New Orleans jazz messengers commemorate historic marker of Allan Jaffe, their mentor

POTTSVILLE — For a few precious moments on Saturday morning, Centre Street became Basin Street.

Strutting New Orleans fashion, brass instruments blaring, members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performed a traditional jazz hymn in homage to its late mentor, Allan P. Jaffe, a Pottsville native who was being honored with a historical marker.

Singing “Lord, Lord, Lord, you sure have been good to me,” Ronell Johnson’s deep baritone celebrated Jaffe’s role in reviving traditional New Orleans jazz in the 1960s.

The quintet included Ben Jaffe, Allan’s son, who played a sousaphone emblazoned with “Preservation Hall” on the instrument’s bell.

“Of anywhere in the world,” Jaffe said, “this incredible place is where my dad would have wanted to be remembered.”

Several hundred people gathered in the 300 block of North Centre Street for the dedication of a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker.

The standard was erected in front of 316 N. Centre St., Allan Jaffe’s boyhood home. His parents, Harry and Fannie Jaffe, operated Jaffe’s Wallpaper and Paint Store in the building, and the family lived above the store.

Formerly Nathan’s furniture store, the building is now occupied by Arrow Studio and Events.

Rhoda Jaffe Abeshaus, 83, Allan’s sister, came from her home in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Initially, Rhoda said, the family lived above the store at 316. Later, the store moved to the site of the former Schoeneman Beauty Supply at Centre and Laurel streets. And, finally, it was located at 104 N. Centre St., she said.

“This is a very special honor, and we’re all excited about it,” said Margie Labarre, Allan’s niece, who remembered visiting the Jaffe family home at 1742 W. Market St. as a child. “It’s wonderful that the town would do this for him.”

Jaffe family members from all over the country attended the dedication. Ben Jaffe was accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter, Emma, her first visit to the birthplace of her grandfather.

Rhoda Abeshaus was accompanied by her husband, Merrill, whose parents operated Yorkville Pharmacy.

Ben Jaffe, Preservation Hall’s creative director, gave an at times emotional tribute to his father, who died at age 51 in 1987.

Ben recalled visiting his grandparents in Pottsville during the summer as a child. Pottsville had lawns, unlike New Orleans, and he’d go out nights to catch lighting bugs.

“Your normalcy is extraordinary,” he said, with Mayor Dave Clews standing nearby. “I cherish it, and I know my dad did.”

Growing up in Pottsville influenced Allan’s decision to spend his life in New Orleans, devoting it to the music he loved, his son said.

“I don’t think he could have imagined being honored in any other way than right here in the town he loved,” Ben Jaffe said.

Allan Jaffe loved Yuengling beer, his son said, and often talked about it. Inadvertently, Yuengling played a role in Jaffe’s historic marker.

At a cookout in New Orleans, Ben spotted a young man wearing a Yuengling sweatshirt. He approached the man and, “Hey, that’s where my father is from.”

The young man was Joseph Stolarick, who was born in Pottsville and grew up in Pine Grove. The chance meeting inspired Stolarick to embark on a journey that led to the erection of the historic marker.

Dr. William V. Lewis, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum commissioner, compared Stolarick’s years-long endeavor to writing a master’s thesis.

Allan Jaffe’s is the newest of 2,600 markers that chronicle the state’s history, Lewis said.

A surprise guest, former Gov. Tom Corbett, also praised Stolarick’s dedication in bringing attention to Jaffe’s role in preserving New Orleans jazz. Corbett, a former teacher in Pine Grove Area High School, is Stolarick’s uncle. He was governor from 2011 to 2015.

Mayor Clews, a diehard New Orleans jazz fan, welcomed the Jaffe family and other guests to the city.

J. Robert Zane, president of the Schuylkill County Historical Society, noted that Allan Jaffe went to school in the society’s headquarters, the former Centre Street Grammar School.

Jaffe played the sousaphone, a kind of tuba, with the Pottsville High School and Third Brigade bands. He attended Valley Forge Military Academy on a music scholarship, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

“Allan and Sandra Jaffe went to New Orleans on their honeymoon,” Zane said. “The sounds they heard made them ditch their plans for business careers in Pennsylvania, and they packed up their belongings and headed back to New Orleans.”

Under their tutelage, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performed around the world and entertained U.S. presidents. The National Endowment for the Arts gave the band its highest honor, the Medal of Arts, in 2006. It was presented by President George W. Bush and first lady Laura at the White House.

Allan Jaffe now takes his place, Zane said, among Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and Les Brown, Schuylkill County musicians recognized with historical markers.

Zane, who attended law school in New Orleans, finished his talk with a Cajun-French expression that translates to “Let the good times roll.”

Standing beneath Allan Jaffe’s marker, surrounded by Jaffe family members, the jazz messengers performed a New Orleans dirge.

The crowd huddled around, cellphones galore, to record the performance by Clint Maegen, saxophone; Glenn Finster Andrews, drum; Brandon Lewis, trumpet; Ronell Johnson, trombone; and Ben Jaffe, sousaphone.

“Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand,” Johnson’s voice rang out. “Lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”