Isn’t It Romantic?

The Clef Hangers sing for Peg Sullivan’s 90th birthday party at Lake Barrington Woods retirement home in Lake Barrington. (Photo by Amanda Schwengel)

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These men know how to make women cry — in a good way.

Area barbershop quartet the Clef Hangers has been romancing Valentine’s Day audiences since 1988. With their feet tapping, the four men sit around a kitchen table rehearsing songs between jokes, sips of water and bites of brownies.

“We’re trying to get though ‘This Little Light of Mine,’” said Bill Dysart of Crystal Lake, the baritone of the group.

“And we hit a bump in the road,” added John Jeide of St. Charles, the tenor.

After a couple more goes at it, they’re finally satisfied with their harmony. Next it’s on to “Sentimental.”

The group’s members have changed through the years, with only Dysart remaining a member since the beginning. But through the evolution, their music — as barbershop quartet music tends to do — has stood the test of time because there’s something, well, sentimental about the a cappella harmony of a quartet, especially on days like Valentine’s Day.

The quartet performs throughout the year as members of the nonprofit Fox Valley Men of Harmony, an Elgin-based chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The roughly 50-member chapter includes several quartets such as the Clef Hangers.

“We’re just guys that like to sing,” said Arnie Olson, the Valentine chair of the Fox Valley group.

Olson, of Elgin, has been singing with the chapter for the past two decades and also performs with the quartet the Chordaholics, as he will do this Valentine’s Day.

The quartets arrive formally dressed to deliver two loves songs, a red rose and a personalized card to the valentine.

“There have been so many of them over the years,” Dysart said.

He added he particularly remembers the older couples who have sat holding hands throughout the performance.

“Sometimes it’s hard to sing because they’ve got little tears coming down their cheeks,” he said. “You can’t look directly at them, (or) you have a tendency to choke up yourself.”

Last year, the various quartets of the Elgin chapter performed at least 100 valentines, singing romantic songs such as “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”

This year, because Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, they’ll perform for two-and-a-half days, beginning Friday.

“By far, the most fun and the best fundraiser for us is Valentine’s Day,” Olson said. “Most of the time we sing to people who don’t have a clue we’re going to be there.”

They’ve sung at homes, restaurants, classrooms, hospitals, offices and even a construction site. Dressed in white jackets and black dress shoes, the Clef Hangers remember slopping through the mud to perform for a construction worker at the request of his wife.

“Here’s this big moose of a guy,” said bass Al Boeldt. “He was goodnatured about it, this guy.”

They also performed during halftime at a basketball game for a student whose mother had asked for the surprise. Ken Thelander, the lead of the Clef Hangers, said the student was somewhat embarrassed.

“I can picture several young ladies that got red in the face,” Dysart added.

The members don’t necessarily consider themselves romantics. Still, they seem to have done something right in that department through the years, as most of them have been married for decades.

“I’ve been married 52 years, and she still likes me,” Boeldt said with a laugh.

They said they mainly do it because of the fun they have singing together. And it also helps keep their brains sharp, as they work to remember the lyrics. They said that once they joined, they wished they had started singing barbershop quartet years ago.

The singers come from all sorts of backgrounds. Among the Clef Hangers, for instance, is a retired school principal, mechanical engineer and a former project manager at a computer company. Some played music and sang growing up and throughout college, while others don’t know how to read music. All it takes, they said, is a good ear and, of course, voice.

“You’ve got to carry a tune,” Olson said.

Most of the men in the chapter are in their 60s, Olson said, but the men range in age from their late 30s to 85 years old. They’ve reached out to schools and other youth groups to get more younger people involved in barbershop music. And, they said, they would love to see younger men join.

“It’s not something that’s growing over the years,” Olson said. “We wish it would grow a little faster than it is. It’s kind of static, but there are people who love it.”

Barbershop quartets from the Fox Valley Men of Harmony will deliver singing valentines from
9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14. The cost is $40 for orders received before Feb. 8 and $50 after Feb. 8. On Sunday, Feb. 14, the cost is $50. To order, call Arnie Olson at 847-931-1432 or e-mail: arn24@aol.com.