I saw this notice on the Holy Name Cadet alumni website and thought they displayed a lot of class.
They will honor their FIRST DM (from 1934) at DCI this year. IF we had a corps still going, I hope that we would have done this too.

See the note below. You can also check their website at wwwtheholynamecadets.org for more info
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The Holy Name Cadet alumni organization has found the first drum major of their Corps, John Baumfalk, 1934-39, now living in California near LA.

John told them he had two wishes: he wanted to meet the members of the 2007 Cadets, and he wanted to watch them perform in competition one more time. (The last time he saw the corps was in 1950 at the AL Nationals in LA).

As a gesture of thanks and respect, the Cadet alumni have arranged:

1. A limo to bring John and his sister (both confined to wheelchairs), to the DCI Quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl to watch the Cadets compete. Cadet alumni will assist John and his party to access the pressbox, with special passes provided through the kindness of DCI.

2. Hugh Mahon, DEM 60-61, representing the members of the DCI Hall of Fame, and all the Cadet Drum Majors that followed John in leading the corps, will officially welcome John and his family to the competition. It is possible that at some point during the evening (John at 89 will probably only be present for The Cadets' performance due to health considerations) the announcer will acknowledge John's presence.

3. On Saturday morning John and his family will join the 2007 Cadets, alumni, fans and friends at the traditional finals-day breakfast at the Cadets' housing site at Norco HS. This meeting will bring John face to face with the young Cadets of today, in honor of the young Cadets of 1934.

Isn't this true class?

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

WOW! This is great. Let's just hope the current Cadets' show doesn't kill him...

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

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

I don't know if the Cadets are reprising their "White Rabbit" number. If their are, it would be great to get Grace Slick out of the detox center in Napa to do a guest performance.

Whatever happened to the Cadets contest for ideas from fans for their 2007 show? I assume I didn't win as they never got back to me.

Not just cool, this is absolutely awesome!

I can only imagine what will be going through his mind, heart and bloodstream. I hope he's healthy enough to withstand the excitement. I feel it just reading about it.

What a great thing to do - it's exactly what being alumni is all about.

Class? Yeah, the highest class possible.

What did you do in the Corps? Drumline

What years were you a Corps member? 1960-1965

Be interesting to see if DCI gives this story any acknowledgement in their coverage of the Championship activities.

Apparently, the LAST time Mr. Baumfalk saw the Cadets was in 1950! (He has lived near LA for many years.) He will be in for a major shock!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I may be missing something with this White Rabbit thing. I still see it as somebody coming out of the closet!

What did you do in the Corps? drum

What years were you a Corps member? 1960-1969

John,

"White Rabbit" was one of the Cadet's numbers last year. It's one of Grace Slick's earliest songs, written in the mid-60s when she was the lead singer for Jefferson Airplane. It details parallels between the hallucinatory effects of LSD and the imagery found in the work of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

It would be interesting to know how Garfield's designers came up with that concept last year. Were they "old hippies" who consumed too many strange mushrooms? Are they still with the Cadets? Why didn't they do Jimmy Hendrix's "Purple Haze" or something by Frank Zappa or the Grateful Dead?

John - I really did get the White Rabbit deal. It was a poor attempt at humor -when the gay ooops I mean girl comes out of the closet oops I mean house at the end. I tried to put on my judges cap and understand the mind opening implications of this innovative blah, blah, blah... Just trying to see the big picture.

What did you do in the Corps? drum

What years were you a Corps member? 1960-1969

I don't remember the person coming out of the closet or house. But I didn't watch their performance on last fall's TV show all the way to the end. It was just too strange.

This is, indeed, fantastic. What a great thing for the Cadets to do.

The Cavies honored their DM from 1957, on Friday, at Naperville. He was DM for their first ever national championship, 50 years ago, it was announced. They had their 1957 national championship VFW flag very prominently present too. At the awards ceremony, he gave out the medals. Very nice.

It is always good to see people appreciate predecessors who showed the way, in any endeavor.

I sure do hope that DCI makes something of the Cadets' first DM being present at the Rose Bowl. I'll watch for this on quarterfinals night. He'll be in for one heck of a shock when he watches today's corps perform, as compared to 50-60 years ago. Omygod!

