John Violetta

NEGAUNEE — John Violetta was born on April 22, 1919, in Negaunee to Joseph and Anna Violettta. The family home was on the west end of Iron Street.

His father was a miner and he was the director of the Negaunee City Band. John followed in his footsteps. It was his father who inspired John to have an interest in a musical career. John was three years old when he played his first horn.

During the Great Depression, it cost 10 cents to go to the movies and most children didn’t have the money to go, so John sold vegetables from their garden. He had to sell 10 bunches to get a dime. On one particular day, he decided to go and see his brother who was working at the Breitung Hotel and he still had two bunches of vegetables to sell

While he was at the hotel, Ida Sundell, the cook asked him what he was doing and he replied that he was selling vegetables so that he could go to the movies. She said it just happens that I need two bunches of carrots and she bought what John had so he could go to the movies. John caught on to this pretty quick and he knew where to go if he needed to sell his vegetables.

The street car that ran between Negaunee and Ishpeming ran past the Violetta home on Iron Street. If the city band was marching down Iron Street. At the time the street car was coming, they would split into two rows and continue marching.

John was a self-motivated teenager. By the time he was in the eighth grade, he was playing in a band at dances. This was also a time that five classmates formed a German band. John, Joseph Barabe, Lauro Perucco, Arthur Warren, and John Pellow. While other kids were attending the dance, he was playing for them. He played at the football games. Music was a very important part of his early years. He had two rehearsals a week for the city band which played a concert every week May through September.

In addition to band activities, he played two or three dance jobs a week. When he was a junior in high school, he kept a diary and during the month of December he played 32 dance jobs. He didn’t have a teen- age life, in fact, he never had a date until he was out of high school because he was so busy with music.

Besides music, he did work for a guy on Main Street for five days a week for a month. He did odd jobs, raking, taking care of the lawn and after a month the guy paid him $3. This made him angry because he was getting $1 an hour playing dance jobs. He never went back to the guy on Main Street.

John did work for Cleveland Cliffs as a lamp man. He worked two shifts a day. He worked for four hours, went home and then went back to work. He played a dance job in between.

He married June Morris in December 1939. The only night John did not work was Monday night. One night, John and his wife went to visit the Barabe’s. At 10 o’clock John was ready to go home, he was tired. His wife said, “We only go out once in a while and then we have to go home early. Why don’t you quit something.”

John considered the idea. The next morning, when his wife told him it was time for work, he said, “I quit.” Later when she reminded him that he had a dance job, he said, “I quit.” His wife said, “What are you going to do?” John said, “I’m going to open a music store.” This is how Violetta’s Music Store came into existence. It was in operation from 1946 until the early 1970s when the West End of Iron Street was vacated.

There were many music lessons taught at the store and many instruments purchased, along with other items for those interested in music. After opening the music store on Iron Street, John Violetta started many school bands, including bands at Champion, Michigamme, National Mine, Republic, Skandia, Eben, Channing, Perkins and Rock. He taught one day a week at the school until the band got started and the band members were supplied with a full time teacher.

John was a participant in many bands He played under the direction of Merle Evans, who was the director of the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. When John directed the Negaunee City Band, the last band concert of the year was circus music.

John Violetta went on a trip across Europe with a band from Vermont. He played concerts through Switzerland and Austria. His roommate during this trip was Drew Kloman, who was an actor in movies and in commercials.

John did some research for Drew and found out there was a city in Upper Michigan named after Drew’s father. In fact, Republic’s main street is named Kloman.

Music was John Violetta’s whole life, it was his hobby, his work, his career.