chasgroh Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Dick, this gets my vote for Most Obscure Corps ever!!!!! Fran ...I'm not trying to change your vote, Fran, but these guys I actually observed with my own eyeballs, *and* we competed against them at '63 VFW Nats in Seattle: The Corps of the North from (I *think*) Anchorage (maybe Fairbanks?) Alaska. cg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananaboyz Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Simple, think of the least famous corps you ever saw or even competed against. Hopefully fun way to recognized these corps. for me competed against (RCA/DCA/ICA): Hershey Chocolatiers (pre and post merger with York, PA White Roses) Johnsonburg Diplomats (if you ever were in Johnsonburg you must have been lost ) Ohio Brass Factory (Hi Hairbear) Blue Eagles (or was it Renaissance) - Wind Gap, PA (only saw them, but they beat our DCA low score record) Intercot Grenadeers somewhere upstate NY. They had a horn line that could really let loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Intercot Grenadeers somewhere upstate NY. They had a horn line that could really let loose. From the Endicott/Binghamton area.... also known as the Southern Tier Grenadiers. We would see them at various Eastern State Circuit shows, circa mid-1970's. Their horn line was relatively small in numbers, but man could they play. They also were playing some pretty high-rent stuff for a local-circuit corps. Capriccio Espagnol, Mouret's "Rondeau" (the theme from Masterpiece Theater), among others. Great charts. Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) ...I'm not trying to change your vote, Fran, but these guys I actually observed with my own eyeballs, *and* we competed against them at '63 VFW Nats in Seattle: The Corps of the North from (I *think*) Anchorage (maybe Fairbanks?) Alaska. cg Few weeks ago I was reading Nancis DC History site and there was a note that Corps of the North would not be going to '64 VFW because of the earthquake. Either the quake interferred with the money for travel plans or the corps was using the money to help the area (forget exactly). Haven't seen any mention of the corps since then so wonder if "earthquake" can be listed as a reason why a corps folded. LOL, my sister was in Anchorage in early 90s to visit a friend. Any building considered "old" was one that survived the quake (and there weren't that many). That's also the place with streets named "Drum", "Bugle" and "Corps". Weird part is, sis was just driving around (in a borrowed car) to kill time and noticed the street signs. Have a thread on this somewhere from a few years ago. Edited March 18, 2009 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mellofello01 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Added this list on the "younger" side of the forums but thought it may joggle some memories, particularly the 1957 list at the end. http://www.bluerock.us/success/index.htm Enjoy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Standy mentioning "The Lindenaires" reminds me of a whole array of small corps that used to compete on Long Island. The Lindenaires (from Lindenhurst L.I., not Lyndhurst N.J.) were one of the better-known small corps.The Selden Golden Lancers were the biggest, nationally-known corps of their day, the St. Ignatius Girls were well-known All-girl champions, and the Long Island Kingsmen were a big corps later on, but how many know about or remember such names as: the Holbrook Skylarks, the Sayville Blue Jays (still around as a parade corps), the Oceanside Legionnaires, the Smithtown Freelancers, the Babylon Islanders, the Farmingdale Vanguards, the St. James Saints, Eastern Excelsior, or St. John's of Riverhead? I know several people who were members of some of these corps who went on to march with the Sunrisers, Cabs and Skyliners, to name a few. Folks outside of Long Island or the NY metro area probably never heard of most of these corps. Many of the above were not so obscure, they just weren't around for a long time. In the mid sixties for instance, The Babylon Islanders practically owned The Long Island Circuit. Check out this show from BITD - (45 years ago): 1964 Greater New York Circuit Championship, Saturday September 26, 1964 - Paterson, N.J. 1 St. Raphael's Golden Buccaneers 79.950 2 The Bronx Kingsmen 79.680 3 OLPH Ridgemen 79.470 4 St. Joseph Patron Cadets 75.520 5 Milford Shoreliners 73.470 6 New Britain Grenadiers 72.920 7 Staten Island Lawmen 72.280 8 St. Anne's Loyalaires 72.130 9 Little Falls Cadets 70.430 10 Babylon Islanders 69.930 11 Smithtown Freelancers 69.830 12 Jersey Cyclones 65.900 13 Lindenaires 63.430 14 CMCC Warriors 62.500 I love history. Puppet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dci72 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The Vacationland Sweethearts from Sandusky Ohio? Northern Thunder could help out here. