ADDRESS:
Fables and foibles of our Hall of Famers
Cozy Baker
"Who, what, when, where, why, and how" are the cardinal points of journalism, to be
explained, preferably, in the opening line. I'll defer these items to explain why drum corps
afficionados should devour this article; not because of my pen; more so, because of the
memories poured out by some of the elite legends of our great activity. I served as a scribe,
transcribing the wisdom, the fond remembrances, the history of these sages. With hours of taped
interviews to dissect, and a busy drum corps season that delayed completion of this
column...Forget the sob story; it was rainy enough this season. Read on.
Last winter the Drum Corps Hall of Fame sailed on a Caribbean cruise, the latest of
numerous sojourns that have served as tropical reunions for the drum corps family to reminisce
about "the good old days." The cruise had 147 suncoast worshipers, including eight Hall of
Famers: DCA President Michael Petrone; Vincent Bruni, director of the DCA World Champion
Empire Statesmen; George Bull, director of the Yankee Rebels and the present Alumni Corps;
Joseph Capone, managing director of the old Pittsburgh Rockets; John Dowlan; Bill Hooton; Bill
McGrath, Sr.; and Lee Wolf. Mingle I certainly did with these legends, to hear their fables and
foibles.
The Drum Corps Hall of Fame was founded in 1976 with six inductees: Vincent Bruni,
the founder and president; George Bull; James Costello, director of the 1994 DCA World
Championship runner-up Hawthorne Caballeros; Henry Mayer; Harvey Olderman; and Vincent
Ratford. The roster has grown to 130 honorees.
In cruise mode, over cocktails, I chatted with DCA President Michael Petrone, an
illustrious honoree of the Famer club. Petrone listed corps he's competed with. "I was in junior
corps in Bayonne, NJ, the American Legion F. A. McKenzie Tree Boys, P. B. Elson Corps,
Irvington S.A.L., and Royal Garfield.
"I never marched with a senior corps. I went into the Army in 1943, and after my
discharge, I began teaching drum corps. I taught many, many corps during my teaching days. I
was director, business manager, and drill instructor for the St. Vincent Cadets out of Bayonne. In
1946, when I was discharged, I started teaching St. Vincent. I was with them till their demise. I
taught the St. Lucy Cadets out of Newark, Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights in Newark,
Grenadiers, the Woodsiders out of Newark, to name a few. There's probably another dozen
corps."
Prodded to compare the old days with corps nouveau, Petrone was philosophical.
"Today's corps are much more sophisticated, much more intricate. However, the old time corps
were much more entertaining, more of a patriotic corps. It takes much more time to produce the
caliber of corps that we have today because of the depth involved."
"All the senior corps are my favorite.
For the past 18 years, I've been
representing them." -- Petrone
Petrone named corps he enjoys, other than ones with which he's personally been
associated. "My favorite corps on the junior level would be the Audobon All-Girls Corps (New
Jersey), the old Holy Name Cadets (the decade favorite junior corps of the forties in an official
poll), (and) St. Joe's of Newark.
"All of the senior corps are my favorite. For the past 18 years, I've been representing
them."
George Bull has been involved with drum corps since 1952, most of that time with the
Yankee Rebels. Asked about today's corps, Bull, without any hesitation, bluntly replied, "Forget
it. I like the old corps -- the Yankee Rebels, Skyliners and Caballeros, although I did think the
Hurricanes were tremendous last year."
"My second greatest experience was
when we put that alumni corps on the
street with 90 horns and 17 snares." -- Bull
Bull thought back on his long career. "My greatest experience was Atlanta in 1969 when
we won the Nationals (Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)), and my second greatest experience
was when we put that alumni corps on the street with 90 horns and 17 snares."
Bull leaned back and took on the raucous atmosphere of the Hall of Fame Cocktail
Reception. "Take this cruise. I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I think everything was really first
class."
(Hoist the colors to George Bull on the tremendous success of the Yankee Rebels Alumni
Corps. The reproduction of the 1969 National Championship North/South show was a
heart-pounding, tear-jerking smash, especially the exhibition at the1994 Senior Championship,
Labor Day weekend in Scranton, PA.)
Lee Wolf reacted when I inquired, "The corps you've been with, sir?"
"From my infancy?" he blurted. Then, Wolf listed these impressive credentials: "Private
Raymond T. Osmond VFW Post, Disabled American Veterans, (and) primarily with the
Archer-Epler Musketeers." Wolf was also a member of the Bordentown Jersey Devils. "Just to
help them with a contest or two," he explained.
"I spent just 15 or 20 minutes in Reilly Raiders," Wolf remembered.
"Corps of note," to quote Wolf, that he taught: "R. T. Osmond VFW Post. They were the
VFW National Champions twice. I had many state champions. I taught Archer-Epler. They were
National Champions as a senior corps. I wrote music for St. Vinnies. I taught the Vasella
Musketeers in South Philadelphia; they became the American Legion State Champ. I taught the
Bordertown Jersey Devils; they became the Open Class Champ. What am I leaving out? I taught
about 20 of them. I'm 65. I can't remember any of them.
"But the talent in today's corps.
I didn't learn to read music
until 1952-53." -- Wolf
"There's no comparing the talent," Wolf commented regarding modern corps, "but I don't
think you can compare the fun that the old corps had to the new corps for the simple reason that
they've become very professional. It's like a job. That's the way I observe it. As kids and as a
young man just teaching corps, this was a love thing; nobody made any money." Looking across
the table at his childhood corpsmate John Dowlan, Wolf reminisced, "He and I probably owed
more money than...God. We were limited in what we could do.
