==== Page 10 ==== North Star plans return as a ll-age corps from New England by Steve Vickers, Publisher (publisher@drumcorpsworld) y first exposure to Jim (right, 2001, Harry Heidelmark) and Lynda O’Brien’s drum and M bugle corps, North Star (bottom right, 1976, Jane Boulen) from the north shore suburbs of Boston, was at the 1976 World Open in Lynn, MA, at the famous Manning Bowl. The newly-merged corps appeared at the prelims competition in makeshift “uniforms” with the corps’ old black buzbees and borrowed equipment. On the way back to New England from the Key to the Sea Championship in Toledo, OH, their truck caught fire and destroyed the corps’ equipment and uniforms. Through the generosity of 12 of the participating corps at the World Open, they competed in prelims in jeans and t-shirts, placing tenth in prelims and tenth again in the finals. One of the corps that night, the Connecticut Classics, sent their members through the crowd to collect cash donations ($2,500) that helped North Star recover and finish the season with a ranking of 30th at the Bicentennial edition of the DCI Championships in Philadelphia, PA. That set the corps on a steady course of strong finishes over the next six years (17th in 1977 at Denver, CO, 10th in Denver, CO, in 1978, 9th in 1979 and 11th in 1980 at Birmingham, AL, and 13th and 16th their final two seasons at Montreal, QUE). I have a vivid memory of chatting with Jim as we leaned up against the fence at the 1982 U.S. Open prelims in Marion, OH, when he told me that, within a few years, the five DCI top-25 corps in the Boston area -- North Star, 27th Lancers, Holy Family Defenders, Boston Crusaders and Great Boston Alliance (pictured on page 12) -- would shrink to only a pair within the next few years. He folded North Star several months later, citing a lack of volunteer help and finances to keep the program going. The Alliance and Defenders were gone from the scene by the summer of 1985 and the 27th Lancers after their 1986 season. Now, as the organization’s 40th anniversary is approaching in 2015, there is a move to restart North Star as an all-age drum corps.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:12:58 +0000