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyroo Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The Vacationland Sweethearts from Sandusky Ohio? Northern Thunder could help out here.Kate Actually Kate, they were an all-girl corps from Port Clinton, Ohio - near Sandusky. They used to run a really good show each year just prior to the U.S. Open in Marion, catching some of the eastern corps on their way to Marion. Nice little show right on the shores of Lake Erie. Only one problem... There were more mosquitos per square inch than at any other show I ever attended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Hey John ... the list of corps you cited is what I consider second generation GYNC ... considering a generation might last 3-5 years ... the first generation (58-64) would have included St. Catherine's Queesmen and Marionettes, St. Raphael's, Wynn Center, Our Lady of Lourdes, Blue Rock, Dumont, New Britain Grenadiers, Bronx Kingsmen, OLPH, St. Ann's Loyalaires, Barringer Walker, Oakland Rangers, SI Lawmen, Regimental Cadets, Smithtown Freelancers, Lindenaires and a few more ... the second generation (post 65) would have been Milford Shoreliners, SI T-Birds, St. Joe's Patron, Minisink Warriors, Norwalk Hot Shots, Babylon Islanders and more ... instructors also included other icons such as Wes Myers, Bobby Peterson, Joe Tucker, Left Patrakis, Bobby Winslow, Pepe Notaro, Joe Genero, George Lopez and a host of others ... Havey Berish (Kingsmen, Midshipmen, Knickerbockers) had a column in DCN that routinely featured GNYC corps ... and Moe Knox was roaming the sidelines of GNYC shows taking his historic pics ... GNYC was a wonderful breeding ground for many, many DC greats ...:-) Hey Andy,Our combined lists are quite a roster of corps lost to posterity. Some rose from the near-obscurity of the local GNY shows to become nationally known contenders. Many others continued to be the 'breeding ground' for so many local kids with the desire to move up to bigger name corps, and ultimately became major forces in drum corps, and not just in the NY metro area. Oh, what we've lost as far as local corps and talent! And those instructors! A veritable 'Who's Who' of area notables and Hall-of-Famers who have influenced the local and national scene of the activity. We were so lucky to have them, know them and be influenced by them. One wonders if we'll ever again see such an era of so many talented young people and instructors in the tri-state area of NY, NJ and Ct. Garden State Circuit (and going off thread to clarify some of the above) Included Garfield, Blessed Sac, Muchachos, Bridgemen and other and all were not "obscure." Greater New York Circuit included many named about but St. Joseph Patron Cadets move from 9th place in 1963 in that circuit to 1st in 1965 and 1966. We moved up ten placements from 21 to 11 at the World Open Prelims in just two seasons. By the time we restructured as St. Rita's Brassmen in 1969, we placed 7th in the finals at that show and began a touring schedule. By 1972 and 1973 we placed 2nd place at the World Open and doing well at the CYO and Danny Thomas shows as well as Marion. Long Island Circuit - heck in '65 the Babylon Islanders practically owned that circuit losing only to those from the aforementioned surrounding circuits. St. Ignatius Girls went on to win the All Girl Division of the World Open in 1973. I'll bet Audobon, the Mello Dears and others didn't consider them obscure on the day of the competition. Oh, BTW. You forgot to mention some of the best instructors (Drill, Horns & Drums) in the form of Carman Cluna, Hy Dreitzer & Eric Perrilloux that ever walked the planet. Yeah the same guys who taught the Skyliners and who marched with Joe Genero anad Pepe Nataro - Hmmmm. Puppet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabalumnidrummer Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Puppet said: "Many of the above were not so obscure, they just weren't around for a long time. In the mid sixties for instance, The Babylon Islanders practically owned The Long Island Circuit." Absolutely right, Puppet. 'Obscure' is a relative and potentially ambiguous term, depending on one's location. Besides short lifetimes for a few of them, limited finances and other circumstances kept many of these quality groups 'confined' to a relatively small region. To us in the NY and LI area, these corps were very well-known names, but to people in other parts of the country, they were pretty obscure. A small handful of local corps went to national contests when they could afford to, gaining some recognition outside of their region, but most had to be content with local success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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