JoSaints

Donna, I can't help but smile as I read this post, and think about all the advantages the Internet and DCP has brought to doing what can be, at times, a very thankless job. Continued success as DCA PR! jo

As a junior corps, the Saints had a Basket of Cheer every year ... no one ever questioned how proper it might have been. We also performed exhibitions pretty frequently at DCA shows over the years, and that never scared us away from the activity, either jo

That was my first reaction, as well ... during the 1970s, Class A became Open Class, and Class B became Class A ... go figure. jo

... the ELP knocked my boots off the first time I heard it, and it was among my favorites -- it also scored big with my boyfriend at the time, who was NOT a corps person ... jo

Speaking of companies that donate, find out how many of your members (or their families) work in places that have corporate giving programs. Companies that offer that benefit will match their employees' contributions to registered not-for-profits ... the program can be as generous as matching dollar for dollar. jo

Hi Judy! So far, no error messages at my end ... in case it helps in tracking down what's working and not, I'm logged in using Verizon DSL, my operating system is Windows XP Home, and I use IE7. BTW, thank your husband for sending in the pictures for the Saints site! jo

Here's a DON'T for the record books ... One year, we went door to door selling light bulbs and tooth brushes ... can't say how much money (if any) we made. Thirty five years later, we're still talking about it ...

We used a variety of street beats over the years, some with a mild Latin flair courtesy of our drum instructor, George Lopez. We also used the Lucy and Linus theme during the years we had vibraphones ...

Saints Family -- it's reunion planning time! We're gathering at the OLP Annex on Sept 21st from 7-9 pm -- watch www.saintsdrumcorps.com and Saints Scribblings (http://joparentesaints.blogspot.com/) for more details, or PM me here and I'll get back to you a/s/a/p. jo

I just did a quick calculation against the Saints corps roster from 1967-1977 ... of the 320 people listed, almost half (155) were related to someone else in the corps. That's not including a half-dozen or so who weren't related to someone else before they married another corps member ... Yes, I know this is the DCA forum, but ... it's a fun thread! jo

My uncle was an early, if not orginal, Gabby, and still refers to his time in Sky that way. My sister Karen and I marched with the Saints from the time it was formed in 1967 - I aged out (1976) and Karen left when the corps split (after the 1977 season), neither of us to march again. We both instructed for a bit, and I handled PR for DCA from 1981-1982, but that's the extent of it. We have 4 younger sibs who never marched.

Since we've shifted the discussion to 1969 ... that was the year I started HS and was already marching for several years ... my age-out was September 11, 1976, on Maxwell Field in Wildwood NJ at Legions. History-wise, my most significant year was 1974 -- first year my corps marched in the Dream (in exhibition) and went "on tour," even if it was only a 5 hour trip to Lynn MA for World Open. I, on the other hand, was in Jersey at the time, in isolation with mono and some other nasty stuff watching Nixon resign his presidency ... jo

And if we're still taking "S," then the Saints (Woodbridge-Edison NJ). jo

DCKid80, you and I share a common journey ... I was an original member of the Saints, which had its first rehearsal in July 1967. NONE of us had ever marched before, and like many of your corps in Massachusetts, we started with sponsorship in a Roman Catholic parish (Our Lady of Peace in Fords NJ). Our corps colors -- blue and gold (we're still recovering from that last season of orange and black) -- were even the official colors of the parish grammar school. I aged out in 1976, and am still proud of the progress we made and championships we won together -- while saddened over the many reasons the corps did not field again beyond the 1977 season. If the corps had ended before my eligibility did, odds are pretty good I would not have marched juniors again. That was true for my sister Karen (would have been able to march 2 more seasons with an end-of-August birthday) and most other of my former corpsmates. Some went on to the North Jersey corps (Garfield, Bayonne). Those who didn't chose not to march again for reasons having nothing to do with talent ... I couldn't see going to another corps just to be able to say I made (or won) DCI Finals. It was SO much more about what we accomplished together (however humble that might have been at times), not what medals I wore. As many of us are still saying ... once a Saint, always a Saint. jo

Maybe it was a thing with the east coast circuits or American Legion rules, not sure, but I marched from 1967 - 1976 and best I can remember (?), 128 was the number out here. I also seem to remember some rules shifting for one season in the early 70s (just before DCI) which allowed one additional person: a musical director who (1) didn't count towards the headcount; (2) could be up to 25 years old; and (3) wasn't allowed on the field ... this was when podiums first came into favor. Of course, I could have hallucinated this whole musical director thing -- I had a discussion about it with friends of mine recently, and neither Jack nor Ef remembered it.

