THE BIRTH OF THE SOUTHERN HARMONY BRIGADE
And A Quick and Brief History

Some time prior to 1958, BHS members Joe Seegmiller, Stirling Wilson, Wally Singleton and Elford Lumpkin met in some smoke filled room and discussed the need for some kind of honorary organization in the Dixie District.  At that time the Dixie District of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA, now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society, or BHS) included the state of Florida. They contemplated a gathering that was something on the order of Sage Lake or Delasusquehudmac. 

The Sage Lake Chapter met once a year in the fall at a lodge on a beautiful little lake by the same name up in north central Michigan. Delasusquehudmac, the name derived from rivers in the Mid Atlantic District, was the brainchild of such eminent barbershoppers as Sev Severance, Stirling Wilson and Buck Dominy.  They met annually in a spot near Harrisburg. Pennsylvania.

Joe Seegmiller wrote Severance to find out how they determined the nominees to invite into membership of Delasusquehudmac.  He replied, “Members should be those who have demonstrated at the chapter level that they want to go further in barbershopping.” With that, the Confederate Chapter of SPEBSQSA was born.  As Dixie District President, Paul D Amsbary was asked to appoint a committee to choose the recipients of an invitation to become members.  This committee consisted of Joe Seegmiller, Wally Singleton and Elford Lumpkin.

It was decided the purpose was principally a means of recognizing and rewarding those who had worked extremely hard all year in their chapter or district with a weekend of relaxation, fun, fellowship and, woodshedding.  It should provide a means of face-to-face communication among a group of men highly dedicated to the ideals of barbershopping.  Those who attended would be expected to take back to their chapters the ideas which they had learned in dialog with other knowledgeable members. 

As a by-product this would promote the education of it’s members and the public in appreciation of barbershop harmony and encourage participation in district and international affairs.