History

Ray Grivetti, Hobart High School Band Director, invited Hobart High School Band Alumni to march with the high school band at the Homecoming football game in 1979.  Twenty-eight alumni participated, and the oldest member of the group was presented a plague with a large rusty pipe attached to it.  The original name, Rusty Pipes, was taken from that plaque.  The band alumni were invited to march at homecoming the following year, too, and then, in 1981, the Rusty Pipes began performing in the 4th of July Parade.  Boyd Construction Company provided a flatbed truck on which members rode and performed, and they have continue to do that for the band to this day.

Members of the band wanted to become more active, and they decided to extend the membership to musicians who were not Hobart High School alumni.  In January 1982, there were 50 band members who rehearsed and performed at the Hobart High School Band Concert in April.

In the spring of 1986, Rusty Pipes were invited to Washington, D.C., to play a concert in President’s Park near the White House.  A Rusty Pipes Booster Club called Dusty Plumbers was formed before this trip, and they donated funds to help pay the expenses of the trip.

Soon after the trip to Washington, D.C., the band began performing at the Elk’s Club Flag Day Ceremony.  The band continues to perform at the Elk’s Club and do several summer concerts in addition to our winter and spring concerts each year.  Three of the original members, Sharon Blaszkiewicz, Judy Hall, and Sue Miller, are still active in the band.

Rusty Pipes officially changed their name to Hobart Area Concert Band in the fall of 2012. Then, in 2016, the name changed again to Hobart Community Band when it became a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization with tax exempt status. The band is like one big family. There are husbands and wives, pairs of sisters and brothers, and even a father and daughter who are members.  Members come from Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties in Indiana as well as Illinois.