"But the talent in today's corps and the teachers. I don't have a degree. I didn't learn to
read music until 1952-53. Up until that time, I used to do it in my head; play it on the piano and
memorize; go on my own and teach it. When I started to run into guys who could read music, it
threw me for a loss. I had to learn myself."
Wolf continued his comparison of the old and new, "But as far as talent is concerned,
there is no comparison -- and the equipment. My God! But there is something missing in today's
corps. I can't put my finger on it."
'What's the valve for?'
'We use it to pump up
pressure for the high notes.' -- Wolf
Reveling about a favorite memory, Wolf shared, "We were at a parade -- I was in
Osmond Post at the time -- and we just had (received) one-valve bugles. They had just come out,
the old Keystone Waymans. We were in Reading. There was a kid from the Reading Police.
They played G (no-valve) bugles. We stopped in front of them, they were on a side street, and
played a tune. These kids were enthralled, because they couldn't believe it. One kid came up to a
friend of mine next to me and says, 'What's the valve for?' and this guy says, 'We use it to pump
up pressure for the high notes.' Now that sticks in my mind.
"There's a lot of heartache in drum corps," Wolf said on a serious note. "I don't remember
the year. It was at an American Legion convention in Atlantic City. Archer-Epler was doing the
King and I, and we had our drum major dressed up as the Yul Brynner look-alike. The thing that
left me more impressed than anything else was that we won preliminaries hands-down, going
away. It was inside the convention hall. I remember how precise we were drilling, and that's
unusual for our corps because they were not a good drilling corps. Music and drumming, fine;
drilling? Eeyh! We were right on, and we walked away with that thing.
"I won't mention a name, but another senior corps picked on one guy that we had who
was not a Legion member; so, we got disqualified. I don't know how it happened, but they let us
put on an exhibition at finals. We destroyed 'em. Took all the fire out of their show. We got
standing ovations and cheering and everything, and we were only putting on an exhibition. It's
probably the only time that the American Legion ever let somebody put on an exhibition at a
senior contest. That still sticks in my memory, the noise, the crowd. It was thrilling."
John Dowlan is a legendary drummer who has earned honors that most guzzgawkers can
only hyperbolize about. He is a kind, humble gentleman who had to be prodded by his wife,
Dolores Hawkins, and Wolf to narrate his corps honors. Sit tight and step off the starting line
with his version of "those were the days."
I wasn't even going to stay
with (Osmond), but I did to find
out more about this girl." -- Dowlan
"I started with the Osmond Cadets, the same as Lee Wolf (pointing across a table of
tropic beverages to his buddy), in 1935, as a beginning drummer, and I was with them up until
World War II when things started to fall apart. After that, I went into the service myself. In 1946,
I came back to Osmond, because I still had one year of eligibility left. That is where I met my
wife, Dolores (nodding across an array of tropical potables to a still-married, still-much-in-love
lady). She was in the color guard. I wasn't even going to stay with the corps, but I did because I
wanted to find out more about this girl. (Pause, sigh, telegraphed glances)....
"My eligibility expired; so, I joined the Reilly Raiders because they were in the area. It's
funny -- Half the guys would go to Archer-Epler, half would go to Reilly Raiders because they
both were in the Philadelphia area. I was with them until 1952. In 1954, I left them and went to
Archer-Epler Musketeers which was a no-no, because no one ever switched from one corps to
the other at that time, particularly two corps that were so competitive. Looking back,
Archer-Epler Musketeers made Reilly what they are, and Reilly made Archer-Epler what they
are, because the competition is so intense and so keen. Everybody knew one another from the
junior corps. I was with them until 1956.
"Then, I went into the Air Force. They were looking for an instructor for the Air Force
Drum and Bugle Corps. So, I spent one enlistment there, from '57 to '61. In essence, I was only
in three corps, the Osmond Cadets as a junior, and then the Reilly Raiders and Archer-Epler as a
senior. After I got out of the Air Force, I taught the Reilly Raiders for a few years. Then, I went
to Archer-Epler and taught for a few years. I also taught the Osmond Cadets. I taught Osmond
when Lee Wolf was teaching Osmond; I taught Archer-Epler when Lee Wolf was teaching
Archer-Epler. I taught the Yankee Rebels, the Pittsburgh Rockets. There are so many others, I
can't think of them. These are corps that people would remember. I was an active playing
member from '35 till about '62 or '63. I did play with Reilly while I was teaching them, and I also
taught Archer-Epler for a short time and played with Archer-Epler."
Dowlan offered sage comments regarding today versus yesterday, "Let me coin a phrase
that I like to use. 'You can't reheat the souffle.' You can't go home again. I realize it was a
different time and a different place. Today, they're good. They're professional musicians all the
way through. There's no doubt about that. I think we weren't that well-versed in music. We
learned everything in the basement of an American Legion or VFW hall. That's where we
learned the craft. The playing was more from the heart than from the music itself. Many of the
instructors back then could not read music and would teach everything by rote. That's kind of a
stupid (way to teach a show), but it just kind of developed.
"Today, to get into corps,
you have to be in a band." -- Dowlan
"I feel the fifties and sixties were the best years for drum corps," Dowlan opined, wound
up and ready to talk. "The Reilly Raiders got it for the best corps of the fifties, and Hawthorne
Caballeros got it for best corps of the sixties (referring to an official poll for senior corps)."
Wolf added, "Norman Prince were the best for the forties."
Dolores Dowlan claimed, "It was all original. Everything."