steelcityrabbit Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 The busses were (when we weren't on tour) used as sort of a Butler transportation system-particularly to bring folks to bingo. I remember my dad driving the corps buses to the next town over to bring in the bingl players. They still to this day have one of the biggest bingo games in the area. Yaracs would also loan the buses to veteran's groups. He has always run them on election day to get folks to the polls for free. I would love to know their financial situation, has to be pretty dam good pulling in all that bingo $$$ and not much of a corps to spend it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I remember my dad driving the corps buses to the next town over to bring in the bingl players. They still to this day have one of the biggest bingo games in the area.Yaracs would also loan the buses to veteran's groups. He has always run them on election day to get folks to the polls for free. I would love to know their financial situation, has to be pretty dam good pulling in all that bingo $$$ and not much of a corps to spend it on. Yeah, I'd say so. I give him credit-Big A is the man when it comes to money. He knew how to run a corps. On tour we'd all be eating really well and with no shortage of fast food trips paid for by the corps. I remember sharing a practice field with another corps and they were eating peanut butter n Jelly, and we had like a three course meal! I also recall that all of our bus drivers, truck drivers, etc., were parents. There were like no paid staff other than instructors when we were on tour. Well, I do think Big A floated some cash about, b/c those were hard economic times with Armco (?) and a lot of other Butler industry going under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Going thru old scores and see the ICA Championships for 1985. Check the name used for the "Vagabonds"..... Also check that they were .3 behind a (rebuilding) Westshore?????? Saturday August 24, 1985 Erie PA ICA Championship 1 Rochester Crusaders 94.000 2 Empire Statesmen 87.900 3 Excalibur Sr 84.200 4 Guelph Royalaires 81.000 5 Westshoremen 74.900 6 General Butler Vagabonds Sr 74.600 7 Keystoners 52.900 8 Knights of Noble Callahan 47.000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Going thru old scores and see the ICA Championships for 1985. Check the name used for the "Vagabonds"..... Also check that they were .3 behind a (rebuilding) Westshore??????Saturday August 24, 1985 Erie PA ICA Championship 1 Rochester Crusaders 94.000 2 Empire Statesmen 87.900 3 Excalibur Sr 84.200 4 Guelph Royalaires 81.000 5 Westshoremen 74.900 6 General Butler Vagabonds Sr 74.600 7 Keystoners 52.900 8 Knights of Noble Callahan 47.000 see what I mean,...............what is the source for this Jim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 (edited) see what I mean,...............what is the source for this Jim? Found it on corpsresp when I was getting a list of Westshoremen scores. Ron doesn't have it on srcorps so I couldn't check it there. Interesting..... Corpsreps has scores for Troy Defenders 1981-1983 and GBV 1984-1985 but not both the same time. corpsreps has scores for GBV at 1984 & 1985 DCA, the ICA Champs I mentioned above plus: Saturday August 17, 1985 Williamsport PA ICA 1 Empire Statesmen 86.400 2 Excalibur Sr 80.250 3 Guelph Royalaires 79.050 4 Westshoremen 74.150 5 General Butler Vagabonds Sr 64.850 6 Keystoners 53.250 7 Knights of Noble Callahan 42.700 And the only thing I remember about any of these shows is it freakin' POURED at 1985 ICA Champs.... Too #### wet to buy a program. Edited July 13, 2009 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomPeashey Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 perhaps you have found the source of the original error? or... more likely Chris Maher just carried the error on... assuming the corps in ICA was GBC when in reality it was the OTHER Vagabonds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassomaniac Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) Well, the recap only says "Vagabonds", but contest coverage in the drum corps press states they were from Fort Edward, NY. So does Fran Haring's voice on the DCA prelim recordings. I have recordings of both Butler and Fort Edward in both years, and they played different music, so that is proof positive.One thing I've noticed over time is that you can't trust anyone's memory (including mine) about 25-year-old details of drum corps history. I marched with them in `84, at DCA....FORT EDWARD Vagabonds. And, though I left to help start the pre-curser to Capitol Brass Ensemble, in 1985... the Fort Edward corps returned to DCA that year. Several sites have listed the entry as General Butler Vagabonds, over the years. But it was absolutely the Fort Edward Vagabonds at DCA prelims in 1984 AND 1985.. led by Corps Director (the late) Brent Farnsworth. Edited July 14, 2009 by brassomaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassomaniac Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) Found it on corpsresp when I was getting a list of Westshoremen scores. Ron doesn't have it on srcorps so I couldn't check it there.Interesting..... Corpsreps has scores for Troy Defenders 1981-1983 and GBV 1984-1985 but not both the same time. corpsreps has scores for GBV at 1984 & 1985 DCA, the ICA Champs I mentioned above plus: Saturday August 17, 1985 Williamsport PA ICA 1 Empire Statesmen 86.400 2 Excalibur Sr 80.250 3 Guelph Royalaires 79.050 4 Westshoremen 74.150 5 General Butler Vagabonds Sr 64.850 6 Keystoners 53.250 7 Knights of Noble Callahan 42.700 And the only thing I remember about any of these shows is it freakin' POURED at 1985 ICA Champs.... Too #### wet to buy a program. I was at this one. too... with Noble Callahan: our first season. THIS was also the FORT EDWARD Vagabonds. Since they were close neighbors of ours, and a corps I marched with in `84... I remember this well. Edited July 14, 2009 by brassomaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassomaniac Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) YUP, Fort Edward. There was a time during that era where also know as the Troy Defenders, I think. Don't ask me how that worked, maybe somebody else knows. No, Troy Defenders were still marginally around then (I think they may have disbanded in 83), but Fort Edward Vagabonds were not the same corps ... 80's edition was a parade corps and then a competition corps for only 2 years, out of Fort Edward, NY... near Glens Falls, about 45 minutes North of Albany. In 89 a bunch of Vagabonds came on board with the re-named Capitol Brass Ensemble, after Noble-Callahan's "Schism of `88" Edited July 14, 2009 by brassomaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) perhaps you have found the source of the original error? or... more likely Chris Maher just carried the error on... assuming the corps in ICA was GBC when in reality it was the OTHER Vagabonds I heard that one... Wish I still had my old programs to see what they have but sometimes they were off too. Gary found a program with a show ad that listed "Westshoremen-Bonnie Scots, Inc". That name combination never existed. Found a good one from 1949 that Ron and Gary both have in their respective sites. The 1949 Hershey show lists a "Blair Post" with a score and nothing else. Turns out that was Hanovers very first field competition and should have been "Bair Post". Wanna bet there was a typo in the original source (whatever that was). Note to Gary: still looking at my source, will email when done. Edited July 14, 2009 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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