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"Biggest Downer(s)": Watching all the lights go out on the great Bridgeport Connecticut junior corps in 1967 & 1968. Lost in 68 were both the St Raphaels Buccaneers & Marionettes and the cross town rival Bridgeport PAL Cadets. The preceeding year had seen two other Bridgeport juniors fold, the St Anns Loyalairs and Connecticut Royal Lancers, as well as the St Raphaels 'cadets" corps, the Muskateers. The best of luck to the "Park City Pride" Bridgeport Reunion Corps that has been formed to include former members of ALL the areas 1960s junior corps and will do a "One Time Performance" at the Barnum Festivals parade and 'Parade of Champions' DCA show. I understand they have over 200 members on board at this time. Elphaba

"Best Years Ever": 1964: The phrase "On Any Given Night" must have been born. EVERYBODY was good, and got better as the season went on. National Chmpionships went to: VFW: Racine Kilties CYO: Boston Crusaders Worlds Fair: Chicago Royal Airs World Open: Chicago Cavaliers National Dream: St Kevins Emerald Knights American Legion: Garfield Cadets 1971: Almost as good. Several new Championships added. VFW: Santa Clara Vanguard American Legion: Argonne Rebels Mid America Open: Anahiem Kingsmen: US Open: Blue Rock World Open: 27th Lancers CYO: Blue Rock National Dream: 27th Lancers Elphaba

"What Corps": 1961 St Catherine of Sienna Queensmen, or any of the St Kevins Enerald Knights corps, 1959 through 1964. Elphaba

Some of the "Greatest": 'Back In the Day: An 'exit number' and 'finish line fanfare' concluded a drum corps performance. Some of the more 'noteable' ones that come to mind are: "In the Still of the Night": Blessed Scrament Golden Knights, early 1960s. "This Nearly Was Mine": St Kevins Emerald Knights, early 1960s. "With a Smile and a Song": St Catherines Queensmen 1961. "Somewhere" and "Over the Rainbow": Chicago Cavaliers early 1960s "Auld Ang Syne": Racine Kilties, mid to late 1960s. "Johnny Comes Marching Home" & "How the West Was Won": Casper Troopers late 1960s. Elphaba

"Noteable" Female Bugle Instructors: I believe Barbara Maroney taught for some time after she aged out of the Garfield Cadets. Sue Samuels also taught the Crossmen in the late 1990s. Sandra Opie is indeed the "Queen" of female instructor/judges. Elphaba

A Few "Other Than Soprano Soloists" From "Way Back When": French Horn Bugle: Frank "Buzzy" Bergdoll: St Kevins Emerald Knights Joseph Olivard: St Josephs of Batavia Barbara Finch: St Annes Loyalaires Baritone Bugle: William Hightower: St Catherine of Sienna Queensmen Mike Ramelli: Chicago Royal Airs Wayne Karge: Chicago Cavaliers Ruben Ariolla: St Josephs Patron Cadets Brian Aller: Racine Kilties "Rugo" Rugoletti: Cambridge Caballeros John Magnifico: St Kevins Emerald Knights John Chalmus: Brooklyn Privateers & Blesed Sacrament William Adamski: Racine Scouts & Casper Troopers I'm quite sure I've missed more than a few "Other Than Soprano" soloists from that era, but these names come to mind. Considering the horns that these soloists had to play on (examples of which pop up on E Bay from time to time) they were truly excellent performers and "Masters of Their Art". Elphaba

Some "Underated" Brass Lines: In the days before the huge brass sections of DCI, many great hornlines managed to put out a "sound" with numbers that rarely exceeded 30 or 33 players. Our Lady of Loretto Knights, and St Catherines Queensmen of Brooklyn NY usually fielded a "smallish" hornline of 27-33, and managed to sound teriffic and beat some of the larger hornlines of the day. Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights of Newark NJ carried a hornline of 30, and won Legion Nationals and the first World Open in 1963. Elphaba

"Old School Part Deux:" Parades: Remember when: You marched several parades on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, THEN competed in a field contest in the evening. While on the subject of 'parades': I well remember the sight of such GREAT color guards as those of the Casper Troopers, St Kevins Emerald Knights and the Bridgeport PAL Cadets LEADING their respective corps down the line of march, extending accross the street, often 'curb to curb', in a "Guard Front", MARCHING at elbow contact. The drum sections were positioned in FRONT of the hornlines, feeding off of the excitement generated by the color guard that had preceeded them. The "G" bugles of yesteryear had no trouble blowing through them, something that the "legit" brass (trumpets/tubas) of today seem to struggle with. It seems the corps of today (with some noteable exceptions, the New York Skyliners and Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni corps to name a couple) have copied the high school marching band style of pushing the 'percussionists' to the center of or behind the 'brass' players, and relegating the color guard to the "cleanup' slot behind the unit proper. Elphaba

