From the Crow’s Nest by Rob Danner, B.A.A. V.P.
Welcome to The Anchor, the latest rendition of a newsletter for the Buccaneer Alumni Association. Prior issues of Tales & Shanties covered both the need to transmit current events and announcements and also provided a venue for the historical and story-telling aspect of a news magazine. Since the current administration of the Buccaneer Alumni Association has been in office we have discussed ways to bring more attention to the “Association” side of the ship and identify the Drum & Bugle Corps as an activity of that association, but not the focus of the association. We have also been discussing better association with our brothers and sisters in the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps, or as we relate to them – “The Competing Corps” (Well, have they had much competition lately? J ) Recently we have realized just how much the alumni drum corps has overshadowed the activities of the organization and decided now was the time to make some sweeping changes. We hope you agree.
The Buc Alumni website www.readingbuccaneeralumi.org now has two distinct paths, selected from the home page one for association activities and one for the performing activities, and of course a link to the Buccaneers at www.readingbuccaneers.org This also drove us to go with a separation of the newsletter, thus Tales & Shanties has become a monthly (or more often as needed) venue to get our announcements emailed to the Alumni membership in an expedient manner. The Anchor becomes a quarterly venue for bringing our family together with memories of the past, and visions for the present and future. This venue is open for the entire Buccaneer family to participate in. That family includes marching members past and present, and shall we say the fans and groupies that have made this journey all worthwhile since 1957. The Alumni Association provides an avenue for these Buccaneer Boosters to become an associate member. To contribute ideas, articles, memories or photos to The Anchor, contact myself, Rob Danner via or 484-599-0182 or Don Kline at . Some of the continuing articles that will appear in The Anchor will be words from both the President of the Alumni Association and the Director of the Buccaneers, information about upcoming events or photos from recent events, “Meet the Crew” a means of getting to know fellow Buccaneers worlds outside the Blue World, and of course bits and pieces of history, photos and articles of past journeys and ports of call. The content and success of this magazine format will largely be dependent on the participation from all the hundreds of Buccaneers that have passed through the corps since 1957. So get those cards and letters coming in! Target publication Dates will be March – for Spring Indoor shows, May – for Friends & Family, August – for Big Sounds In Motion and November – for Annual Membership Days. Not exactly quarterly, but you should see the pattern. “Like us” at our daily dose of Buccaneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BuccaneerAlumni
This initial issue of The Anchor will forge ahead with some of the things that are going on across the board with both the Alumni and the Buccaneers without some of the mentioned articles, being more of an introductory issue.
Literally, the driving factor for stepping on the gas with our move to a broader based “Alumni Organization” was the need for the Buccaneers to acquire a new truck. Big Blue is literally on its last tires, spewing an unwanted blue cloud for its signature and threatening the demise of driver and crew. A drive to approach the alumni base for awareness and donations to support that effort discovered that there just was not a line of communication to the aforementioned hundreds of Buccaneers and thousands of fans. When the Buccaneers new fundraising manager, Michelle Williams reached out, she found there was little to grasp onto. This left us with two important targets.
1. Combine efforts to create a database of ALL the members of this great Blue Family. This is a joint venture by both committees. As Buccaneers, we need to communicate with our friends and fellow Bucs that we know are out there and pull them into the fold. Get their contact information and pass it on or get them to contact us so that we can get this off and running. Details of a link on www.readingbuccaneers.com coming soon.
2. Lets’s get this truck paid for! A target figure of $10,000 is sought and donations can be made via the above Bucs website. This can help pay for the purchase and help outfit the truck for proper equipment placement
Oh my how the times have changed. The first equipment truck, a LaSalle Hearse (photo by J.J Kaucher) and the new replacement for “Big Blue” recently obtained by the Buccaneers. (photo by Bill Snook)
Friends & Family Day
This one time a small picnic and last “almost dressed rehearsal” run through before the first competition has become a huge family reunion and feast with the important focus is to gather non-perishable food items. This stockpile will supply the corps at a number of competitions through the season. Jen Armstrong (Contra base) is spear heading the task this year and has requested among other things, lots of Peanut Butter and Jelly, cereals and powdered drink mixes like Kool Aid and salad dressings. Jen’s daughter is also playing Baritone in the Bucs, so Jen is usually at the Buc’s rehearsal. Jen also plays Contra in the Alumni Corps, so you can also find her at the Alumni rehearsals, ready to collect the goods. And please, the need doesn’t stop after Friends and Family is over.
For future reference. It takes an army of people just to get this event coordinated. A “covered dish” for the event is every bit as needed as the donation of the above items for the road trips. Coming out to our favorite hide-away in the woods at the back of Reading Airport, Buc Field or Bug Field as you may, will find a cool concert by the Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps to warm things up and then a phenomenal run through by the Buccaneer’s followed by a huge picnic. If you have not heard the Bucs yet this year, their show “Twisted” is out of sight, a medley of bizarre twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. DCA beware! And top it off by seeing your friends and family in Blue. So see you there.
Alumni Activities
In the past the Alumni held a variety of fund raiser / member gatherings with less than noteworthy success. Our own Terrry Rohrbach put together “Pirates Night Out Dance” socials, popular Kauffman Chicken Dinner sales, and Randy’s famous Buccaneer Flapjack events at Applebee’s. These were all fun times for those that gathered, but somehow the word didn’t get out and attendance lagged. We generally managed to break even, but ya know the goal was to see more people and raise some funds! We would really like to get back to some of those events, and not all of them have to be “fundraisers. The Alumni operates a motor coach trip to the “Cabs at the Beach” contest in Wildwood, NJ the week after Friends and Family Day. The more that attend the less the cost! The trip starts at 8 AM in Reading and snacks on the bus and allows for time on the beach, show tickets and no traffic up or down… As they say leave the driving to us. I can hear bus songs an initiations erupting at the back of the bus now! (No not really – Geritol Bus) And then there is the DCA weekend events. The Blue Buc Block, Booty Bags and after show get-togethers at the hotel, all of which Martie Heatherington is sure accounts for several recent championships……Well it does certainly set the mood and help the corps with certain “DCA responsibilities.”
