Audio Interviews
Bill Davern — reunion organizer and former band director, drum major, Class of 1978
“Well as a student, I think one of the biggest aspects is that the kids when you are in it don’t realize particularly is that many of the friends that you are going to make being in the marching band are going to be the friends that you have for the rest of your life. That’s something that I don’t think that people understand when they are you know 16, 17, 18 years old but as you mature you realize that these people are still really tight with you because of this incredible, intense, emotional almost religious shared common experience.”
“I’ve been involved in the marching activity whether it was with our group or other groups every single year since 1976.”
Kevin Surace — reunion organizer, former drum line member, Class of 1980
“You know that was an honor, not only a honor, you were expected to do so. Coming up through the system it was expected that that whole feeder system would feed you into that nationally recognized program.”
“So one thing about a well run organization, like the Wildcats, is that you take those lessons for life. I often said that what I learned there is leadership as well as followship and what it took to work as a team to make something happen does follow you through life.”
“The camaraderie that you have with your section, the camaraderie with any section whatever one it is and mine it was percussion. Those become friends for life. They really do because you’re in the trenches with them just as if you went to battle, you went to war, and so you do make friends for life through marching band that I think are deeper than any others you made in high school maybe any other you make in your life because you fought the battles together and you won and you lost.”
Jack Daley — reunion organizer, former band instructor and trombone player, Class of 1966
“In 1966 was the first year we actually competed. The first couple of years was all fireman’s parades. My senior year we finally created a field band, which we would do for a halftime show, and there was competitions for that. That was also the year of our first state championship.”
“I am a very competitive person. For me it was winning our first state championship as a member. Then winning our first national championship as an instructor was probably my favorite memory and that was in 1976, which was also the first year I became the coordinator of the program.”
“For me, when I went to college I already had a pretty good idea of how to control my time, how to make the best use of my time because when you are in a group like that it’s 3 hours of rehearsal and several rehearsals a week and there is school work to do, there is your part time job and you do learn to manage your time in a effective manner. I think that was probably the biggest thing that helped me as a business man later in my life. You also have to learn respect for people it’s a large group of varied interests, many different kinds of people and you have to get along together. As I went through my business career that all stuck with me and I think that was very helpful to me.”
“One of my friends I graduated from high school with me and played in the band came back for the first time two reunions ago, ten years ago, and he mentioned the fact that what he loved the most about it was that people from so many different classes were getting together all with the same attitude, they were here to have a good time to see each other and they to play well. We want to look good and that has never changed their is a certain kind of pride that never leaves.”