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Introduction

by Linda O’Connor

My head’s been spinning this morning. How could it already be Labor Day weekend?

Somehow, life has, once again, stepped in the way of great plans.

I’d hoped to be in Rochester, New York, this weekend for the last DCA show. No, not the last show of the waning 2023 drum corps season, but the last Drum Corps Associates show…ever.

My jumbled thoughts and emotions have ranged from sadness, to confusion, to gratitude, and finally to realization and acceptance that the only “constant” is “change.”

The article attached is a reprint of an article originally published in MMA in 2017. Rich “Richie” Boucher was a member of St. Mary’s Cardinals soprano line over six decades ago. He was a friend. Sadly, he passed away Labor Day weekend, 2016.

Here we are, again, Labor Day weekend, with so many amazing drum corps memories of old friends and special times. It’s difficult to process the concept of a future of “All Age” as we reminisce about the past of DCA, but, hey, I remember a time before DCI, and I couldn’t imagine a world without CYO.

Wishing everyone a fantastic final-Finals-Rochester-blowout weekend. And, everybody, please enjoy this walk down memory lane from Richie back in 2005.

Rest in eternal peace, Richie. And DCA. Thanks for the memories.

Reflections on My Trip to DCA

By Rich Boucher
(St. Mary’s Cardinals 1962-1965)

One day in August 2005, Linda O’Connor and I were talking about drum corps, and we decided to book a trip to Scranton, PA, on Labor Day weekend to see the DCA Championships. For those of you who don’t know, DCA is the senior drum corps circuit.

It turned out there were four of us who took the trip, including myself, my wife, Sharon, Linda, and Ginger (Campbell) Waksmonski. The ride out there was great. The scenery was spectacular, and we laughed as we shared stories and jokes of future past for five and a half hours!

The four of us stayed at a terrific resort that had all the amenities you could ask for—two pools, a sauna, massage and steam rooms, a nature trail, a wonderful restaurant, and even a Margarita bar! We had wonderful rooms filled with goose-down feather pillows, and even had valet service!

After checking in, Linda and I left Sharon and Ginger to get settled, and we took off for Lackawanna County Stadium to pick up our show tickets. Well, here comes the best part and the real reason why I’m writing this.

As we were walking from the parking lot to the ticket counter to get the tickets, we saw an “old” man with a Geneva Appleknockers shirt on. (It never occurred to us that we must have looked just as old to him.) After all, we couldn’t be that old. Of course, his Appleknocker shirt didn’t fit anymore, and hadn’t for many years, but he didn’t care. He was proud of his marching past…way past! And we laughed.

 

 

Then we saw a “girl” (and I use the term loosely) wearing a Chicago Royal Airs uniform consisting of a wool skirt cut about three inches above her oversized knees, and white majorette boots…with tassels! How she got those legs into those boots, I’ll never know, but she was proud of her past…way past! And we chuckled.

 

 

We saw Hawthorn Caballero jackets, Skyliners, Bridgemen, Scout House, Hurricanes, Buccaneers, Yankee Rebels, Blessed Sac, and…well, you get the picture! I guess my point is, we saw our future past. We got a pretty good chuckle watching this parade of geriatric Jurassics and thought at least the show would be a good laugh.

And then we watched in awe as senior drum corps after senior drum corps astounded us. They were absolutely unbelievable! We were thinking it would be nice to reminisce, and, instead, got the surprise of our lives. Standing ovation after standing ovation for some of the most amazing and exciting performances we’ve ever seen. The passion and excellence on that field were well worth the trip back in time, and the horn lines were well worth making the effort to see them again, and again, and again! If you can ever get to a DCA show, GO!

 

 

We want two things from our Alumni. The first is to come out to our show and support our tiny workforce. We work very hard each year to put on the Tournament of Drums, and we need your help. This is a huge undertaking, and the bigger the team, the easier the work. Although many of us haven’t seen each other in years, we’re all still best of friends, and we miss you. Help us to preserve the activity that provided us with some of the very best memories of our lives.

 

 

Secondly, we want to let you know that there are hundreds and thousands of very proud drum corps alumni still out there sharing their old dreams and fond memories of a youth filled with great friends who worked hard together to produce something very special. As St. Mary’s Cardinals and Crusaders, we had a world-class, and extremely well-known and well-respected, drum corps organization. We should continue to be proud of that! Come back and celebrate some of the best experiences we ever had. … only now you can bring the grandchildren!

 

 

Just make sure you leave your old shirt or jacket in the closet where it belongs! Some things were never meant to be seen in public, and are better left in the past…way past!

Yes, Human Jurassics do still travel in herds. Get out to Rochester this year for the Senior DCA Championships. We’ll all be there, so come along. It’ll be a weekend you won’t soon forget! See you in Beverly at the show!

 

Feature photo: Reading Buccaneers at DCA Championships in 2017. Photo by Pete Grelle