedicated my performance and paid tribute to her—a bright spirit with a warm heart full of love, kindness, and good humor, may she rest in peace. My wife, daughter, and granddaughter attended and honored her with me.
My one-hour trumpet show, “Showtune Favorites,” comprised 24 songs from musicals and movies that are quite familiar to the audience of about 25-30. In fact, they sang along with many of the songs, including “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'” from Oklahoma!, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz, ” and “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady.”
Juna Davies, accompanist to Glenn Ledbetter on trumpet, playing “You’re A Grand Old Flag”
For the finale, I was accompanied by pianist Juna Davies, a FBC resident and former friend of Ruth’s. We distributed a handout of the lyrics, and the audience sang as we played “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” It was written by George M. Cohan in 1906, for the musical, George Washington, Jr. It is said to be the first song from a musical to sell more than one million copies of sheet music. Today, most of us know it from James Cagney’s performance in the 1942 movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy.
During the show, I used two trumpets and one cornet, two mutes, and four mouthpieces.
Fairwinds Brighton Court
Located at 6520 196th St. SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036, a couple of blocks west of Highway 99, FBC was built in 1989. It is quite lovely and offers both independent and assisted living apartments for seniors. They come in three types: studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom, all with fully equipped kitchens, walk-in closets, individually controlled heating, and built-in emergency communication systems. The studios are 377 sq. ft., one-bedrooms are 547 sq. ft., and two-bedrooms are 788 sq. ft. The floor plans and 34 beautiful photos of the exterior and interiors are shown on the website, https://www.leisurecare.com/our-communities/fairwinds-brighton-court.
Some of the many apartment features and facility amenities are listed here:
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 