By Nila Harris
It was The Summer of 1976, the Bicentennial. Tony Giagios, then owner of the Falmouth Dairy Treat, wanted to do something for the youth of Pendleton County. According to his wife, Gail, Giagios had a heart for the youth and was concerned that there was not much for them to do. He decided to have an outdoor concert and talked to members of the local band—EXIT.
At that time, EXIT was comprised of “Doc” Ken McKenney, the band’s leader who sang, played guitar, and was quite a talented musician, according to fellow band member Greg Valentine (drummer). Also playing was Mark Aulick on bass guitar, “Fro” Harry Crozier on saxophone, “Buzzard” Larry Cummins on trombone, “Rudy” Randy Howe on trumpet, “Frank” Dan Klaber on keyboards, and Keith Plummer on trumpet.
The band played many hits including those by Stevie Wonder, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Valentine remarked “if Chicago had a hit, we played it.” One of the things that made the band unique: was its horn section.
Band members told me how McKenney would listen to a song, play it, and create a musical score for the other instruments. But McKenney gives the credit to his fellow bandmates. “I wanted to be a musician. I was too stubborn to do anything else.”
He praised the other musicians and was quick to say, “Every one of those guys had a lot of talent.”
According to Aulick, “Dairy Treat hired us to play there in front of the building. When we met with Tony, we noticed the flat roof. Can we play up there?”
Giagios said, “Sure, if you can get up there.”
Aulick stated that he remembered thinking that there was no way that Giagios would go for it, but he did.
The band started borrowing equipment to amplify their music. Aulick’s mom lived on Morgan Road and sat on her porch and listened to them!.
McKenney’s brother Bob worked for Griffin Industries and got a truck that had a liftgate on the back. All of the equipment and band members rode the lift to the top of Dairy Treat.
Plummer even mentioned how he would hop on the liftgate and ride the lift down so that he could mingle in the crowd when he wasn’t playing.
Like with any epic event, the legend grows larger over time. Two people in the band remember the crowd swelling to 1,000-2,000 members. According to Giagios, the number reported in the Falmouth Outlook was about 700 young people.
Of course, the 300-700 extra count could’ve been “old people”, over the age of 25.
Band members stated that Highway 27 was blocked off and some of the Falmouth policemen even set off fireworks in the lot.
One band member said, “It was like freaking Woodstock!” There were a lot of children, families, and people sitting on car hoods, listening and dancing.
Many individuals in our community have fond memories of this concert.
Lonnie Gregg, whose wife’s parents owned the laundromat across the street from Dairy Treat talked about how people were lined up along the street in their lawn chairs.
Klaber remembers having his first dance with his future wife. Karen Crozier remembers dancing in the parking lot. Daryle Harris talked about going with his aunt and uncle to see his cousin play.
Valentine commented that it was “a happening thing in Falmouth” while Plummer stated, “It was something for the people of Falmouth to do.” Tony Giagios wouldn’t have it any other way.
