Canadians, Eh?

DCN August 8, 1962 issue

YOUNG DRUM CORPS FANS: Miss Jill Shearing, of "Canadianaires", Bob Rowles of "Young Conquerors" and Miss Jackie Slaughter, "Canadianaires", were photographed at the 1962 Cavalcade of Bands at Clinton, Ontario, June 9.

Little Rhody Speaks
By Dick Simard

DCN August 8, 1962 issue

Rhode Island Musketeers are making good progress in their bid to put out a corps this season, and it looks as though they will make it come the next All American Circuit contest at Meriden, Conn., Aug. 12th.

Bristol Rangers have been holding rehearsals, but have shown no public appearances as yet.

Bristol Kingsmen will not field a corps this season due to the fact they have lost a great many men, most of whom were in the eighteen and nineteen year bracket.

The Rhode Island Assn. will sanction two contests this season, plus the Annual, which is the championship. The first contest will be held on Aug. 4 at Cranston Stadium. This will be the Assn's first contest under the lights. The second contest will be two weeks later at Somerset, Mass. on Aug. 12. This contest will be held at Potter's Field at 2 p.m. The date of the annual is not officially known yet, so watch this column for further information.

While the Somerville T-Birds have just become members of this Assn., it is out that the Jolly Whalers of New Bedford have dropped out due to the fact that they will concentrate their talents on the Northeastern Circuit.

St. Matthias Cadets 1962

DCN August 8, 1962 issue

ST. MATTHIAS CADETS of Milwaukee, Wisc. Will be among corps competing Aug. 15 in the V.F.W. Nationals in Minneapolis. The corps, formed in 1955, is a member of the Badgerland Assn.

Long Island News
By Rosemary Feliney
DCN Aug. 8, 1962 issue

Wish I could have gotten to all the parades held on the 4th out here on the Island. The one in Wantagh really got some nice nationwide coverage in Life Magazine. It's too bad they didn't have a drum corps in the pictures. What luck.....

Hello there Carol Merkel ... Hope this finds you better and no nurses jabbing you with needles.

Hear that the Riptides of Copiague, are holding a contest October 7th, more information to follow later.

When I make a mistake I don't do it have way. I jumbled up my dates and missed the great competition sponsored by the Hurricanes of Stratford, Conn. Call it coincidence, but I was going through Stratford the day the competition was being held, but I did get to see one corps practicing. Don't know who they were, but they were great ...... Oh well there's always next year.

Farmingdale Fire Department, sponsors of the Vanguards put on 2 drum corps shows this past week. One on the 4th of July and the other on July 7th... The one on the 7th was in connection with the 54th Annual Championship Competition of the New York State Fife and Drum Corps Association. I lost count after 25 corps - - I'd like to give you a run down on each corps which competed but space doesn't permit, so I will attempt to cover the corps who I haven't written about before.

The Vanguards Drum & Bugle Corps was organized on July 18, 1957, by the East Farmingdale Fire Dept. and entered competition in July 1958. Since that time the corps has accumulated a total of 105 trophies won in competitions and parades, holding the 1961 Suffolk-Nassau Champs and the Northeastern State Champs titles. The corps now consists of 24 buglers, 11 drummers (quite a number of females in the drum line, darn good too) an eight girl color guard, a twirler and majorette. Bugle instructor is Raymond Fardy, drum instructor Lefty Petrakis, color guard instructor is James Eddington, director - John Kipitsch, assistant director - Herbert Walther, business manager - James Shannon, quartermasters - Jack Myrato, Al Merrill and Cliff Oster.

Good Shepard Jr. Fife and Anciant Drum Corps with only 12 members (my guess at the average age of the members being about 10 years old) did a bang up job on "Golden Slippers" and "Seeing Nellie Home". Another new corps on the LI scene is the Commack Fire Department fife, drum & bugle corps who have been organized for only 16 weeks. Some of the other corps around the island had better watch out for Commack because within a year or so .... just wait and see....

St. Fideles of College Point really impressed the audience when their color guard came on the field carrying crossed flags and then bringing them up to order arms one at a time. It was the first time I've seen the Thunderstreaks of Bellmore and they really impressed me. Their drum major, Dorothy Rinaldi could teach a few other drum majors a trick or two. And when they play "If You Knew Susie" with their drum effect you feel like getting up and dancing. The bugle line of the Royalaires, St. Kames, N.Y. have what you call s-n-a-p. Another ancient fife and drum corps who appeared was St. Benedicts playing "Bells of St. Marys" and "The Mariners Hymn".

