File:"Our Company March", by Marie Wilson Anderson (1905).opus

I'd say the company should be proud of this well done march, written by an otherwise unknown composer whose pleasant photograph is on the cover. You may be wondering who is this company anyway? The cover mentions "Ralph Talbot Co. No. 17 U.R.K. of P. Denver, Colo." As far as I can decipher, that stands for Ralph Talbot Co. #17, Uniformed Rank, Knights of Pythias, Denver, Colorado. Company refers to the local chapter of the Knights of Pythias, an organization like the Knights of Columbus which still exists today. Ralph Talbot seems to have been an early leader of this chapter, not to be confused with the aviator by that name. In those days they had uniforms and some men were issued swords (visible in the photo). The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization based on the principles of friendship, charity and benevolence. They do extensive charitable service internationally.

I'm continued to be impressed with how many of the scores written by ragtime era women are of a high quality. Score #104 for my ongoing current series "Women Ragtime Composers". This series shall continue for a while to come.

Original score source was from the University of Colorado Digital Sheet Music Collection at this link: https://cudl.colorado.edu//luna/servlet/detail/UCBOULDERCB1~78~78~1101756~308239