Becker Music Store

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The Becker Music Store operated in downtown Huntington at 1040 4th. Ave.
for nearly 30 years, from 1938 until it closed in 1968.

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HUNTINGTON — Over the years, the Becker Music Store, operated by a father
 and his two sons, played a huge role in the musical life of Huntington,
 tutoring and inspiring countless young musicians.

Bernard Frederick Becker Sr. came to Huntington from Clarksburg, W.Va.,
 in 1921 and opened Becker Music the following year. Originally located
 at 421-424 20th St., the store was later moved to 924 6th Ave.
 In 1938, it relocated to 1040 4th Ave., where it
would operate for nearly 30 years.

Becker's first floor housed sales departments for pianos and organs, every type
of band and orchestral instrument, sheet music, records, phonographs
 and radios. Separate quarters in the rear housed a complete service
department. A staff of 12 was kept busy on sales and service.

The building's second floor was home to the widely respected Becker School
 of Music, where 15 teachers offered private instruction on a wide
variety of instruments. At one point, the store opened
 a branch location in Gallipolis, Ohio.

B. Frederick Becker Jr. majored in music at Marshall College and served
 five years in the Army, during which time he was a member of the
Army Band at Fort Crowder, Missouri. After leaving the
service, he joined his father at the family's store
 and was active musically in the community.

Another son, David E. Becker, earned a master's degree in viola and
 violin music at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
 Then he too joined the family's business.

When Becker Music closed in 1966, David became band director at
Wayne County High School. In 1974, he began teaching in the
 Cabell County schools as a string music specialist. He
was director of music for Cabell County Schools
from 1985 until his retirement in 1992. He
played in the Charleston Symphony and
was the founding principal violist of
the Huntington Chamber Orchestra
and the Huntington Symphony.

B. Frederick Becker Sr. died in 1981. Fred Jr. died in 1999 and David in 2014.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Feb. 05, 2019.

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