St. Dennis Coloniels, Yonkers, N.Y. play some mighty nice Irish and Scotch tunes. When I heard the Patriots of Lake Ronkonkoma were going to compete I expected to see a corps dressed in ancient uniforms (ancient style that is, better correct myself before I cause a ruckus...) but such is not the case. They wound up being a drum, bugle and glock corps playing Italian music. "Isle of Capri" to be specific.

I had hoped to make the competition in New Rochelle the same night, but the corps kept coming. Some of the other corps to compete, who we will write about in the next few issues were - Oakdale Satellites, Miraculos Medal, N.Y. Regimentals, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Anselms Cadets, Sons of Liberty, St. Bridgets F & D Corps, St. Helena's, Westhall Rebels, Continentals, Samaritans, Dominicans, St. Joseph Patron, Oceanside Legionaires, and Bethpage Colonials. Now you can see why I didn't get to New Rochelle. If you think I saw a lot of corps that day wait until you hear about the program scheduled for July 21st, which I hope to get in for the next issue. It will be Lindenhurst with a parade at noon, a standstill comp at 2 p.m., a drill team and band comp at 6 p.m. and an M&M comp at 8 p.m. And all for one dollar? Wonder if they are holding a twist party afterwards.

Hear that the fad among Canadian Corps is corps buttons, decals, lockets, pins etc. One corps even has an authentically dressed doll 30 inches high and sells for twenty dollars.

Congrads to Massapequa corps for winning the drum and bugle corps competition at the firemens tournament July 4th. If anyone has information regarding the New York State Legion Convention parade and competition, please let me know the times and places.

A friend of mine just returned from California, and informs me that the corps out there are going at it hot and heavy and could really give our New York Corps some tough competition.

I'm working on a series which will put our corps instructors in the limelight so to speak. If any of you would like your instructor given the recognition he or she deserves, why not drop me a few lines telling me about him.

Walked past Carnegie Hall during lunch hour the other day and is it my imagination or are the walls still echoing with the sound of drums and bugles?
Guess that's about it for now.

"The Marching Angels" 1962

DCN August 8, 1962 issue

Sarnia, Ontario. (Canada's Sweethearts On Parade) are Canada's newest All-Girl Corps.

Gay Blades Cop Torrington Show
DCN Aug. 8, 1962 issue

TORRINGTON, Conn., July 28 - Reflecting the smooth, relaxed performance which has become their familiar trademark, the popular Carver Gay Blades weaved together an outstanding twelve minutes of entertainment much to the delight of the enthusiastic throng this evening as the Vagabonds of this city served as host for member corps of the Northeastern Circuit.

In so doing, the men from Newark, topped the rival Marksmen of Springfield by seven-tenths. The Bay Staters again thrilled the spectators with their open drills and color features.

Third, deprived of possible higher placing by a point penalty assessment, were the Criterions of Newbugh and Port Ewen fronted by Pappy Garrison and Brad Longdo.

With horn perfection as their highlight, the reactivated Fitchburg Kingsmen slipped into fourth ahead of the "bunny-hop" Bridgeport Troopers.

Final spot was left to the travellers from Maine, the Bath Buccaneers, who derived surprising power from their comparatively small horn line, in their 1962 debut.
The host Vagabonds were accorded their share of deserving plaudits during exhibition.

Hawthorne Muchachos 1962

DCN Aug. 8, 1962 issue

HAWTHORNE MUCHACHOS are shown as they registered a victory June 29 at the first annual drum corps competition in Ridgewood, N.J. More than 3,000 attended the contest, which was sponsored by the Patrolman's Benevolent Assn.

Optimists Top Sac, Queensmen At Rome Show
DCN August 8, 1962 issue

ROME, N.Y., July 14 - History was made tonight when for the first time, a Canadian Jr. Corps beat a National Champion U.S. Corps. The TORONTO OPTIMISTS surprised many in beating the BLESSED SAC and the QUEENSMEN along with three other corps. Rome Free Academy filled to about 2,000 people was the scene of this drum corps event.

The OPTIMISTS in new blouses and sashes, steam-rolled on to the field to "Wide World". A very active color guard, complete with bayonets, added to the enjoyment of their show. As the scoresheet later indicated, OPTI's victory was in G.E., beating SAC roughly by 2 points and the QUEENSMEN by 4 points. Their score, 86.20.