For me, it's My Way ... we used it as our Exit Number back in 1975, the year before I aged out (pardon my brief stop here in current DCI land!). We also changed the lyrics to the last verse -- this was just one of our many bus songs ... And now, the end is near; And so I face the final curtain. My friend, Ill say it clear, Ill state my case, of which I'm certain. I've lived a life thats full. I've traveled each and evry highway; And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Regrets, I've had a few; But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course; Each careful step along the byway, But more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall; And did it my way. I've loved, Ive laughed and cried. I've had my fill; my share of losing. And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing. To think I did all that; And may I say - not in a shy way, No, oh no not me, I did it my way. For what is a corps, what has it got? If not ourselves, then we have naught. To say the things we truly feel; And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows we took the blows - And did our way!

As someone who's been away from DCA for awhile, I'm really enjoying all this trivia ... For what it's worth, I found out from Fran Haring a couple of months ago that I'm also a trivia answer -- the first female to hold the post of DCA Public Relations ...

Euphomism, I'm guessing you're a Jersey Guy since you're within 15 minutes of Hawthorne -- with traffic, no one outside of Jersey is that close :sshh: You're very lucky that you're here and I personally welcome you to the family -- many of us are happiest when grumbling about stuff ... It used to upset me once upon a time, but now that I'm 31 years past my age-out date (and 25 years since I left the DCA Staff), I can honestly say that folks wouldn't be complaining if they didn't care about the activity. The passion, the discontent, and all the other stuff add greatly in the long run. Have there been changes over the past 31 years that I'm not happy with? CERTAINLY. Does it keep me off the field? NO (life does that). Does it keep me out of the stands? YES, particularly when it comes to DCI shows (won't go there right now). That doesn't mean that I'm not still connected with my corps family. I am, in a big way, even after all these years, even with a corps that disbanded the year after I aged out. Again, welcome. Hope we don't scare you off jo

If memory serves, the reason behind the peacock uniforms was that NBC was one of their sponsors ...

The relaxing of the rules certainly made more possible from a staging perspective -- IMO, though, if there was enough reward from a judging perspective for continuing the tradition, it would still be prevalent ... jo

Notice the National Colors Section moving behind the flag line -- there's no other flag on the same lateral line, so there's no trailing penalty ... we needed to turn around VERY carefully rotating to our right to allow the Section time to get in place, though! This is coming out of posting -- notice the position of the National Colors ... And here's an example of a color presentation, winter guard style: Thanks, Maggie, for the tech support! jo

I found a couple of good shots of the Colors Section moving about the floor during our winter guard drill -- if someone would be so kind as to PM me directions to insert the darn things, I'd appreciate it ... jo

Vickie, if I'm not mistaken, we got the idea for "clackers" on our rifle straps from you guys when you came East to march in our show in Jersey ... I can still remember our posting cadence as well, and we're in search of someone we know who actually filmed some of our winter guard performances ... what I'd give to see some of our old color pres ... jo

We had to tape poles, soles, rifles, and sabres as well ... What you called presentation pots we call stanchions out here ... Funny story (now - not then) about posting -- it was our first NJ AL summer guard championship (probably around 1969) and our first posting (winter seasons back then called for the Manual of Arms). Ralph Fair, our instructor, made arrangements with Cal Dennison, instructor of the Colleens CG, to use their stantions so we didn't have to schlep ours down to Wildwood. They measured the dimension of our poles to make sure they would fit, but BEFORE they put new bottom caps on them ... AL rules required that we leave the pikes posted, march away, and come back. The only flag that DIDN'T hit the ground was the American Flag because that person hung onto it for dear life as she marched 4 very tiny steps away ... jo

First, to Kel -- thanks for jumping in to fill in my gaps ... sounds like the rule for national music during color pre included the UK for you (much to our enjoyment!). On that spring-loaded flag pole -- way cool! Don't remember it, but wish I did! On the "top of pike" requirements -- in my early days of winter and summer guard / corps (late 60s), there were three options for pole toppers in the US: an eagle (for the US flag -- not sure how this translated in Canada), a spear (National Colors and flash flags), or a globe (translation: round object, not literal globe). We started with cast metal and moved to aluminum pretty quickly -- broke both types with some of the flag work we did. A local distributor of all things corps then got us to "beta test" a new version made of some durable (for the day) plastic, guaranteed not to break. We snapped all but 2 the first practice. It was around that time that the local circuits began to change the requirement to "protect" the top of the pole, so we switched to plastic caps used on the bottom of chairs. Much more economical.