Puppet

I, for one, will miss you. I understand and have tried to stay away (and maybe above) some of the snarky antics that go on here sometimes. But I have always enjoyed your company, insight and sense of humor on these pages. Thank you, Keith.

Great postcard ... but this guy scared the bejeezuz out of us outside of Racine!

Witnessed them flying in formation over Kenosha ...

Right with you on that, Mike. One thing that is different though, our Music Director and Instructor and Arranger did not have to negotiate the rights for any of his charts. That, today is very different from back then when Hy could put his own spin on whichever piece of music he wanted to arrange for whichever corps he was arranging for ... and probably holds back many of even the elite corps from playing many pieces.

Can you imagine that in this day and age a show like that in 1971? There had to be about 50 Junior and Senior Corps competing that year! Plus that weekend in July was one of the most heavily contested like ... ever! The CYO Nationals in Lowel, The World Open in Lynn and then the Danny Thomas Invitational in Lawrence. What an awesome weekend and yes, although we did not make it to the finals (for some strange reason placing 16th in the prelims) The next day we placed 5th. Good luck on your research because Lynn, MA was the ticket BITD. Maybe a toss-up with Marion, OH for "Best Drum Corps Fans In the World" honors.

Everything makes a difference. Time, thought processes, music, too. We can either grow and change or sit back and let the world go by. Back when I marched this forum wasn't available. Neither was this laptop or our ability to communicate the way we do. Would I want to go back to the time when I needed to find a pay phone just to call home? Heck NO! But when we travelled across country from New York to Wisconsin we had no idea what the corps we were competing against even looked like ... aside from maybe shots in Drum Corps News or Fleetwood album covers and back then it was difficult to tell corps like the Nisei Ambassadors or the Royal Aires apart (until you heard them play of course) because their uniforms were so similar - I'll probably get flack from that but their uniforms were similar and anyway you know what I'm driving at. Every show was kind of a surprise when you went on tour and it's not like that anymore. No it's more like if the Yankees had to play against the Red Sox every weekend for the entire season. Every corps gets to see every other corps like all the time. Is that positive? I don't know. It just raises the issue for me that there is far less diversity now. And I miss that.

What he said ... mostly. As to being elite, well I never was ... in our day most Drum Corps were of the blue collar variety ... we worked our butts off all fall and winter and then went out and did what we were taught. We were judged according to how well we executed - pretty much cut and dried unless you got a cadre of judges who plain didn't like you (and there were a few of them!) All in all (and I totally don't know anything much about the mid seventies to about '81/'83 because I was just plain angry at DCI!) Have come to like many shows during the past few decades and have every faith that the activity will get better. My biggest gripe is how amplification has hurt the horn sound (I mean, what the heck would a corps like the Brassmen would have done with 50 plus horns, 12 of them being Contras????) and the fact the biggest show of the year is in the very worst venue ever to be considered for music of any kind.

And what a wonderful thing that was for some of us on the East Coast! Added a whole new dimension to the corps! Just have to add though, (with the mention of Ms. Opie) that Garfield had one of the best ever Mellophone players I've ever heard - she would be Barbara Maroney!

I wouldn't begin my marching career for a couple of years after this date but the idea of this is not lost on me ... I checked around and oddly enough there didn't seem to be a lot of shows held on the 4th for some reason that probably had a lot to do with the day it fell on the calendar ... I know those of us who marched in local circuits in and around the Tri-State (NY, NJ & Conn) had shows every weekend. Thanks for the memory.

I will try not to be redundant, Keith and first say I know what you mean. Indoor instruments (to me) just don't sound as good as those that were meant to be played outdoors. That said, the sound we are listening to (what little there is from the horn lines, however embellished) is not as full as our meager little horn lines long ago. I like what was said about Boston and to that I will add the pre DCI intonation quality of the Anaheim Kingsmen, St. Joe's of Batavia, and even some of those from the little town of New York like the Bronx Kingsmen, St. Rocco's Cadets and yes, even the St. Rita's Brassmen. We played well enough given what (and who!) we had and more important I think the thousands of real kids who marched and played got much more out of their 5 to 10 years on the field and made many more friends than the professional performers we see today. I miss more than ever the grin on a kid's face trying on a first uniform - and not the hardened thousand yard stare of those who just "traded up" to the uniform they know will get them a ring. Ring?! We didn't even have rings .. the corps got a championship flag ... the corps members got the best experience of their young lives. Stuff we took with us and still carry to this day. Yes, viva la difference but I still think of how many are missing so much while so few don't even know what they are not getting. Just saying. And I apologize for the garish size of the type of my original post. Puppet.

