Phyll Mackey
In her music room at home, Phyll Mackey looks over a wall of promotional posters for Treasure Tones concerts. Photo by Kootenai Valley Record.
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Treasure Tones director shares memories
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
January 21, 2011
Phyll Mackey remembers the exact moment when, during a solo pickup truck drive between McGregor Lake and Libby in 1964, she hatched the idea for the Treasure Tones.
"On the way back home I had the radio blasting, and I was singing, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to arrange that for a group,’" she recalls.
The original dozen Tones began practicing in the lunch room at Asa Wood School, where Mackey was teaching at the time, and soon would perform the first of a series of concerts that would span nearly half a century.
"I loved having the group, but then we needed to have a performance somewhere," Mackey said.
In short order the ensemble was expanded to 20 members – 10 men and 10 women – and would remain in that configuration until its final Christmas concert on Dec. 12, 2009, to a full crowd at the Memorial Center. Mackey said she decided it was time to retire the group before it outlived its welcome.
"For one thing, I’m 77 years old," she said. "I’m too old for this gig."
Over the years, the Tones traditionally performed two big shows a year – a spring show and the Christmas concert. The last Christmas concert raised more than $1,600 in donations for the Libby Food Pantry.
"They asked me why I did this when I don’t get paid," Mackey said. "I have been paid so many times over. I wouldn’t have kept doing it if I didn’t enjoy it."
Mackey served as the group’s arranger and piano accompanist and wrote the scripts for the concerts’ emcees. She considers herself a promoter, not a performer.
"I think if I have a musical talent involved, it’s in recognizing other people’s talent and arranging to showcase the best that we have available," she said.
Finding talent was never a problem.
"At first I had to convince people that it was a worthwhile project," she said. "And then one year I put a little blurb in the paper that I needed a soprano and a bass. I got 91 calls, and I never advertised again."
Membership in the Treasure Tones tended to be by personal recommendation and invitation. Mackey estimates that 75 to 80 people were part of the group at one time or another, with some remaining for decades. Mackey’s first husband, Archie Minde, was a member from the outset until he suffered a stroke in 2001. Members of the group’s final roster included Betty Kuennen and Cliff Christenot, both of whom had been Tones for at least 35 years, and Bob and Paula Sandman, who had commuted from Whitefish for more than 20 years to sing with the Tones.
"I have been blessed with the best people in the world to work with," Mackey said.
Members who left the group were never "replaced," Mackey said.
"You just choose a different person and go in a different direction," she said.
Every member pitched in wherever the could to help make the concerts possible, setting up lights, building stages and sewing costumes.
"Every Treasure Tone had a duty, and they did it," Mackey said. "Most of the time they didn’t even tell me about it. They just did it."
Comic relief at Tones shows was provided by the "FAB Four," also known as the "Four Average Baritones." The most recent lineup included Bob Sandman, Dan Thede, Dave Swanson and Cliff Christenot. Their antics included coming out on stage without pants during one memorable show.
"I never knew what they were going to do to me," Mackey said.
While the Tones were best known for their spring and Christmas shows, they also performed at Nordicfest, at the Whitefish Winter Carnival and as featured guest performers at the Hamilton Sweet Adelines concert. Once in the 1970s, the group performed during a live television broadcast at a Spokane station.
"I didn’t get to see it, because it was just a one-time shot," Mackey said.
Mackey also remembers a booking at the state women’s amateur golf tournament in Kalispell. As a golfer herself, the day was especially eventful.
"That happened to be the same day I hit a hole in one and won a golf cart," she said.
Mackey said she appreciates the community support for the group over the decades.
"It’s been a real fun ride," she said.
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Editor's Note: See the January 18, 2011 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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