ferb27 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 I miss George & Patsy. I have no doubt that they remember everyone. I was only there 2 years and every time I saw them after, they (especially Patsy) always rememberd me. Mrs Patti too.Good to know about the scolding stuff..... The best times of my life were with the 27th Lancers. I remember that night all too well when George B. announced after prelims that the corps was going to be no longer. I had a good cry with my fellow staff members as well as all the kids who put their heart and soul into that year. It was a tough thing to take. The last run-thru before prelims still gives me goose bumps. I really feel that that group of kids in 86 did the corps proud. They represented everything the corps was about. They never gave up even during the toughest of times and made the best of a very rough season. There were times on both tours that year that there was only ONE visual staff person to handle the load. Those kids deserved a better fate but they held their heads high and represented the corps in the classiest of manners. I was so happy to see a number of those kids from 86 in the line with me in 94. For some, it was the first time that they ever got to perform at FINALS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssmrr Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Oh this post brings back so many memories for me. I never marched the "big corps" I was in the Cadet corps. I couldn't wait to move up. The Cadet corps went inactive in 86, I sat that year out buy filling horn spots and doing what ever I could with the corps. George B. said I needed to be 13 to march with the big kids. One more year is all I kept saying all summer. I went to Allentown to watch and I remember waiting for the buses. Oh the corps was so late and then they came on one bus. I remember hearing rumors then about how the corps was going down. My dad helped with the buses alot infact once he fixed something I don't know what but he fixed it with a flag pole. and when the buses were sold the bus still had the flag pole part in it. George still thinks of members as his kids and I am fairly certain he remembers you all. He and Patsy were my extended family. I was home watching DCI's in 86 crying watching the corps in the background singing danny boy and carrying the sign (which if I remember correctly were the props the corps used that year) 27th Lancers was my family's life. We didn't know anything else. I wonder often what it would of been like to march in the "Big corps" and sorry I didn't get a chance. Sue Greenwell Clark 27th Lancer Cadets 1981-1985 Garfield Cadets 1987-1992 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 (edited) Ahhhhhh, the Revere House of Grease! LOL....I do remember that. Mrs. Patty!!!! Awesome lady. Always made you feel good about what you were doing. We came in after curfew one night after going to get some late night snacks. George B. was waiting for us at the door. Poor John Fisher....he was the first one in, so he got the biggest brunt of it! LOL. And if you could just picture George B doing his hand gestures to get the point across. PRICELESS!!! Anyone remember those Larry Lancer and Lucy Lancer signs on the shower room door? Remember those Steph???? hehehehehehe To whoever said that we knew? I most certainly had no clue. George B was down at the field on the last night. It was not good enough for him. We kept running one set over and over and over and over and over....He wanted more sound, more excitement....and what the rest of the staff couldn't get out of the corps, he did! The man owned the corps. Was he the blood of the corps? You bet. I have a copy on VHS of our performance from the Star show. Even the announcers were shocked at how well we did. I never knew the corps to give up. I just remember that no matter where we placed, when we left the field, my head was up high because you couldn't be more full of pride as you marched off to Danny Boy! Yeah, I remember the Larry and Lucy signs..lol.....that corps hall was a trip. I saw that performance of the Star show at George B.'s one time and I too was surprised at how well we did after all that we had been through on those buses. You're right, I would sit up on some nights to keep George B. awake when he would drive the buses. If there was ever any indication that we were folding, we didn't know until it happened. They made a good job of keeping it that way. We kind of had an "idea" of the circumstances but we always had hope! Hey Dwayne! I saw you signed the corps data base! Come to the reunion! :) Edited June 5, 2007 by Lancerlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferb27 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Oh this post brings back so many memories for me. I never marched the "big corps" I was in the Cadet corps. I couldn't wait to move up. The Cadet corps went inactive in 86, I sat that year out buy filling horn spots and doing what ever I could with the corps. George B. said I needed to be 13 to march with the big kids. One more year is all I kept saying all summer.I went to Allentown to watch and I remember waiting for the buses. Oh the corps was so late and then they came on one bus. I remember hearing rumors then about how the corps was going down. My dad helped with the buses alot infact once he fixed something I don't know what but he fixed it with a flag pole. and when the buses were sold the bus still had the flag pole part in it. George still thinks of members as his kids and I am fairly certain he remembers you all. He and Patsy were my extended family. I was home watching DCI's in 86 crying watching the corps in the background singing danny boy and carrying the sign (which if I remember correctly were the props the corps used that year) 27th Lancers was my family's life. We didn't know anything else. I wonder often what it would of been like to march in the "Big corps" and sorry I didn't get a chance. Sue Greenwell Clark 27th Lancer Cadets 1981-1985 Garfield Cadets 1987-1992 Nice to hear from you Suzy (or was it Suzie). Don't be a stranger. It's nice to hear from you younger folk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssmrr Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 young! You should ask my kids if they think I am young :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferb27 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 young! You should ask my kids if they think I am young :P A little too rough on them are we, eh?