A Visit to the Museum – VII
It has been a very busy month at the Marching Pageantry Arts Museum with many, many items arriving by mail at the home of Curator Bill Ives or being hand delivered to the Museum.
Bill McGrath, Jr. submitted two rare black and white photos of the Newark State School for the Handicapped Drum & Bugle Corps of Newark, New York. A number of newspaper clippings of photographs of the Vasella Musketeers were contributed by Joel Leson.
A collection of program books and drum corps publications were received from Michele DelRa, daughter of the creator of the drum corps mellophone, and David F. Wendel sent in a flag from the Casper Troopers with their classic crossed-swords design.
Denise Schroeder contributed a polo shirt and ball cap from the Emmaus (PA) Sentinels and many items of memorabilia from the Eastern States Circuit Brookhaven (PA) Crusaders, including trophies, patches, and a notebook of newspaper clippings. Barbara Duva salvaged a number of contest program books from the trash and sent them to the Museum, as well. Over 800 contest program books are now catalogued in the Museum collection.
Some rare items from the Racine Scouts, an iconic “chrome dome” helmet and a poster for one of their field contests at historic Horlick Field, were contributed by Conner Heinle.
Patti Bolton sent in a collection of buttons, so popular in the 1960 and 1970, from two corps from Oregon: the Fabulous Flamingos and the Salem Argonauts. On the Facebook post of those buttons, Tim White, now of Bellevue, Tennessee, posted a DCI Midwest photo of the 1982 Argonauts, of which he was drum major. More recently, Tim was a drum major for Music City Legend and the Southern Knights DCA all-age corps.
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A dedicated group of women sort through the many uniforms and other artifacts received at the museum. These girls spend much of their time dressing and fitting the donated uniform collection on the manikins and “womanikins” displayed at the museum and at various events. Among these events are displays at band and drum corps competitions such as the DCA and DCI Championships, the annual World Drum Corps Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony, and the College Band Festival. Back in March, Bill attended the Maryland Drum Corps Hall of Fame induction banquet and brought a display of many items from the Baltimore Yankee Rebels.
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
The museum 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.
It is asked that individuals consider making donations through their Will and/or that next of kin of a deceased loved one donate drum corps artifacts (equipment, jackets, uniforms, t-shirts, program books, flags, etc.) to the museum. We have heard a number of stories where valuable items have been disposed or destroyed by “uninitiated” surviving family members.
The Marching Pageantry Arts Museum – “A story worth telling and worth knowing”