Walter Robert Slingerland Jr.
Nephew of founder, Slingerland Drum & Banjo Company
By Rob Cook
Wa;ter Robert Slingerland Jr., 80, passed away on Easter
Walter Robert Slingerland Sr. (brother of founder Henry Heanon "HH" Slingerland,) was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Slingerland company in the early 1900s. Together with a third
brother, Arthur James Slingerland, Walter and HH grew the Slingerland company into the world's largest producer of stringed instruments
in the mid-1920s. The company claimed in that era to have over 1700 dealers. In the late 1920s Slingerland began drum production and
by the early 1930s shifted their entire production from stringed instruments to percussion instruments.
Walter Robert Slingerland Jr. did not play an active role in the history of the Slingerland Drum Company, but grew up with a keen
interest in drumming and the family legacy. He played with two drum & bugle corps;
Walter Robert Slingerland Jr. is survived by his wife of 56 years, Helen, daughters Mary Helen and Lisa, their husbands and children.
A memorial service and burial will be held at St Peter Lutheran Church of Schaumburg,
Illinois, on