BLESSED SAC presented a mediocre show, much likely due to the long ride from Newark to Rome. High horns and drums, but lost out on the before-mentioned G.E. Their drill and music is neatly executed, but a show-stopper is needed. Their score, 84.45.

The QUEENSMEN, showing lots of spirit and drive, featured a new color presentation and exit, drill-wise. This topped off by new musical endings to "I'll Walk With God", and "Eager Beaver", had the audience in constant applause. M&M was the only apparent drawback, but is bound to improve. Their score, 82.20.

The UTICA YANKEES featured a wide open drill and a proficient horn line. Highlights of their show is an extended company front and enlarged "V" formation. Repertoire included, "C'est Magnifique" and "Climb Every Mountain". Look for big things from this corps and watch them at Legion State. Their score, 76.55

ST. JOHN'S GIRLS Corps, also of Canada, fielded the largest corps of the night. As with the case of many all-girl corps, drumming is their set-back. A large color guard is used to the best advantage throughout the drill, along with a twisting major in concert. Their score, 60.35.

The APPALACHIAN GRENADIERS - a new corps, were rough in all captions, especially M&M. They deserve an A for credit and will be a corps to reckon with in a couple of years. Their score, 57.10.

Awards went to BLESSED SAC for major and OPTI for color guard. The OPTIMISTS will have plenty of time to defend their new found title at Marion, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pa., when they'll compete against the best corps in the country. Only time will tell what the outcome will be.

Satellites 1962

DCN August 8, 1962 issue

The Satellites junior corps is sponsored by the Fairhaven, Mass. American Legion Post and was organized in 1961 by Legionaire Alfred Texeira. The corps, which hopes to enter M&M competition next year, features a 22-man horn line, plus a full drum section, color squad, majorettes and two drum majors. Texeira is manager. Instructors are Paul Rousselle on drums and Alfred F.A. LeBlanc on horns.

California Drumbeat
By Melvyn Lee
DCN Aug. 8, 1962

The Parade of Champions 1962, sponsored by the American Legion Department of California, is a thing of the past. As far as this reporter is concerned, the contest can remain in the past. The whole affair was nothing short of a big farce. Even this is putting it mildly. Every corps put on a most comendable show, but the scores do not justify their efforts. Each unit has spent thousands of hard earned dollars preparing for this big contest of the year. There is no excuse for the way the corps were treated during the contest.

For judges, the Legion hired a wide assortment of them, which included Marine Corps D.I.'s, local ROTC instructors, local high school music teachers, fire chiefs, and other such JUDGES. The judging, in itself, was as good as one can expect from judges who talked to one another while a corps performed, judges who judged M&M from sideline seats, and judges who spent half their time looking for places to put down that one tick they found five minutes ago.

In the G.E. caption, scoresheets other than those used at the National Legion contest were used. There was only one G.E. judge, which meant he was judging all three captions at the same time. All in all, it was a typical California contest, but with no motocycles. (if that is possible) All scores were in the nineties, which would top most any corps in the nation if it could be applied. The first four corps were within 1 1/2 points of each other. Mistakes in scoresheets were found by many corps.

JAPANESE BOY SCOUTS - sharp precision, very good drum section. Powerful horns, largest corps on the field with 30 horns. "Espana Cani", "Sound of Music", and "Brazil" were their outstanding pieces.

SENORITAS - drill well done, good drumming, horns a little weak but still in top shape otherwise. Outstanding number was "The Stripper".

MONTEREY PARK GIRLS - loud and brassy with a completely different sound from other drum and bugle corps. "Bonnie Lassie" drill very well done. Best drum section of the night.

CATHAY - biggest G.E. score of the night, first corps on the line, music most outstanding of the contest. "Americans We" drill and music most spectacular.

AMBASSADORS - 200% improved, horns very well co-ordinated, color presentation outstanding, with "Lord's Prayer" number most magnificent.

HAWKS - fine performance with the TWIST look, drill very sharp with "I Could Have Danced All Night" drill outstanding.

The seniors had a record two corps, the IMPERIALS and CAPITALIERS. The Imperials successfully defended their championship against a well-spirited Sacramento group. The difference in the seniors' performance and that of the juniors is very well noticeable. Lack of polish in drill and music is the keyword. Both corps smaller in number than previous years, used practically the same music and drills as last year.

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE New Yorkers, ATTENTION. Keep your eyes on your television sets on August 19th. During halftime of the New York Giants - San Francisco 49er's football game, the Cathay Drum and Bugle Corps will perform.