Colorado Floods and DCI memories, DATR, etc.

[drilltech1]

Sending a shout out of good wishes and best hopes to the Blue Knights' and Troopers' many families and local fans sorely suffering from those floods in the Rocky Mountain front range communities and now out to past Greeley along the rivers. The floods in Colorado spur memories of good times there, of friends, and of DCI experiences. Newer fans and recent participants might not realize that the '77 and '78 championships were bifurcated with prelims at Folsom Field at the University of Colorado in Boulder and only Finals at the NFL Stadium in Denver. Many, many corps have spent break days in Boulder or practice days near there in prep for DATR in any number of years or for the 2004 DCI's which were again in Denver. Some instructors who have taught many corps live in that very effected Loveland and Ft. Collins area. Loveland and near places even hosted some contests in the past decade. UC at Boulder, CSU, and UNC all generate many members to a number of finalist corps such as Vanguard, Cadets, Regiment, Cavaliers, Crossmen etc. besides Troop and BK.

May your drill fields soon be dry again, your lives restored and your losses limited.

Edited September 16, 2013 by drilltech1

[bstar82]

Lyons Colorado was the hardest hit area and has been the home away from home for the Velvet Knights during the 70's-90's.

Bud and Sandy O'Conner worked with the corps and moved to Lyons and it was always a great place for VK to spend upwards to a couple of weeks (79) there instead of going back to the west coast during tours. In fact VK would hold a performance in full uniform for the locals before they left town. Former director Jack Bevins lives just outside Loveland and was one of many w/o the essentials and could not get out of his home as all roads were under water for quite some time. Former Muchachos Tom Pratt and Teddy Z have lived up in that area for many years, sounds like Teddy is okay. DM Ashley Drayer (07-08) from BK is from Loveland, believe she is okay but if you know the area, so many towns and cities were split by the flooding of the Big Thompson, Poudre, Platte Rivers and Boulder Creek to name a few, and now the flooding is affecting towns 70-90 miles away i.e. Fort Morgan and Sterling in NE Colorado. One interesting story is about bull snakes being found in resident's homes in the undamaged rooms. Wildlife experts have told folks that the snakes need to go somewhere and dry out so they enter the homes scaring the heck out of people. I remember the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 taking well over 100 lives. So far, that number is only 7 from this flood but hundreds are still missing. It is still a dangerous situation as round the clock coverage of this disaster continues on local TV today. If anyone remembers a early season show in Boulder Co in 1982 at Boulder HS, the stream running right behind the stadium is Boulder Creek that swelled up to 12 ft on Thursday.

[oldsoprano]

Lyons Colorado was the hardest hit area and has been the home away from home for the Velvet Knights during the 70's-90's.

Bud and Sandy O'Conner worked with the corps and moved to Lyons and it was always a great place for VK to spend upwards to a couple of weeks (79) there instead of going back to the west coast during tours. In fact VK would hold a performance in full uniform for the locals before they left town.

Bud and Sandy's son, Chris O'Conner, and his wife, Lynn (both Spirit of Atlanta alumni) secured a stunningly beautiful banquet hall on a hilltop in Lyons for Spirit's year-end banquet in 2004. It was heartbreaking to see the devastation this weekend just across the road from the driveway up the hill to that banquet hall.