Well, my friends, there are so many With the late St. Joseph Patron Cadets and St. Rita's Brassmen ... David Smith - French Horn circa 1965-1969 Anthony (Tony) Franco - Director circa 1962-1968 Howard Jensen Sr.- Quartermaster 1971-1973 Steve Choronzy - Soprano 1973 John (Willie) Williams - Drummer 1967-1973 Norris Sutton - Solo Soprano 1967 -1972 Phil Maldonado - 1st Baritone circa 1964 -1967 Edward (aka Goldfinger) Hernandez - Solo Soprano 1970 Mario Melita Sr. - Business Manager 1968-1973 John Santana – French Horn 1970 Joel Glover - Soprano 1970 Anthony (Tony) Lacks - Rifle Section 1970-1972 Raymond “Skippy” Brown - Solo Soprano circa 1965-1971 Michelle Camardo - Color Guard circa 1968-1972 Viola Christie - Chaperon 1968-1973 Salvador “Sal” Barbera - 1st Soprano circa 1966 -1969 Thomas “Tommy” Barbera - 1st Soprano circa 1966 -1969 Thomas R. Costa - Director St Rita's 1970 Elmer Lugo - Baritone/Quartermaster circa 1966-67/1970-71 Henry Brown - Solo Soprano 1969 Thomas “Tom” Dover- 2nd Baritone 1970-1973 Robert Sartori – Baritone / Contra-Bass 1961-1966 Diane Chambus - Color Guard Penny Smith - Color Guard 1972 -73 William (aka John Wayne) Christie Quartermaster 1968–1973 Father Brugli – St. Joseph Patron Cadets Moderator circa 1962-1967 George (Sidemouth) Richardson Baritone/Soprano 1970 - 1973 “Mr. Frank” – Chaperon circa 1966 -1968 Joe Mason Color Guard Instructor 1970 Douglas James - Boys Color Guard, American Flag Section, 1970 -1972 Calvin Haskins-Snare drummer 1967-69 Phil DiPaolo- Soprano 1959-1966 Oscar Thompson - Soprano 69 - 70 Raymond "Konga" Richardson - Baritone, Contra Bass 1966 -1971 Reggie Furby-Soprano 1970-72 Peter George-Double Tenors 1972-73 Russ (aka VaVoom) Forrer- Baritone 1971 Vinnie Magrino - French Horn 1963-69 Bobby Green - Double & Triple Tenors 1968-69 Vernon David- Triple Bass 1972 Barry Swain- Cymbals 1970-71 Curtis Briggs_Snare 1965-66 Honorary SJP/SRB Alumnus Joe Genero Robert “Pepe” Notaro Fran Virgilio - Color Guard who was taken from us on September 11, Carman Cluna Herman "HY" Dreitzer

Yeah, Keith. You're right. The thing we should do is not slap you down for not including like every single corps in your poll. No one will get them all - I know that. Of course, Nanci said it best.

Oh! This Old Thing?! Thanks for remembering!

A few stand out for me but I go way back. I think the guard stuff during the Pines Of Rome Star show was pretty awesome. There's also a few rifle sections that stand out - most notably Anaheim, SCV and of course The Blue Stars for their uniforms alone. But way before that there were the young women in St. Joseph Patron Cadets who ( I believe ) in 1966 were the first to actually twirl their flags as part of the show ... That was pretty awesome for the time.

Your last line pretty much says it all. Laughing at what needs to be laughed at is the best medicine. BTW I am not to be confused with Dr. Pepper. And lastly, as an English Major I am certainly glad that Music Majors have taken some of the onus off of us wordsmiths.

I must add to Brian's (Jocko) accolade: Linda, your collection and the mere fact that you were able to amass such a collection from your youth during your youth is just beyond amazing! Thank you and continued kudos.

It's just you and me. And without belaboring the points all bashed into our skulls over this and the prevous "Part I" series, I must say that it seems to me that someone must be preparing a dissertation or class thesis or some #### thing because I'm reading a great deal and all of these words are not nearly as important to me as what I see in photos and one liners that give me real memories of what "Historical Junior Corps Discussions" are (and should be!) about. Phrases like: Remember that night every corps had to march in the rain with no lights ... & Whoever thought spats looked good ... or Can anyone tell me why some corps wore white bucks and some didn't ... These are the things that bring up real discussions amongst us old farts. Keith is good at that. there are dozens of us who are able to respond with witty and fun repartee to most of that kind of stuff. Stuff that makes us dig out the pictures and dig into our memory banks. We are NOT saving Drum Corps (Part I / Part II / Part III or X!) on these pages. You know it, I know it and we all know it ... sooo the OP's disdain for all (or any!) of us who have degrees in Music or English is pretty much moot. I say, let's all just go over to the "OMG could we have been so young?" and post some pictures ...

Thank you for this post ... it is what I have been waiting for all these pages ... and why we should never take topics like this seriously. There is no fix because there is no problem. We were (as if no one gets it!) different from the youngsters of today ... as different as we were from our parents. The world is different. The #### weather is different for goodness sake. Junior drum corps are being marched by adults ... people who can vote, contract STDs and not by pre adolescents who were mostly the pre-cursor of nerds and geeks. We did not have to worry about homosexuality because the males marching were not thinking about being dancers on Broadway or any such thing ... this topic, if I continue to think about its absurdity and lack of focus will cause me to just point to it and laugh - just like the jocks of my youth laughed at me in my St. Joseph Patron Cadet uniform. And like the original poster, who doesn't care, I didn't either - but then again I was only 15 years old and stubborn.

St. Catherine's of Sienna also had a corps named the Queenaires - and there was (from the Proctor-Hopson VFW Post 1896 post in Queens, The Scarlet Lancers. The Staten Island Lawmen. The Bronx Kingsmen The Manhattanaires The Wynn Center Toppers PAL Corps from Brooklyn The Lindenaires from Long Island, New York further afield I remember the Appleknockers and The Polish Falcons, too.

It took me quite while to come this same conclusion. What was, was. What is, is.

May I hasten to add that before the advent of the phone camera or video ... there was Moe!

What Fran said goes double for me! And the man needs no introduction!

If you look closely, you can see where her suspenders are buttoned to the skirt. I wish I has more shots of the young women who marched in our guard ... they were something!

Just have to add: Who among us have ever forgotten the chills from the infamous INT performance that night at that show in that city? There has never been anything like it before or since.

I stand corrected. I wasn't aware there were rings to be had during those years long ago. Mea Culpa.