Community Corner

Viewfinder: The Past, Future March Together at Fife and Drum Competition

Precision teams marched to the beat of our country's oldest fife and drum corps.

There is something that stirs deep within us when we watch the synchronized movements of a polished fife and drum group. Sunday's competition of three fife and drum corps conjured images of the Civil War, of determined colonists marching into battle, and reminded many of their own ancestors and family roots.

On Sunday, the three groups competed for the 33rd Annual Competition of the Greater Danbury Area Drum Corps Association. The participants came from New Fairfield, Lake Carmel, with a few members from Bethel and Danbury. One group, the Regulators, came from Patterson, NY.

Some of the adults have been involved in fife and drum corps their entire lives. Seeing the adults perform with their precision movements was inspirational and even more so when seen in the youth groups.

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 The adult performers noted that the discipline of the corps teaches the youngest  members many important lessons, while the younger set said they enjoyed watching the older groups. One bystander said that The Regulators are the best in the business. Two members of that group, Leslie Forker and Allen Cavallo, said, “Billy the Kid was a Regulator, which was known to be a group of lawless lawman, vigilante style, in the old days of the Wild West.”

 For a reminder of our country's roots and to get a peek at the youth, our hope for the future, take a gander at the photos.

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