Raise your Stein to Charles Packer

A.K.A. Erwin Packhiser circa 1926

Copyright (c )2014 Frederick Walton

When I was a boy, I loved to sit next to my grandfather, Erwin Packhiser, in church. His strong, flawless baritone made the hymns come to life. Rolling his R’s,  he sang with a seriousness and passion that made me wonder why he was not up front with the choir. When I was older, I learned he had already spent a lifetime in the choir and as a singer. A lifetime before grandkids, before children, even before he met my grandmother. By 1926 he had made it to New York's BROADWAY

To me and my siblings he was simply Grossie, that's what we called him. It derived from the German word for grandfather...Grosspapa. To theatre audiences in 1926 he was Charles Packer.  

Recently, while scanning some old photographs of him, I noticed writing on the back. My grandmother had labeled some “Student Prince- 1926”.  To family members these pictures are not new news...I'm sure you have seen them dozens of times over the years. It was also no secret that Grossie sang on Broadway,  so on a whim I googled it. I was amazed to find a a Jan 1926 Playbill cover for The Student Prince at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre. I was even more surprised to find Grossie in it!

source: http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/6245/The-Student-Prince

Jolson’s 59th Street Theatre opened in 1921 at 932 Seventh Avenue, designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp. The Shubert brothers named their new theatre in honor of Al Jolson, who starred in the opening production Bombo. This would be his first and last appearance at the theatre. 

 Five inside pages where also scanned including, on the third scan, a page listing “Students at Heidelberg”. Among the student I found one “Charles Packer”. This was the professional stage name used by Erwin Packhiser. The "students" formed part of the chorus and performed “The Drinking Song”, “to the Inn We’re Marching”, “Serenade” and “Finale”.

The website can be seen here: http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/6245/The-Student-Prince

Source: http://www.playbillvault.com/images/whos_who/T/h/The-Student-Prince-01-26-3.jpg

The Operetta is about a  German prince who falls for a waitress while completing his university education in a small town in 1860. I recall seeing the movie version with Mario Lanza and the students seemed to have been spending more time with their beers steins than their books :

             Drink! Drink! Drink!

            Ein zwei drei vier

            Lift your stein and drink your beer

Oddly, Grossie never really talked about this part of his life when I was growing up. There were plenty of reminders, from the concert grand piano in the living room, to trunks of stage clothes and old photos in the attic. I wish now that I asked him to tell me about this part of his life. But it's too late, so my memories of him singing are now often stirred when I stand to sing a hymn in Church...and I hope there are words starting with R in the hymn... so I can try to sing like Grossie!