Shivelbine Music store celebrates milestones

When you think of band instruments in Southeast Missouri, you think of the name Shivelbine.

The Shivelbine family, through its business, has provided musical instruments for thousands upon thousands of musicians over the years. This time of the year is particularly busy for them as they get school bands ready for their marching performances.

As reported recently by business editor Jay Wolz, the roots of the Shivelbine Music store dates back nearly 100 years to a local saxophone player and entrepreneur named Raymond "Peg" Meyer. "Back in the 1920s and '30s, he would go around from town to town and talk to school superintendents, encouraging them to start band programs," said Mike Shivelbine. "He would find a choir director or piano teacher or some member of the school faculty who knew a little bit about music, and he would instruct them on how to start kids on various band instruments."

Meyer would call upon William A. Shivelbine, the band director at the Cape Giradeau Central High School.

In the early 1940s, Meyer and Shivelbine formed a partnership, and the business grew from there.

Shivelbine Music is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, and also the 50th year at its location on Broadway.

The current owners say that the high school bands are what has kept the business afloat all these years. But it could easily be argued the other way around. The Shivelbine family has kept the bands playing for decades by providing quality instruments.

Next time you go to a football game and see a marching band, there's a good chance that the majority of those instruments were provided through Shivelbine.

Local business is the drumbeat of any community, but Shivelbine can say that quite literally. Congratulations to the family for sustained success over the years, and thanks for keeping the music alive in Southeast Missouri.