What- if?

Fellow Corps alum Wayne Mounsey (affectionately known as “Older Sarge”) has been working on a project to identify and find a number of the ORIGINAL Corps members. He has found about a half dozen so far and has obtained some excellent historical materials for the website history.

Wayne mentioned that many of these folks lost track of the Corps later in their lives. Possibly due to World War II, which interrupted most of their lives. And ALL Corps alums face life experiences such as working, raising families and the like. Drum corps often takes a back seat.

But, the Corps supporters and some parents still tried to continue until the job became too much. Lack of funds, lack of community support, too many competing interests for the kids, etc. all added up.

I think that ALL alums share some blame; for forgetting the Corps and limiting support; but mostly for never forcing the management and "booster" club to get serious about alumni and community support. Corps alumni were never actively encouraged to participate in the “booster” club. Corps management (with a few notable exceptions) was handled by parents, who meant well but were usually very inexperienced in drum corps. Long term stability was difficult to achieve.

What-if?

If the Corps had developed a proper alumni /support group, and a more professional management team, would the Corps still be alive today?

What did YOU see from your perspective?

What did you do in the Corps? drummer 1959-63; quartermaster 1964-66; assisant instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Our friend Jack Bornhoeft reminded me that when he was in the corps, it wasn't an organized drum corps as we later members knew. At first, it was simply a group of YOUNG neighborhood kids being taught by Willie Widmeyer.

They did participate in parades and local events, but the competitive corps didn't appear until the late 30's and 40's. By then, Jack and the other early members had left the group to go to high school, work and (unforunately) WWII.

The corps gradually evolved into the competive unit we knew in later years. The nature of the group changed accordingly.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer 1959-63; quartermaster 1964-66; assisant instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

I think it became a viscious circle. The corps became less successful competitively because the staff wasn't strong...the staff wasn't strong because there weren't funds available to pay a top-notch group of instructors...the funds weren't available because the corps wasn't successful competitively, so the community didn't have much to rally behind...and so on.

The activity also changed. As corps got larger, and more outside activities became available for kids that age, it got tougher to keep the older ones from moving on to the more successful units in the area (Cavaliers, Guardsmen, Phantom Regiment, Madison, etc.). I'm sure insurance rates, etc. also went up, so the dollars available were stretched thinner. We certainly weren't the only corps feeling the pinch, and Norwood stuck around MUCH longer than some others (Royal Airs, Vanguard, Nesei, Ottawa Crusaders, etc.).

As far as the alumni, I sure don't remember many being around at any point - either my first time around in 70-73, or when I returned in 78-79. But that wasn't unusal. The Cavaliers are the only group I know of where the alumni play such a strong role in the organization. And, Norwood wasn't always big on people BECOMING alumni (21 years old was kind of a suggestion for a while rather than a requirement).

But you have to give tremendous credit to people like the Fiduccias and others who kept the corps alive as long as they did. These people truly loved the corps, and sacrificed personally to make sure the remaining members had a positive experience. We may not have won much in the later years, but I think everyone worked hard, had fun, and learned a lot. And we served an important role as far as DCI is concerned. This was a transition time between the "old days" of kids walking off the street and today's corps, made up of music majors who don't need much "basic training." So corps like us became the training grounds for the DCI-level groups. I doubt some of the midwestern corps would have remained strong during the late 70's and early 80's if they didn't have corps like Norwood around. It may not have been the niche we ultimately wanted, but I think we were smart to accept it. It was still possible to exist happily in the second tier in those days.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

Well said, Bob!

I think that it is possible to be happy at a Div II or III level, as long as that is what the organization goals are! It could be a lot more fun for the kids and a lot less stress on the management!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer 1959-63; quartermaster 1964-66; assisant instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

I agree with Bob that the corps leaders in the later years really worked hard to preserve the Corps.

My point was that, if the Corps had developed better ongoing management (including training and backup) as well as significant alumni support, the Corps might have survived. It might have changed to a Division II corps, but that would be OK! Maybe even BETTER than being a Division I corps, since they might be more locally based, in terms of membership, performances and time.

BUT .. you can never play the game of "should have, could have, would have" and get anywhere. I just regret that the Corps died.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer 1959-63; quartermaster 1964-66; assisant instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Thought of this old thread after talking about the Cadets (and how the 2 corps could have worked together better).

But, "what if" the corps had actually built a real alumni organization ... which helped with corps finances and fund raising, with corps operation (bus and truck driving, etc) and even with corps instruction? The results might have been really great!

This DID happen for a time in the mid-1960s ... when a bunch of alums from the 1950s and early 1960s helped run the corps with Rick Maass. Names like Sam Tessitore, Bill Strauts, Dave Borck, Frank Grana, Hank Grana ... there were others too!

But, it was too hard to keep it up without more help. And, for some reason, the Parents Group never really accepted alums as members or helped start a real alumni group. Too bad!

Not trying to play "should have, could have" here ... but just imagine what MIGHT have been possible!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

The Grana's and Rick maas were around in the late 70's. I also recall the cadets were often taught by alumni (and I cant recall the names)

WHAT-IF???This could probably be an end-less
discussion,but a interesting one at that.Like
you said Dave who know's what could have happened.

I'm one of the guilty ones that didn't stay
involved after I left Norwood.I could have up until
the time I went into the service in '65 and even
resumed my involvement after the service,but I
didn't and when I look back on this I wish I did.
A strong Alumni group could have a huge influence
on the corp itself as well as the members,those
that have been in it awhile and especially the
newer ones.

One thing I wish Norwood could have had was one
person running the entire ship.I always found that
to be a problem,it changed hands to many times.

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963