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1963
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 Waiting to go on the line, Preview of Champions (May 26,
1963) |
| 1963 was my rookie year. And it was a big year for the corps! Our first
contest of the year arrived a bit too early, in May. It was the Preview of
Champions in Jersey City. I was very thankful that I carried a flag that
year because my mouth was so dry I could barely speak. I can't remember
exactly when it happened but I know that I heard the 2 minute warning much
too soon. Perhaps we were playing "I Believe", our Colour Presentation, when
the final gun went off. To be honest, it felt even earlier. After we
finished our Colour Pres we still had to play "The Party's Over"! We got a
penalty for being overtime. Sigh! Too late we discovered that the stop watch
that was being used to time the corps was not as reliable as we would have
liked. Our concert was "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "It Ain't Necessarily
So". It was the only contest that year when we played those songs. |
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 On retreat with the Cavaliers in Mundelein, IL (June 30,
1963) |
| Our next contest came at the end of June, in Mundelein, IL. It was the
first time the corps ever went to the Midwest. I can't remember whether it
was fact or fantasy but I have a vision of our Drum Major, Jim McKonkey, cracking a whip
behind the guys playing the trio in "El Cid". We played our new concert,
"Chattanooga Choo Choo", and this time we weren't overtime. On retreat
Cavaliers and Optimists marched out as one big corps. A fantastic trip.
After this show we had to rush back to Canada for a July 1st show in Port
Hope. We changed on the bus as it moved towards Port Hope and we made it in
time to compete — barely. |
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 El Cid, prelims at Canadian Nationals (Sept 7, 1963) |
| September came and so did Nationals. Boy, had we ever improved during
the year! We scored 89.0, the highest score that Optimists ever got in a
contest! The disappointment was that Fleetwood, which was supposed to record
the Nationals, never arrived. It would have been great to have a recording
of that show! After retreat we played for the crowd, then marched and played
our way back to the school where we were changing. I suspect that the local
residents weren't overly happy with the late night parade but we were
ecstatic. What a year for a rookie! (by Bob Carell) |
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