Buried treasures are not always unearthed. Sometimes they are buried in old boxes tucked away in the attic or in the back of a closet somewhere.

That’s the story of the Herman Moll treasure trove.

Pete Jordan, a member of the Charles Henderson Alumni Band Association, said William Denison made a treasure box available to the association for inclusion in the alumni band’s database that included photographs of the legendary Troy High School band leader and his bands from the “beginning.”

“William Denison wrote a paper on Herman Moll and his bands when he was in college and he had a box of slides that he thought would be of interest,” Jordan said. “They are now the foundation for our database because Herman Moll started the band program at Troy High School, which is now Charles Henderson High School, in 1919. It is so exciting to have these photographs.”

Jordan said the dates of the photographs are unknown as are many of the people and places.

“What we are hoping is that there will be those who can identify the people and places and maybe even give us a date the photographs were taken,” Jordan said. “At this time, we have 15 alumni members who were in Herman Moll’s bands and they will be valuable resources in identifying the photos of those early bands. We want to archive everything associated with the CHHS bands from 1919 up until now.”

The alumni band association is in the process of collecting the history of the Troy High School/CHHS bands as well as names and addresses of former band members.

“We are asking anyone who has any photographs or information about the bands to share it with the CHHS Alumni Band Association,” Jordan said. “It will be included in our database, which will become a comprehensive collection on the history of our bands.”

Jordan said the alumni association has complied 165 names and continues to add to the list.

“We want names and addresses so we can keep everyone informed about what the alumni association is doing, including its support of our current band program,” he said.

All alumni of the CHHS band program are asked to send their name and email address to chhsalumniband@gmail.com or to CHHS Band, 150 North George Wallace Dr., Troy, AL 36081.

Visit the CHHS Alumni Band Association’s Facebook page at go blue machine.