A few of my "Faves", 1960s vintage: St Kevins Emerald Knights: "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" & "Ramparts Street Parade". Racine Kilties: "MacArthur Park" St Catherines Queensmen: "Tin Roof Blues". Cambridge Caballeros: "Maleguena" Madison Scouts: "Ballet in Brass" Chicago Royal Airs: "Birth of the Blues" & "New Orleans" Vasella Musketeers: "American Patrol" Boston Crusaders: "It Was a Very good Year" St Raphaels Buccaneers: "Trumpet Blues" Elphaba

The Olde "DQ" is "Nothing New": While the St Andrews Bridgemen, Hawthorne Muchachos and Crossmen's "DQ's are fairly recent in memory, the "DQ" of corps from Nationals and Nationals Finals competition isn't. "Way Back" in 1965 at VFW (Chicago) the Vasella Musketeers had a "dime" dropped on them (overage member) and were shown the door after Prelims. Seniors had their "DQ's" also. In the Atlantic City Legion Nationals, 1957, several contending senior units, including the one that had won the Prelims were booted due to their not decalring "Non Veterans" under the Legions "80-20" rule. Anyone else know of other pre DCI "DQ's"? Elphaba

"Old School": To StarContra's "Remember When" list: Yes to numbers 1 through 20. And can add: The "tour" was a trip to one or the other of the Veteran's National Chmpionships, (or both if they fell with a week or two of each other, and were on the same Coast) a drum corps season that never really "ended" with standstills and indy shows all winter long, and a "field" campaign that started in early May and ended in October. The "National Dream", "Mission Drums", The "World Open & CYO Nationals", and the "Evening With the Corps at Carnagie Hall" Spring concerts sponsored by Drum Corps News. Elphaba

French Horn Bugles: "Way Back When", French Horn Bugles were the "middle voices". They were in "GD" with SLIDES for the chromatics. The FH bugles were (and still are) the most difficult 'marching brass' instrument to play. As I remember Frank "Buzzy" Bergdoll of St Kevins Emerald Knights, and John Sasso of the St Catherins Queensmen were two of the best performers in the "juniors", and Hy Drietzer, and "Pepe" Nataro, both of the New York Skyliners were standouts in the seniors. I'm sure there were many others. The mellophones started showing up in 1964, having been 'invented' by Dom DelRay. Mr DelRay was the writer/instructor for the Springfield Marksmen & Troy Interstatesmen seniors, and Pittsfield Cavaliers junior corps, which were among the first units to actually utiilize the new instrument, in that season. Elphaba

The Argonne Rebels are long gone from the drum corps scene. A detailed history of the unit is found in Volume #2, "A History of Drum Corps". A bio of Sandra Opie was run in Drum Corps World a few months ago. She is retired from drum corps teaching and judging as well as her careers in eduaction and decorating as is her husband, Glen, the Director of Argonne in their Championship Years. Elphaba

All of them. AND: Cambridge Caballeros St Vincents Cadets Our Lady of Loretto Blue Rock St Raphaels Buccaneers St Lucys Cadets New York Kingsmen St Roccos Cadets St Marys Cardinals Bridgeport PAL Cadets Magnificent Yankees Vasella Musketeers DesPlaines Vanguards Norwwod Park Imperials Argonne Rebels... ...and so many MANY other GREAT junior drum corps that have been lost over the years. Elphaba

Drum Corps Brawls: 1961, VFW Nationals, The Orange Bowl, Miami Florida Retreat for the Finals of the 1961 VFW "Million Dollar Pagent of Drums" saw two of the junior finalists "Go at it" RIGHT ON THE FIELD. St Marys Majestic Knights of Charlestown Ma and the St Vincents Cadets of Bayonne NJ had been placed next to each other by VFW contest officials without those officials having knowledge of the "Bad Blood" between the two units, and the fact that they had been involved in an earlier altercation. All it took was a few "Dirty Looks" and passed remaks to reignite the fued. The corps memberships battled on the field, at retreat until seperated by the contest staff and instructors. The VFW Nationals contest Chairman, Tony Schlecta ran through the scores of all the Finalists, in all categories, oblivious of the brawl going on right in front of him. Fleetwood Records had recorded the 1961 Finals and announcement of scores, (as they had in 1960, and would in 1962) and planned on including the announcement of scores in the albums. The microphones picked up "Sounds of Battle" comming from the field, and led to the scores announcements being deleted from the albums. Elphaba