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Norwood Park Imperials Alumni Forum

Alumni are welcome to post messages to each other, comment on experiences, or just tell everyone what you've been doing. The Topics with most the recent comments will always be at the top of the list.

If you click on the Message Topic (first column in the table below) then you will see all of the messages for that Topic. You can then add your own comment by clicking the REPLY button for any message.  If you click the QUOTE button on a message, that message will be copied into your reply so that it's clear what your reply is about.

You can start a New Topic as well. Just click the START A NEW POST link below.

All we ask is that you keep it neat, clean, polite, and reasonably intelligent.

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Norwood Park Imperials Alumni Forum
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d
David Borck
Feb 20, 2009 - 4:09PM
IMPERIALS AS A YOUTH ACTIVITY

A NUMBER OF ALUMNI FORUM "THREADS" HAVE TALKED ABOUT DRUM CORPS AS A COMMUNITY YOUTH ACTIVITY VS. DCI AS A SEMI PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY.
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In fact, whenever we bring up a subject on the alumni forum, we end up talking about how great the YOUTH ACTIVITY experience was for us when in the Imperials.

A recent comment by Jim Fiduccia brings this out:

Dave, I think the last few posts do truly validate your feelings about the Corps being a true youth organization. There is no doubt that the attitudes and sentiments expressed could and would not have existed in the present drum corps environment.

But, that was the PRIMARY mission of the Norwood Park corps!
A positive youth activity and learning experience.

This was true in 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970 and even 1980!

Yes, it would have been GREAT to be a DCI level corps and a top contender. But, would it be best to sacrifice the PRIMARY mission to achieve that? That was the struggle .. and a lot of the kids wanted to march at the DCI level.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

j
Jim Fiduccia
Feb 20, 2009 - 7:48PM
Re: IMPERIALS AS A YOUTH ACTIVITY

Dave, as I stated, I totally agree in view of what DCI has involved into today. In the 1970's, I would have argued that we could have accomplished both, remaining a youth activity and, given the necessary funding, at least made DCI membership. I still feel that would have been possible for a short period, maybe four or five years, but after that there was no chance of maintaining both goals. It was probably for the best, that the end of the Corps, came as it did because it certainly was inevitable. The saddest part is the tremendous effort put in by the management, instructors, and boosters in the 80's to save something that, in hindsight, was unsaveable. I am sure that the problems we faced in the 70's were minor next to theirs and I know I couldn't have handled it. I will always appreciate, thanks to their efforts, that Norwood ceased to exist with the same class that they had exhibited for all of their storied history.

What did you do in the Corps? Managed the Cadets in 1975 and the Imperials from 1976 to 1979

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