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancerLegend Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Our lives have certainly benefitted well from marching in the 27th Lancers. The corps typified a New England, blue collar work ethic. Work hard, never give up, and good things will happen. George B repeated the same lessons year in and year out, from the very first years of the corps, up to the 1994 Alumni Corps. Among the many reasons why the corps folded were two primary issues - finances and local support. The Mass Lottery Commission single handily drove a stake through the heart of the corps (and all other non-profits organizations) when the legislature changed the bingo and "games of chance" laws. Instead of being able to offer a high stakes casino type night once every few months, the non-profits were only allowed to have about 1 per year. That was a huge problem that we could not control. Another issue, that we could not control was the home grown member. Massachusetts was a mecca for drum corps - and as kids grew older and more abitious, there were two super corps for kids to move to - either Boston or 27th in the early 1970's. No other corps were touring, and it was easy for each of these two corps to recruit locally. As local corps started to loose their membership base, their directors decided that in order to retain membership, then a tour schedule was required. So, these other corps - North Star, Rockland Defenders, Alliance - not only gained promanence, but also attracted kids from out of state. In order for 27th to ensure its future, George B started the 27th Lancer Cadets - and those kids worked their butts off. But....as touring and all of the other associated costs continued to skyrocket, the marginal corps were forced to give up their ghost. And 27th started to loose some of its allure. With Zingali at Cadets, and spinning his magic, kids were looking to march in finals, not just participate. It took more and more energy to bring kids to Revere - and while there was a very cohesive corps during the summer, the winters were increasingly more difficult to maintain high energy and spirits. In the early days, the corps hailed from three primary geographic areas - Revere, Norwood and Roslindale. In the later days, I could not begin to guess where the geographic "home" of the corps was from. The 27th Lancers is me, and I am the 27th Lancers. Everything I learned from my immediate family, was reinforced by my surrogate parents and the many diff instructors I had. When it was my turn to give back and George B asked me to teach the corps, there was no hesitation, no second guessing - I would give back 100 times over what was given to me in order to make the corps succeed. I marched in the Ike Ianessa/Jim Buckley/Jim wedge era, with many of the "original" 27th Lancers, thru the Gil Norton and Ralph Pace years, and concluded with teaching with Zingali in the early 1980's. Having first seen the corps in 1969, my time spanned 14 years plus 2 years of the Alumni corps. These are without a doubt the greatest friendships anyone on earth could have. And yes, the 27th Lancers are the greatest DCI corps to have never won a championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancerFi Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I was so sad when they sold the house on Cambridge, it's almost like a piece of Lancer History gone. :( I have to tell you, we went to look at the house and we were very interested in buying it. One of the alums (a real estate agent) asked me if I was buying it because I loved the house, or because of the memories. I truly couldn't answer, it would have to be both. I was there when they poured the foundation on that house and the amenities it had I had never seen before. I was always blown away by the room to room intercoms. It seemed like a huge house when I was a child and it was bigger than life as I grew to be an adult. So many evenings that turned into mornings putting double silks on their polls the night before Bayonne. Living at the bottom of the street 3 houses down had its advantages - being on call was usually a blessing although I didn't know it then.... I do have to say that I thought many a winter night I would die as we pulled (I mean slid) the equipment truck into the driveway - a sheet of ice.....I used to pray - however I had great faith in Paul (Pa) Scopa....RIP Dad.... Oh did I love that man. And he loved every kid he ever met. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I marched in the Ike Ianessa/Jim Buckley/Jim wedge era I judged a USSBA MB show in CT a few years back with Ike. We had a great time going over the old days as we talked in between bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferb27 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I judged a USSBA MB show in CT a few years back with Ike. We had a great time going over the old days as we talked in between bands. I miss Ike. What a great guy. I got to know him through my dad. They knew each other from their marching days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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