The Alumni would like our biggest drive to be our own “Ned Fund.” In honor of Ned Baldinger, the ever present Buccaneer that touched the lives of so many Bucs in so many ways right up to his untimely death, this fund was established to assist dues payment or costs incurred by competing Buccaneers, as we all know Ned quietly did. The income from the Alumni Corps last annual parade annually goes into Ned’s Fund. Bucs make application to the Alumni Staff and along with the Bucs staff, members deemed needing it most are awarded funds as available.
In the last “magazine format” version of Tales & Shanties, Jack Wells told us of his journey from junior drum & bugle corps days to his time in the Reading Buccaneers. In this issue of The Anchor Jack will introduce us to the beginnings of the Buccaneer Alumni Association and the Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps. We hope you enjoy Jack’s colorful tale. Additional segments of Jack’s journey will appear in future issues and if you missed his opening article, we can get a copy of it to you, just ask.
Birth of the Buccaneer Alumni by Jack Wells
Without my Buccaneers I was going crazy; what to do? Ned Baldinger and I were going to Philadelphia, Pa for the E.S.T. program. On the way down we talked about starting an Alumni Association. I was also working with Fred Windish at his home and I told Fred of my dream of starting an Alumni Association.
There were other ex-Buccaneers to have similar groups but they never included all members which was fine and good since that’s what they wanted. But I wanted more. I asked ex-Buccaneers I thought would help to get organized. Most of them said “Yes”. With some of the very best guys on board to help, the alumni came to be known as The Reading Buccaneer Alumni Association.
We held monthly meetings, bus trips, tail gate parties, Christmas parties and enjoyed good fellowship when we were together. I designed the ships wheel as our logo with six spokes, each with a special meaning: White, Black, Male, Female, Young and Old. The logo had the old English “B” in the center and the motto “Champions United”. I did this in 1981.
The Alumni was going great for a few years but membership started to decline. Then in 1986 I was invited by John Fisher to come and march with the Connecticut Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps. This was not the Hurricanes Drum Corps but members of all Connecticut drum corps. Norm Cimerol and I went to Bridgeport, CT on July 4th and marched with them. It was wonderful to march again! Norm and I had a great time and a great weekend!
On the way back I suggested to Norm we needed to start an Alumni Buccaneer Corps ourselves….but how? Where would we get money for horns and drums? Will other members join? Joe Jasinski came to see me at my job and I told the story about Connecticut. He suggested we send a newsletter to see if people would like to march again.
Well the response was an over the top – “YES” – so at our next Alumni meeting we formed a Buccaneer Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps committee to start a drum corps. First we needed to have horns and drums. I heard through the grape vine of some equipment available in Hamburg, PA. A Terry Reppert and his wife were selling horns and drums in Harrisburg, Pa. from a junior corps that never got off the ground. Bruce Englehart, Joe Jazinski and I went to check out their horns and drums. The Reppert’s were asking a higher price than the $575.00 I paid for all their equipment. A very good price!
Fred Windish told me the Chessmen Junior Corps from Easton, Pa was folding and wanted to sell their equipment. Fred gave me the directors’ phone number; his name was Craig Weidar. Once again, I solicited the assistance of Bruce Englehart and John Flowers to accompany me to check out the horns and drums.
I contacted Mr. Weidar, to whom I was acquainted through my work with DCI Allentown, to arrange a visit and asked if he would mind if Bruce and John accompanied me. He told me it would be a special treat and honor to meet the ‘Great’ John Flowers and ‘Legendary Buccaneer’ Bruce Englehart.
They were asking $10,000.00 for all the horns and drums but after meeting John and Bruce he quickly dropped the price to $5,000.00; still too high. With Bruce and John playing horns and drums he again dropped the price to $2,000.00. He was overwhelmed by meeting John and Bruce.
I bought all the horns and drums on the spot. I then asked John Flowers if he would teach the drum line and he agreed. He then suggested that Tom Shade would be great as music arranger and teacher of the horn line. I talked to Tom and John and explained that we did not have the funds to pay them, but I would give them a few hundred dollars every few weeks. Both agreed to this arrangement. Without their help at that critical time it would have been very hard to get off the ground. Tom and John, “Two Outstanding Buccaneers”.
Our first practice started with 62 members and grew from there. Nine weeks later we did our first Harrisburg, PA show. That year included parades and the Buccaneers ‘Big Sounds in Motion’ home show. Our first year was history.
The Buccaneer Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps needed a uniform. After marching with Connecticut Alumni, I copied the black baseball hat, blue shirt with logo and black pants. In the cold weather we wore a blue jacket with ‘Buccaneer Alumni’ on the back. I thought this was the right idea; not to have a uniform like the Reading Buccaneers as we did not want to take away anything from them. They are ‘The Corps’, we are just ‘alumni’.
Without the help of Fred Windish, John Flowers, Tom Shade, Bruce Englehart, Norm Cimerol, Al Cola, Joe Jasinski, Norm DeTemple (and many more I can’t remember, and for this, I am very sorry) the Buccaneer Alumni would not have come to be.