It was many decades ago when I decided (as a 17-year-old) to join a drum-and-bugle corps out of Rochester, N.Y. It was called the “Grey Knights.” I had been to several drum-corps contests and fell in love with the concept of their presentations. If you are not familiar with the overview of these performances, the parameters call for delivering a 12-minute montage of marching and music over an area the size of a football turf.
Back then, the program called for a color guard of any size, to carry the Stars and Stripes as part of its marching-and-music agenda and make a color presentation and a two-minute marching-suspended-concert arrangement as part of the show.
I had tried out as a tenor drummer but was not good enough to qualify. So I ended up in the color guard. Frankly, we were not a very good drum corps. We didn’t hold a candle to the Hawthorne NJ Caballeros, or NY Skyliners, or any of the Pennsylvania corps – Musketeers, Buccaneers and more. But, we had one thing going for us. Lefty, our color-guard captain had come up with an idea (I think he was the culprit). Anyway, as part of our color presentation, we would march toward where most of the audience was located (50-yard line), playing God Bless America; drape our 12 or so color-guard flags over the American flag; then pirouette out; drop to one knee; and present a replica of the “raising of the flag at Iwo Jima.” At that point, my friend, Joe Pep, would blow Taps. We would then return to our marching-and-music mode playing the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Again, I repeat, we were not the best corps. But, back then, there were a ton of World War II and Korean War veterans who came to those shows. And, when we finished our show, I got hugged by so many guys with tears in their eyes, it was unbelievable. Please understand, our group was judged against those other corps. But, the judges, for fear of retaliation, didn’t dare give us a bad score. We rarely won, but we finished ahead of many other corps we shouldn’t have.
It has created for me a life-long love of drum-corps shows. And, so it was that on July 16, my daughter and I traveled to TCF Bank Stadium to see a drum corps contest – certainly not the first since my drum-corps days. On the negative side, some things have changed. The Stars and Stripes are no longer required.
However, on the positive side, there has been one huge change. Most of all the now-active corps are a part of an organization known as “DCI,” which stands for Drum Corp Intl. DCI is a constructive commission that coordinates the activities of some 50 or so units. But, here’s the catch: These corps have young men and women as the core of their corp. In fact, they can only belong to their appropriate outfits until they are 21 years of age. Then, done!
So, you say, a band is a band is a band. Not true. Their musical repertoire includes classical renditions, operatic presentations and even musical scores they have written themselves. In fact, one of the outfits (from Indiana) went on to stage their compositions in theaters like the Orpheum. My daughter Krista, who joined me on my recent trip to the contest, was first introduced to a piece of musical magic that came from an outfit in California. They delivered a favorite of hers (Phantom of the Opera) and made her a permanent fan.
Before I disappear, I have but two things to add to my ramblings. There are some 50 (or so) groups of DCI components that spend an entire summer providing a wonderful show. That equates to some 5,000 young people under the age of 21 that represent what, I would hope, we are all delighted to see: No drugs, no thugs, no gangs, no guns – just 5,000 kids who commit their entire summer to working, entertaining and making a lot of moms and dads very proud. Of course, they are not alone. I have the honor of announcing at summer ball games for American Legion-sponsored teams. There are also a few thousand kids (across the country) who I tip my hat to. No drugs, no thugs, no gangs, no guns. I guess there is hope for our American youth.
Paul Ritzenthaler has spent most of his life working in broadcasting before retiring, but still keeps himself busy by announcing baseball games at the Municipal Athletic Center in St. Cloud, golfing and trying to keep up with his two dogs Dani, a Sheltie, and Tucker, a Shi-Tzu, at his home in Sauk Rapids.
