Father James Reilly

[BklynMario]

Father James Reilly, of St. James' Roman Catholic Church, died on Friday, March 16, of burns suffered as a result of a fire in the church rectory.

"Jimmy" was a D&BC aficionado extraordinaire. A story which I wrote several years ago, exemplifies this. In many ways, Jimmy loved D&BC as something that was representative of what we could accomplish if only we tried a bit harder, and were more tolerant of each other.As utopian as it might seem, it was his belief that the world could learn much from who we were.

Often post-scripting his letter with "Skyliners, Caballeros, Cadets," he took great pride in his role as the priest who said Mass for all, the morning after each DCA Championship.

Being a great friend of Father Gerry Marchand and Monsignor Wojtycha (World Drum Corps Hall of Fame), as well as an occasional golf mate of the Cadets' George Hopkins, he considered every opportunity to see D&BC as his "vacation."

For further information, please contact:

19 E Central Boulevard

Palisades Park, NJ07650-1747map

(201) 944-1061 .

mario

“In the Name of the Father…”

As I am told by more than a few people, the conversations (allowing for linguistic regional differences) generally went something like this:

Corps Director: “Fatah, we need new horns. The ones we have now are leaking spit on the gym floor, and Vinny, the lead soloist, slipped and fell on his lip. Our uniforms are four different shades of blue. The state flag has a flannel patch where the eagle used to be, and the American flag has 48 stars. And if it wasn’t for Sally’s old man, you know him— the guy who works in the slaughterhouse— and Louie the carpenter, we wouldn’t have any drums.”

Corps Moderator: “Joey, what do you want me to do? You know what it’s like to get anything around here.”

CD: “But, Fatah, it’s for the kids! Maybe you could talk to somebody. Ya’know…”

CM: “Yes, Joey, I know. And I know that I expect the whole corps to be there for the opening of the bazaar, and when the archbishop makes his visit, and…”

CD: “Yeah, Fatah, we’ll be there. I promise!”

CM: “Okay, let me see what I can do. Maybe God will bless us.”

CD: “Thanks, Fatah! God bless you!”

And somehow or other, the blessings came from florists, factory owners, funeral directors, bowling alleys, Cousin Allie, pizza parlors, and the Palermo-Abraham Lincoln Democratic Club.

The relationship between the Catholic Church and drum and bugle corps is long, fascinating, inspirational, and often controversial. The list of the great corps of the past reads much like an inventory of spiritual guidebooks. There are several hundred saints representative of every ethnicity and cause, as well as dozens of manifestations of the Blessed Mother and Jesus. Those were indeed the hedonistic days of earthly combatants in support of their heavenly patrons.

The fact is that joining a corps, whether voluntarily or not (“Either put that bugle in your mouth, or I’ll put it up your butt!”) assuredly saved many of us from squandering a precious part of our young lives. It would be no exaggeration to say that without the Church, drum corps— as we mature marchers remember it— would never have evolved into what it is today. Therein is where the ongoing beer battle debate of blame vs. praise exists. And Father James Reilly is anything but reticent to jump into that fray:

“The Church didn’t abandon drum corps, drum corps abandoned the Church.”

“But, Jimmy, there’s more to it than that...” Father Reilly is “Jimmy.” He was that to my wife, Judi, when they spent three years together in Holy Family High School in Union City, NJ, and when we got married, and when he baptized our two used-to-be children. Even though he never marched nor moderated a corps, Jimmy is the consummate aficionado, and has been since his father took him his first contest in the rubbled remains of the shopping mall/high-rise complex that once was Roosevelt Stadium in Union City.

“The Cabs! It was always the Cabs, and ‘Espana Cani.’ They should always play some of it in every show. And did you know that admission to the contest was free?”

“Yeah, Jimmy. I knew that.” I try to respond in a way that politely says that I was also there back then. I need to do this because I want to hear more, even though he tells me that he has only about twenty minutes before he has to get to “…a really important meeting in Jersey City.”

I prompt him with, “Father Garner…”

“You mean Bishop Garner.”

“Bishop Garner.” I share tales that were shared with me of his years with the Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, and of the presence that walked into a room as if destiny-sent from God. “In the spring he would sit out on the rectory porch and listen to us. We had just learned a new number and one of the guys walked over to say hello. Father Garner told him that he really liked the piece and asked what the title was. ‘It’s “Love for Sale.”’ Garner never hesitated in his response: ‘Forget it! Blessed Sacrament will never play that!’”

The missed-Mass monitoring always happened without warning: “We were on the bus just about ready to leave for a Sunday contest. ‘Good afternoon, boys. How’s everyone today?’ Dutifully, we gave all the right responses until it came to all his real questions: ‘Mike, what color vestments did I wear today?’ ‘Red?’ ‘No, they were green.’ Mike hadn’t been paying attention when we had our preemptive, missed-Mass meeting. ‘Billy, what was today’s sermon about?’ I also hadn’t listened well enough. I stuttered and mumbled incoherently. His reaction was biblically swift: ‘No,Billy. There were no fishes in today’s sermon. Everybody off the bus. Take off your uniforms and go home.’”

Jimmy and I spend some time talking about this. The purpose of the Church’s youth programs had the same spiritual quest as its primary mission. Parish schools were the frontline vehicle to this end, but they didn’t pervasively impact on the entire juvenile community. Catholic Youth Organization sports programs were yet another outreach, and drum corps— whether with fife, glockenspiel, or bugle accompaniment— and its paramilitaristc format seemed to provide a needed bi-level bridge to both disaffected and otherwise non-involved young people. Besides that, they really were good to have around when the bazaar opened, or the archishop paid a visit.

