A Visit to the Museum - XXI
The Museum collection grew again over the past month with a number of notable donations.
A portion of the Museum’s portable display was transported to the annual Maryland Drum Corps Hall of Fame banquet in Perry Hall, Maryland, hosted by well-known drum corps announcer Fran Haring. And a number of significant donations were received at the event. All three Yankee-Rebels American Legion National Championship flags – the traditional orange flags – from 1969, 1970, and 1971 are cherished mementos of that great senior drum corps. A flag from the sponsoring Hamilton AL Post 20 of Baltimore was also received along with a Yankee-Rebels flag and a Maryland State flag. A few weeks later, Larry Bourne of the Yankee-Rebels stopped by a rehearsal in Upper Darby for the Great Alliance of Seniors (GAS) reunion, set for May 1st-3rd. Larry donated his Yankee-Rebels shako.
Also represented at the MDCHOF event were former members of St. Mary’s Lancers of Baltimore. Kathi Bailey Petrowski presented a bound history book, uniforms, shakos, t-shirts, and flags from the corps. A few weeks later, Larry Bourne of the Yankee-Rebels stopped by a rehearsal in Upper Darby for the Great Alliance of Seniors (GAS) reunion, set for May 1st-3rd. Larry donated his Yankee-Rebels shako.
Also recently received were a number of other flags: a flag and banner from the Reilly Raiders of Willow Grove, PA; the Bracken Cavaliers Alumni Bristol, PA; and the Empire Statesmen of Rochester, New York.
Cynthia Melcocton sent along her St. Ignatius All-girl Corps jacket along with a series of buttons and her New Image uniform top. Both corps were from the Hicksville, Long Island, New York area. And speaking of buttons, Dennis Tischbaurer sent in items from his collection: Wisconsin corps Wausau Story and the Americanos of Appleton.
The Marching Pageantry Arts Museum/DCX Drum Corps Experience collection is now a member of the Costume Society of America. The CSA will be assisting the Museum with uniform preservation techniques. The Museum currently houses over 700 uniforms, in excess of 450 headgear/shako pieces, and more than 500 flags and banners. One of the most interesting items in the collection is the uniform/costume once worn by Canada’s Jolly Jesters.
A display was also transported to the Hanover Lancers’ annual Profiles in Music concert at the Waldner Performing Arts Center on the campus of York College. Among the performers were the Warriors mini-corps from the Bronx, New York. Members of the corps stopped by the display to see the uniform and G-D baritone once used by the CMCC Warriors, donated by DCW staffer Keith Griffin.
Mark and Lee Flick of the Cambria (PA) Cadets stopped by to deliver uniforms from the York (PA) White Roses, donated by Donna (Volluse) Isenberg. The White Roses competed as both a junior and a senior corps before merging with the Hershey Chocolatiers.
Found while sorting through the vast collection of contest program books was the May 1977 issue of the Girls Corps International newsletter, published by the late Pepe Notaro. Of special note is the number of all-girl corps listed as participants, most of which no longer exist except as alumni social groups.
Scott Litzenberg stopped by the Museum to view the collection and to deliver some horns Mike Dennis had in his collection. Mike use to work on Yamaha horns to repair and refurbish them. These were received with thanks to Kathy Shellenberger for donating this equipment.
Museum Curator Bill Ives found a promotional publication from Marion, Ohio. The flier featured the Audubon Bob Bons on the cover and a photo of the Anaheim Kingsmen inside the document. Marion, of course, was the home of the US Open Drum Corps Contest.
Anthony Marsh mailed three black and white photos of the Interstatesmen from 1964, taken at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The I-men was a DCA founding corps based in the Pittsfield and Albany, New York areas. Many members had formerly marched with the Empire State Grenadiers of Albany. Jackets from the Killmen of Wynantskill, New York and the Albany, New York Police Pipe Band were donated by d Martin. The Albany area in Eastern New York was once a hotbed of drum corps activity.
One major addition to the Museum staff is former DCI Executive Director Dan Acheson. Dan has agreed to join the Board of Directors and is tasked with writing a new business plan to promote funding and the ultimate acquisition of a permanent location for this growing collection. Dan’s expertise as a former corps director and longtime tenure with Drum Corps International will be an invaluable asset to the Museum and its future.
The Marching Pageantry Arts Museum is currently located at the historic Archer-Epler VFW Post 979, 6736 Marshall Road, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. Bill Ives is President, CEO, and archivist of the museum corporation, an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable corporation. Donations of drum corps, marching band, and color guard memorabilia are always welcome. Cash donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and may be made payable to:
Marching Pageantry Arts Museum
c/o Bill Ives
1024 Second Avenue
Media, PA 19063
Cash donations may now also be made on the website at: www.mpamuseum.org.
The museum, a member of the American Alliance of Museums, is currently open on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 10:00 PM by appointment only. Bill can be reached by e-mail at ivesbill@mac.com or by phone at (610) 937-6555.
The Marching Pageantry Arts Museum – “A story worth telling and worth knowing”
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