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Why does Fort Morgan have a Glenn Miller Park? Big Band leader was ‘the Rolling Stones of his time’

As the sixth and final episode of Home Town Takeover wrapped up, the stars of the hit HGTV show initiated projects in Glenn Miller Park in Fort Morgan.

Among the more notable additions was metal work and a photo area where Ben Napier created a sign inviting visitors to “Join the Band.” And what a band Glenn Miller had.

Miller’s rise to popularity began nearly 100 years ago and for many younger persons in the community it would be understandable to ask, just who is Glenn Miller?

“He turned out to be the rock star of his age,” said Brian Mack, curator of the Fort Morgan Museum located inside the neighboring library. “The best comparison I might give is Glenn and his band were like the Rolling Stones of today. He was the guy.”

In 1954, Miller was played by James Stewart in “The Glenn Miller Story”, a biographical tribute to the premier Big Band leader of the era. Among the cameo appearances by Miller’s peers in the movie was by Louis Armstrong. Miller was also profiled by PBS in a documentary called “Glenn Miller: The Birthplace of His Music.”

Fort Morgan was Miller’s boyhood home, where he founded his first band, the Mic Miller Melody Five. In 1941, his recording of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” with The Glenn Miller Orchestra topped the pop charts for nine weeks and sold 1.2 million copies, earning him the music industry’s first gold record.

“Glenn Miller is part of our history,” City Manager Brent Nation said. “I believe memorializing people of fame in our community is good to do.”

Telling Miller’s story through Home Town Takeover may lead to renewed interest in the Big Band leader, Nation added, “which is a good thing for Fort Morgan.”

Miller is noted as the most famous resident in the history of Fort Morgan. During a six-year span from 1938-1944, Miller and his band released 266 singles, 16 of which reached No. 1 on the charts. He also arranged three No. 1 recordings by other artists. Miller outsold any other Big Band act of his era by 10 million records. He is believed to have died over the English Channel in a 1944 plane crash during World War II and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His hit “Moonlight Serenede” is credited for creating the “Miller Sound.”

Miller was influenced by his high school band and orchestra director, Elmer Wells, and today Miller is also honored by the naming of the Fort Morgan High School auditorium, in addition to the Main Street park.

Visitors to Fort Morgan can learn more about Glenn Miller, Mack said, through a visit to the Fort Morgan Museum, where a Glenn Miller Theater is located.

“We have various reproduced images of Glenn while he was here in Fort Morgan,” Mack said. “We have ‘The Glenn Miller Story’ playing and you can sit to watch the whole movie. You can play his music there as well.”

After visiting the Glenn Miller exhibit at the Fort Morgan Museum, visitors can use a brochure to take a self-guided tour of homes related to Miller.

“They lived in a number different houses,” Mack said. “The one that is famous is a house he bought for his parents on Lake Street. It looks different today because it has been remodeled several times. There is another that had to be taken down, but was located where Safeway is. One is about a block from the library.”

Miller also had a few jobs while he lived in Fort Morgan, one of which visitors can easily find.

“He worked at a bank, the Busy Bee Cafe, but he also worked for a spell at the sugarbeet factory,” Mack said.

He’s hopeful that as fans of Home Town Takeover visit Fort Morgan and take a break at Mosqueda Delicacies for ice cream, enjoy a coffee at Zazzy’s and maybe get a beer at the Queen’s Lounge, that they may also take a moment to learn about Glenn Miller.

“He started his first band here,” Mack said. “We do have a lot of travelers come through after seeing signage on the interstate. We sometimes hear stories about someone seeing Glenn perform before he became famous.”