“When I was at Seton Hall,” Jimmy continues, “one of my good friends Tom Swangin, played French horn for Blessed Sacrament, and I had a chance to see several contests every season. Later, when I was in the sbeminary, our free time was limited, and I only got to see one contest a year. That, fortunately, was The Dream. And did you know that there were quite a few former drum corps members who became priests?”

Yes, I did know that. And the mention of The Dream reminded me that St. Vincent’s of Bayonne, was led by their more-than-moderator Fr. Edward J. Wojtcyca, of whom it is said once had a penalty-losing decision reversed when he went back and remeasured the field’s dimensions. As for The Dream contest’s historical relevance as the single, best attended show, its paramount significance as the supreme drum corps experience was forever assured when the Great One—Pepe Notaro— portentously proclaimed that, “When you die, St. Peter is going to ask you only one question ‘Did you march in The Dream?’”

“Monsignor Wojtcyca,” Jimmy admonishes me, “wasn’t the only one. There’s Father Marchand, and…”

The legendary Father Tom Finnegan of the legendary St. Joe’s of Newark, who, at the 1953 American Legion convention, literally dragged a Northerner-challenged doctor from his St. Louis bed to save the life of the Caballero’s Bob Costello. Not to be outdone, Father Jerry Walsh of St. Mary’s in Nutley, New Jersey personified his defiance to a time and place when “Whites Only!” was doctrinal policy, by having the corps’ only black member march as the drum major in the post-contest parade. And founding Father McInenly of the Holy Name Cadets...

Lest anyone think that it was only the New Jersey clergy who were on a mission from God, the CYO Championship competition in New England was “…a massive event that took two days to complete.” Moderators such as Louis DeProfio allegedly had a way of getting a great deal of “free stuff” for St. Raphael’s Buccaneers, and is again (allegedly!) doing the same thing for Park City Pride. In A History of Drum and Bugle Corps (Drum Corps World, 2002) Mickey Petrone tells of Father Carr of Holy Trinity Church whose corps came out of “…one of the worst slum areas in all of Boston.” No less a missionary was the dynamic Joseph Kierce of St. Kevin’s Emerald Knights, whose Dorchester corps became a national powerhouse and was in recent years reincarnated in a proactive alumni format.

“You know I haven’t missed a DCI Championship in more than fifteen years, and I’m already booked for Madison.”

I wanted to say “Holy ####!” No, I did say “Holy ####!” Unlike the Church, Jimmy’s relationship with drum corps has continued. That end came both mercifully fast and painfully slow. Urban churches especially experienced dramatic demographic and social shifts that spiritually and financially impacted its mission. In that increasingly demanding period, priorities had to be addressed, and the ever growing costs of sponsoring a drum corps became a necessarily subordinate concern. With these more secular parameters, came the consequent, never to be restored, end to the expanse of drum corps as a parochial, neighborhood entity. As for the clergy…

“Hey, are you and Judi going to the DCA Championship in Rochester? They have a new stadium up there. You know, I’ll be saying Mass again? Which reminds me… they haven’t sent me my tickets yet.”

“Yeah, I think we are going to make it this year. We just need to check if…”

“Let me know soon. I’ll see what I can do for you.”

“Thanks, Fatah”

* Thanks to Bob Bellarosa, Ralph Silverbrand, Cliff Richmond, and Carol Hooton. And thanks also to several others who chose anonymity rather than excommunication.

[Ray Priester]

May Father Jim rest in eternal peace.

Ray

[TomPeashey]

My God how tragic... what a wonderful human being this man was...

[Kevin Doherty]

Mario,

I come from the same background, St. Benedict's. Sac, Holy Name, Cabs and the whole Jersey experience. This is indeed a heartbreaking event. RIP Father Jim.

Kevin

[Kevin Doherty]

I want to add that we should all have heroes, male or female, it doesn't matter. These are people who gave us more than we gave to them. May we all try to do the same.

Kevin

[ironlips]

May Father Jim rest in eternal peace.

Ray

Amen.

[Fran Haring]

RIP, Father Jim.

Like Tom said... what a wonderful man.

[Ray Priester]

CORRECTION....CORRECTION

Possibly, I did this because Jimmy so often said that the church should be in *his* name:

St Michael Parish

19 Central Blvd E

Palisades Park, NJ 07650

Phone: (201) 944-1061 Fax: (201) 947-1798

http://www.parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/Org.asp?ID=5976

Mario tried to post this but was unable and he asked me to post this correction.

Ray

[David Hobart]

DCA lost it's Official Chaplain and drum corps lost a great guy. I spent some time on the phone today with DCA's Treasurer, Michael "Red" Corso talking about Father Jim. Red remembers Father Jim as a kind, upbeat man who always had something good to say. Red tells me how Father Jim would hold Mass for at least ten years on the Sunday of DCA Championship weekend. "He did an amazing job relating religion to drum corps and always made the mass an enjoyable experience."

Father Jim was a regular at many DCA and DCI events. We will miss him.

Edited March 20, 2012 by David Hobart

[Jimbalaya]

Thank you for that 'history' Mario. I had the pleasure of knowing Father Jim for only 10 years, but enjoyed every minute with the man on Championship (WDCHOF) weekend. My most sincere condolences to his family members, his parishoners, friends and extended family in drum corps.