| The 1962 and 1963 seasons would prove
to be the most successful, creative years in Optimists
history. Bell took the horn line to a new level with
rich, sophisticated arrangements by Truman Crawford. The
1962 repertoire included Big Wide Wonderful World, Let
Me Entertain You, St. Louis Blues, I’m in the Mood for
Love, Down by the Riverside, Taboo, I Believe and The
Party’s Over. To front his decidedly Broadway show, the
corps featured a new drum major.
Jim McConkey arrived in Canada with a
dream resume that included stints with Blessed Sacrament
Golden Knights and the Archer-Epler Musketeers.
There were three crowning moments in
the 1962 season. The corps bought new uniforms using the
same colour combination, but the green blouse now
shimmered under the lights like a jewel. The first
appearance in these dazzling new uniforms was in Rome,
NY. In that contest was a corps the Optimists had never
beaten, the Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights. At night’s
end, Blessed Sac marched past the corps in salute. (2
meg
Acrobat file about Rome contest)
The final crowning moment of the
season came in Waterloo, Ontario., when the Optimists
won their fifth consecutive national title. On the
record of the performance, right after concert, you can
distinctly hear McConkey say, “You better bleed on that
finish line.”
The summer of 1963 was most notable
for Optimists drill writer, Doug McPhail. He was a
quiet, shy man with extraordinary creative gifts.
Articles he wrote for “Green Capsule Comments” are among
the best literature ever created about drum corps.
His drill for 1963 was so unique, most
of the judges did not quite know what to make of it.
There was a wedge off the line and circles and dance
steps and asymmetrical forms and straight lines that
gave way to curved shapes. It was a vision of things to
come.
For the first time in the history of
the corps, they competed in the Midwest. Crowds were
awestruck at the visual presentation of this unknown
corps from Canada. And in one of the rare moments of
crowd/judge agreement, Optimists were awarded high marks
in general effect.
This visit to Illinois and Wisconsin
was also the start of a long friendship between
America’s “Green Machine” – the Chicago Cavaliers – and
the Optimists. During retreats, they marched on together
as one great big green machine. In Canada, the Optimists
captured their sixth consecutive championship with the
highest score in their history, an 89.
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