NY State in the 1970's

[Shimes]

Are ya sitting down?... The Bridgemen...

We played Danny Boy. Jimmy saluted Mr. Bonfiglio. and the crowd went nuts.

Pretty Darn Emotional...

It was very special for me to be a very small part of it all.

[A27Lancer]

Are ya sitting down?... The Bridgemen...

We played Danny Boy. Jimmy saluted Mr. Bonfiglio. and the crowd went nuts.

Pretty Darn Emotional...

It was very special for me to be a very small part of it all.

That is unbelievable!!!! Bridgemen, you are the epitome of class.

[KeithHall]

I've mentioned this before but....

The Buckeyes and the Royal Coachmen became close friends in 1972 and 73. They came to NY, I think in 72, and were scheduled in a show at Greece, NY. At retreat they felt that they were screwd and left the field in an untraditional way. The baritone soloist started to play and then flipped the bird to the judges. The corps did an about face and walked off the field. We felt screwd too but were so used to it we left the traditional way.

[laurasop]

Have you ever seen the hard cover book which features quite a bit about the Volunteers, that was published back in 1982? It covers the 1981 season. According to your signature, Laura, you were with the Volunteers that season. Your photo may very well be in the book!

It is called Introducing The Drum & Bugle Corps, by Janet Chiefari. It has 126 pages. I think I found my copy at a used book store about 20 years ago. There are 24 pages devoted to the Volunteers, in following what it's like to be in a drum & bugle corps.

Nice color photo of 27th Lancers on the front cover, and color photo of the Bridgemen on the back.

Brian,

I finally got the book you were talking about and it brought back nice memories. And of course, my sister is in there but I am not in there at all. That book also has some great pictures of other corps. I can honestly tell you that I don't remember them making that book or the taking of the pictures. I must be getting really old!!!! :(

[A Cavalier TDY]

Seneca Princemen!!!

We purchased their uni's for the 1976 season. I also borrowed a soprano from the Princemen twice from the same guy, he had a prosthetic arm which amazed me on how he played that. I also noticed lot more dents. BTW wouldn't you say Seneca Optimists 1976 and not Toronto? Just noticed that in your signature.

The guy with the prosthetic arm was Art 'The Hook' Brand. He had come over to Seneca from Del, where he had marched the year before. Fine horn player! However, he was one of the grossest (if there IS such a word) dudes I have ever met. As a matter of fact, I had been told he was thrown out of Del!

The reason I prefer NOT to say I was a member of 'the merger' is that I quit before the long weekend camp in May. My brother and I had left Seneca to march with the Optimists in October. Do you remember that month used to be 'free release month'? Anyway, Opti was VERY good and had quite a few members in the off season. The merger was a 'reverse takeover' of sorts as Seneca had funding but not too much in the way of players. My brother and I won individuals in Optimist uniforms and left as neither one of us liked the 'newly combined' corps.

I sat out 76 and joind the Cavies in 77. My brother didn't march again until 95 with the Grenadiers.

[howfunisthat]

This is my first post...probably because this is the first time I've been here. I got sucked in when I did a Google search on Empire State Express. I marched with Mark Twain Cadets in 1975 (Mellophone) and Empire State Express in 1978 (Drum Major). Personally, I think the reason the corps fell apart wasn't due to a lack of talent...there was tons of talent in the area, Express came from two struggling corps into one with a bright future, but there wasn't enough organization to take over and run with it. As with any corps that disolves, it was a shame to watch it fall apart....but it sure was a great summer in 1978!

It was nice to read your comments....Hey Shimes...we must have known each other 30 years ago!!!

janep

[Ted Warzala]

On 7/3/2007 at 5:13 PM, rudidrummer73 said:

OK, OK...you sucked me in on this one. This is where I lived in the 70s, on the fields of New York State every weekend. It really was wonderful, because each weekend you had one or two shows, often not more than two hours from your home. The level of the competition you would face was pretty darn good, by national standards.

I marched with the Magnificent Yankees of Utica. Talking about the NYS A.L. Championships, we won the title in 1971, '72 & '73. The first came after finishing second to St. Joe’s of Batavia by just over a point, we were awarded the title after a protest against St. Joe’s over using overage players. We won the next two on the field, beating the Auburn Purple Lancers in ’72 in Syracuse and the Watkins Glen Squires in ’73 in Binghamton.

Typically, in a weekend the following corps would go against each other at various locations; Mag. Yankees, St. Joe’s, Auburn Purple Lancers, Geneva Appleknockers, Syracuse Marauders, Mark Twain Cadets, Tri Town Cadets, Castlemen, Utica Royaleers, Mello-Dears, Poughkeepsie Pacers, Kingston Indians, Barons of Steuben, Greece Cadets, Apalachian Grenadiers, Troy Speigleaires and others who I can’t immediately recall.

Every once in a while, some corps would come up from the NYC area, like; CMCC Warriors, St. Rita’s Brassmen, OLPH Ridgemen and Blue Rock made several weekend ventures “Upstate” from Wilmington, Del.

You could not talk about NYS drum corps in the era without talking about the great Canadian corps that traveled south regularly; Toronto Optimists, De LaSalle, Cadets LaSalle, Les Metropolitans and the lovely Les Chantelains.

Great competition and a great way to spend a summer!

I also marched with the Yankees in 71-73.  I have fond memories of 72 in Syracuse when we beat the purple lancer the only time that year.  We were on fire that night.