Northern New England Notebook
By Alan Brooks
DCN Aug. 29, 1962 issue

BACK FROM THE EDGE OF OBLIVION... This is probably the best way to summarize our main subject for this edition, the Bath Buccaneers - the northern New England region's number one senior competitor.

Only six months ago things looked extremely bright for the men from the Shipbuilding City as they stood nearly eighty members strong on the rehearsal field starting line. They were unquestionably in for their best year since their inception some two years previous.

However, the bubble of expectancy was soon to burst as combinations of circumstances saw the ranks dwindle in number. Internal frictions arose as a result of dissatisfaction with the progress of the music program as well as minor undercurrents as a result of a few governing policies.

Soon, the first contest was but three weeks away . . . time had rushed rapidly by. The musical portion of the show was far from complete; and, as a result of lack of co-ordination between music director and corps staff, the unit's M&M program was delayed in completion while awaiting termination of musical instruction.

The hand-writing was on the wall . . . and two weeks prior to the first contest, the Bucs had now only forty men standing where twice that figure had been shortly before.

Rather than try to salvage the Buccaneer ship, which now appeared doomed. . . . additional members "took the easy way out" by simply leaving the ranks of the floundering craft . . . perhaps following the fine example set by the ship's captain (the corps director) and the first mate (the music director) who suddenly decided to resign only moments earlier.

The nucleus remaining refused to concede to what seemed inevitable . . . DISBANDMENT. However, after the necessity of pulling out of their first scheduled appearance and a pair of completely devastating rehearsals, it seemed that the pilotless Buccaneer ship would ram itself on the rocks of oblivion. Even the most loyal members now admitted almost complete discouragement.

A final meeting was to bring down the curtain . . yet, at that bleakest, gloomiest of moments came the ray of light that meant a new beginning. A small handful of dedicated corpsmen . . . REAL corpsmen . . . . suddenly refused to concede defeat. Their spirited attitude, though now understandably stained with discouragement, made others stop and re-evaluate the possibilities of last-minute salvage.

Enter one Donald Colby, a young gentleman fresh from nearly a decade in the ranks of the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps in our nation's capitol; who, at the request of the Bucs' "sparkplug" business manager and percussion instructor, Robbie Billington, consented to take the hopeless task of rejuvenation of a doomed unit by becoming the new corps director. Shortly thereafter, the unit began anew . . . reorganization in the middle of june . . . but the spirit was there; the spirit that would prove to make the difference between failure and progress. In addition, a replacement for the music director was found and the Bucs' ship swung somewhat unsteadily back on course. A "crash program" to end all such "crash programs" was initiated. Before this paid off, however, it was necessary to withdraw from two more contests, including their own state contest. In the meantime, new men had been added to bring the Bucs back to a forty plus complement. The program was completed, though still somewhat make-shift, in two weeks' time and the boys were ready for their Northeast circuit opener. But, Uncle Sam stepped in and said, "National Guard comes first." and the hard-working, disappointed men from Bath found they would have to wait just a while longer.

Two more weeks of almost unbearably hard work to whip themselves into more respectable shape and they were out on the starting line at last. Their seasonal debut was disappointing to those who had witnessed their performances during the past two annums . . . and a source of amazement to those who knew that this was but four weeks of work displayed so creditably that afternoon.

Their first outing saw them attain the lowest mark in the history of their organization. . . yet two more weeks of constant hard work saw them attain the second highest mark posted by their unit since its inception and were accorded a standing ovation at the conclusion of their performance that same night in Torrington, Connecticut in their Northeastern Circuit bow for 1962 . . . a contest which featured the likes of the Gay Blades, the Marksmen, the Criterions, and others.

The Buccaneers did not die! They were reborn at the same instant that their chief competitors were culminating a year's work by stepping off the starting line for 1962. Neither will the Buccaneers die as long as REAL corpsmen like the Billingtons, the Sam Trotts, the John Maguires, the Danny Hallowells, the Dick Gallants, the Bob Barters, the Jack Goodys, and others are there refusing to give up!