Date: Fri 26-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Striders-marching-Reiner

Full Text:

GENNEWS

The Striders March On After 50 Years

with cuts

B Y A NDREA Z IMMERMANN

The drum roll, please...

Past and present members of Striders Drum Corps are invited to its 50th

anniversary celebration on August 3 at the Sandy Hook Firehouse. This will be

an opportunity for participants to share stories and add to a history that

began in a town that offered little for young people to do in the summer.

Originally called the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firemen's Drum Corps, the corps was

comprised of fife, drum, and bugle, and membership was open to youth under the

age of 18. Now, the corps is an adult corps with the members playing fife,

drum, bells, and trumpets.

The corps, formed in 1946, was the brainchild of fire fighter Bert Sheldon. Mr

Sheldon was musical director and taught fife to corps members. "Musically, he

formed the corps with the sponsorship of the fire department," said Al Dennis,

a lifetime member and the original drum instructor for the corps. "Hiram

`Hinie' Hanlon was fire chief of Sandy Hook at the time the corps was formed,

and assistant chief was Robert F. Reiner - those two people were instrumental

in establishing the corps," he added. Irving Shaw was the first horn

instructor.

The fire department provided the uniforms, equipment, instruction, and

transportation to events. "It was a wonderful way for children to get musical

training inexpensively - I think we paid ten cents a week in dues," said

Evelyn Watts, who joined the corps as a fife player when she was 12. "Then,

Newtown wasn't as affluent as it is now. And the schools didn't offer the

[musical] opportunities they do now; there was no Newton High School Band.

Plus, you had a good time."

Mrs Watts was in the corps until she was 18. She went away to school, but upon

her return, taught fife to corps members. The group rehearsed in the fire

department hall which was on Glen Road.

"It was a lot of fun. I think that's probably where I learned how to read

notes, somewhat. I played the fife," said Peg Forbell. "We met first as a

group and then went to our individual instructors. And then we would practice

marching. We would go out from the firehouse, toward Sandy Hook Center, and

down Riverside Road to practice our marching," she said.

"During the summer we would attend the firemen's parades - that's when firemen

had carnivals as their fundraisers," recalled Mrs Forbell. "When the parade

and the marching was done, then you'd go to the carnivals. We had fairly

simple uniforms compared to what bands have now - dark pants with stripe going

down sides, white shirt, and we had a cape. One side of the cape you wore down

and the other side you'd throw over shoulder to show lining. And we had hats."

George Lockwood was in the corps for six years, and played the drums. "When we

were kids there was nothing else to do, for one thing. It also reflected

[positively] on the fire company," said Mr Lockwood, who is now Newtown's fire

marshal. "It was a lot of fun because we marched in three or four parades a

week in the summer time and had competitions every Saturday."

Drum Corps membership was often a family affair, as evidenced by the Lockwood

clan. Eight of the 13 children in the family participated in the corps -

George, two of his brothers and five of his sisters. As an adult, Mr Lockwood

became a fireman and marched with the fire company in parades, most of which

were held in New York State, he said.

"Firemen were chaperones that took us around on the buses to all the

functions," said Mr Lockwood. "There were a lot of children involved back then

- sixty, anyway."

Drum Corps service is a tradition in the Reiner family, also. The late Bob

Reiner, who was director for most of his 48 years with the corps, and all his

children participated in the group. The Reiner children are Mary Ellen, Bob,

Barbara, and John, who is now director of the corps. John Reiner also met his

wife, Cheryl, through drum corps. She is director of the New Fairfield

Sparkler's Drum Corps, and John is assistant director of that corps.

Making Strides

The fire company ceased sponsorship of the corps in 1960 due to the high costs

associated with it, but the group was immediately reorganized by parents as

the Newtown Striders.

In May 1982, corps membership had dropped to 11 and included only one drummer

so the group ceased meeting. "The Drum Corps took a very short hiatus in 1983

- it never disbanded," said Mr Dennis. "In 1985, after restructuring, it

became a senior corps. The change to senior corps was largely due to the

efforts of my daughter, Lori Dennis Clement.. `Newtown' was dropped from the

name because it became an area drum corps."

Over the years, some members of the corps have won honors for their musical

talents. Others have gone on to pursue careers in music, such as Chris Roberts

of Newtown who is now touring with the Allman Brothers.

The Striders Drum Corps currently meets at the old Bethel Town Hall next to

the library. It has about 25 adult members from Newtown, Danbury, New

Fairfield, Bethel, Brookfield, and New Milford. Their repertoire includes 10

different marching songs "that fire departments love" including America , The

Marines' Hymn , and "some jazzy things." This year they are scheduled to

perform in 22 parades and one competition. On November 24 they will give a

free concert at 1:30 pm in the Ives Auditorium, WestConn campus on White

Street, Danbury. They will next appear in a parade with the Katonah Fire

Department on July 26 at 6:30 in Bedford Village, Bedford, N.Y.

The officers of the corps are President Warren Lafferty, Director John Reiner,

Vice President Janet Cosgrove, Treasurer Lucy Lafferty, Majorette Elaine

Noyce, and Quartermaster Anne Marie Marron.

"What's a parade without a drum corps?" said Mr Dennis, who is also president

of the Greater Danbury Area Drum Corps. "Nowadays, most patriotic events find

that there is a shortage of musical units, and they are in demand. [Drum

corps] are hard to maintain and membership has declined. But I can't

understand this because it's a way to be provided with entertainment, musical

knowledge, and good fellowship throughout the year. The busiest time is in the

summer months when there are competition and parades."

Anyone interested in joining the Striders Drum Corps, or in attending the 50th

anniversary celebration, should call John Reiner at 746-0784.