To Bill, re Cadets first DM:

Yes, both DCI and the cadets will honor this man, now 87 years old and in failing health. (He lives near LA)

He will attend the DCI Quarterfinals and will be honored at the show. Check the Holy Name Cadets website at www.theholynamecadets.org for details.

Look on the "Guestbook" area for a summary.

This corps (and alumni group) has shown a lot of class in dealing with this opportunity!

Look to see something on this at the DCI Quarter-finals show!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

DCI website posting regarding this event...

From Pasadena: Founding member rekindles ties
Friday, August 10, 2007
By: Caryn Goebel

Cadets' first drum major receives the VIP treatment

Pasadena, Calif. - As a young man, John Baumfalk twice marched in the legendary Rose Bowl stadium. He was a Cadet, wearing the classic West Point-style uniform that 73-years ago set a precedence of a champion.

Now at 89-years old, the small-framed man returned to the Rose Bowl Thursday night for a performance that took him high above the front sideline. From the press box and as a special guest of honor, Baumfalk witnessed for the first time since his boyhood, what hours of practice in the basement of his Garfield, N.J. home had led to a tradition that transcends decades.

Baumfalk is a founding member and the first drum major of the Holy Name Cadets. He served as drum major from 1934 when the corps was founded until 1936, then as a horn player and instructor until 1941. Now a resident of Buena Park, Calif., Baumfalk and his older sister, Nellie Van Houten, returned to see the Maroon and Gold for the first time in 66 years as the corps performed in the DCI World Championship Quarter-Finals competition.

“It’s hard to believe that I was once on the field as a drum major to something like this,” said Baumfalk looking in the distance at his alma mater. “It’s just beautiful.”

Seeing the corps perform their 2007 program, “This I Believe,” Baumfalk reflected the changes in drum corps through the years, noting the speed of the members and the complexity of the drill and music.

“The music is so much better. We were so restricted back then.”

The evening as a World Championship VIP threw Baumfalk and Van Houten into the DCI celebrity spotlight. Interviews from DCI reporters and even local news organizations added to the week’s excitement. And many former Cadets’ drum majors and other alumni lined up to meet the man who was instrumental in the founding of the Cadets, including Jim Messina (1971-1973) and John Hannigan (1977-1979.)

“Me and about five others started this whole thing from scratch,” Baumfalk said. “It gives me so much pride to see them now.”

Now Baumfalk has seen the corps perform again, he has another last desire to meet the current members face to face. On Saturday, Aug. 11, Baumfalk will be the guest of honor during the corps’ annual Championship Breakfast at the Cadets’ housing site in Bloomington, Calif. The breakfast begins at 9 a.m. at Bloomington High School, 10750 Laurel Ave., Bloomington.

While two of Baumfalk’s wishes have come to fruition, there is one more he expressed while watching the Cadets move at breakneck speed across the field. But even Baumfalk recognizes it’s one that wouldn’t likely happen.

“I really kind of wish I was down there with them again.”

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Some comments of this recognition from a friend (who is a Cadet alum) and was there:

IT WAS BEYOND DESCRIPTION, BOTH AT THE STADIUM AND AT THE BREAKFAST. THE MAN BECAME A SUPERSTAR OVERNIGHT, WITH LOCAL PRESS AND RADIO STATIONS, VARIOUS WEBSITES, AND OTHER MEDIA REPS LINING UP TO INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPH HIM. HE WAS TREATED WITH UNBELIEVABLE RESPECT AND DEFERENCE BY EVERYONE; DCI, THE CADETS, PARENTS, CADET STAFF, AND MOST TOUCHING OF ALL, BY EVERY SINGLE CADET. IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE NONE OF US WILL EVER FORGET. MAY HE LIVE A THOUSAND YEARS!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Did I miss part of the story as to why he waited SO many years to see another show?

What did you do in the Corps? drum

What years were you a Corps member? 1960-1969

I guess you did.

He moved to California from NJ during WWII. Taught some drum corps in that area through the 1960s. He saw drum corps shows out there, but last saw the Cadets in 1950.

He is in poor health and confined to a wheelchair, so he doesn't get out to see corps shows in California any more.

But, the posting was really more about the Cadets and their willingness to honor him.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963