Colonial Boys Center Of Attraction At Conn. Meet-This Day In Norwood History-September 12, 1957

Completing their fourth successful year since their inauguration in 1953, the Colonial Boys’ Ancient Fife & Drum Corps traveled to Deep River, Conn, for the annual Ancient Muster held there on Saturday, September 7. The corps appeared with some twenty-five other ancient fife & drum corps from all over the Eastern part of the country, some coming from as far as Baltimore, New York State, and Pittsburgh, Penn.

Being one of the main attractions at the muster because of the several champions playing with the corps, the Colonial Boys entertained the other corps as well as the townspeople of Deep River with their large repertoire of Revolutionary War songs.

Until the innovation of the Colonial Boy’s Fife & Drum Corps, very few corps, either modern or ancient, could boast more than one state champion. However, the Colonial Boys this year have the National Bass Drumming Champion, Thomas Connolly, the Massachusetts Snare Drumming Champion, Richard MacLeod, and the Massachusetts Filling Champion, James Donnolly Jr. The latter two, as well as Tom Connolly, also held these State Championships last year.

The popularity of the corps has spurred many younger Norwood boys to ask to join the corps, and it is for this reason, coupled with the fact that the corps will have to enter the Senior Division Competition next year, that the Colonial Boys have announced intentions of organizing a completely new and separate Ancient Fife & Drum Corps. This corps will consist of boys from ten to fourteen years of age living in Norwood, and will be named the “Liberty Boys” Junior Ancient Fife & Drumcorps.

The instructors and members of the Colonial Boy’s Corps will teach this new corps which will be managed by Dennis Hayes of 32 Cross Street, Norwood.

There is still room for a limited number of interested Norwood boys in this age group. Any such boys may report to the Elk’s meeting hall, Elk’s Park in Norwood, on Wednesday evening, September 18, or any Wednesday evening thereafter. Meetings will begin promptly as 7.00 p.m., and parents are urged to attend the first meeting with their sons.