Saturday, January 24, 2009

ENMS Memories: 1964-65 Band

[Four members of the illustrious 1964-65 ENMS Band at the 2002 ENMS Reunion. Left to Right: Gary (bass drum), Larry (snare drum), Fred (bugle), and Bob (snare drum & band leader).]
The company of cadets that made up the ENMS senior school was identified as "A Company, 167th Battalion" of the California Cadet Corp. In 1965, it comprised 210 cadets, ranging from 1st through 12th grades. This included a company staff of four leading a color guard, five platoons (including the junior school platoon), and -- THE BAND! [Prior to going to ENMS, my brother and I had taken several years of music lessons learning how to play the Baldwin organ. Actually, my parents bought the organ for my sister and she didn't want to take lessons so they gave me and my brother lessons and I eventually ended up learning how to play it rather well. So, when we went to ENMS, I couldn't wait to keep up my involvement in music in some way and requested to join the band. I wasn't as interested in learning how to play the bugle or the symbols or the glockenspiel as I was the drums. I'd listened to my share of rock and roll and soul music on the radio and felt my calling to be a drummer. So, during the first half of the 1963-64 year, I played snare drum. Then, about half way through the year, the bass drummer asked if anyone wanted to switch with him and I did and really digged it. I must have made more noise at ENMS than anyone else beating the heck out of that big bass drum every day. Unknowingly, this probably was very therapeutic for me and the more I think about it, making the amount of noise that we all did in practice and on the parade fields and marching in a few Southern California area parades, the ENMS band experience was probably very therapeutic for every band member as well. Maybe that's why we had so much fun. And, because we enjoyed playing our band instruments, we all excelled at it.] My band experience significantly took off during my second year when a new student by the name of Larry arrived (above photo). I believe Larry was in the 11th grade and he was immediately assigned to the band because he happened to be a professional drummer. No kidding, he had taken professional drum lessons for years and was the drummer in his brother's popular Southern California rock and roll band (name slips me). His brother's band played at one of our school dances. In fact the first time I heard "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones was Larry's brother's band playing it at the dance. And, if memory serves me, Larry had been a drummer for a one-hit-wonder song that had been playing on the radio at the time. Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm also thinking Larry was called upon to substitute for an ill drummer of one of the super groups of the time (Stones?). Larry's skills were so jaw-dropping good that he set the standard for the band's over all performance level. I remember him giving a lengthy drum solo performance at the Easter brunch that was absolutely spellbinding. Larry taught us drummers new cadences and how to twirl our sticks between our fingers without dropping them. Because he was such a pro, we strived to be the best we could be to help support his skill level. At the end of the school year, I can honestly say the ENMS Band was an extremely competent drum and bugle corp and much of the credit goes to Larry.
[The two pictures to the left show bugler Fred posing in ranks as cadet David took the reins on the bass drum for me so I could take this picture. Cadet Bob is playing snare drum in first drum row center. This was the 1963-64 ENMS band lead by cadet SGT John P. -- 2nd photo. John P. was a fabulous band leader. When he did not return for the 1964-65 school year, Bob did a fantastic job as band leader. In the video below, you'll see the 1964-65 ENMS band under Bob's leadership. I'm on bass drum and Larry is to my left. Can you find Fred?]

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My Goal

I'm Gary, the bass drummer in the above picture. My identification number at the Elsinore Naval and Military School (ENMS) was 151 -- a number forever burned into my soul. Here are some memories during my two year stay at ENMS in the 7th and 8th grades during the 1963 -- 1964 -- 1965 school years. I've converted old 8 mm movies that my parents took and present them here for all to see under the title of ENMS Memories on YouTube.com. My goal here is to share my story and hopefully it may stimulate viewers to share their stories with others -- even if you never attended ENMS. Who knows, you may be a parent considering sending your kid to military school and this web site may give you some insight as to what military schools have to offer. Please note that I am working on this blog at a rather sporadic pace. Also, for privacy reasons, I'll only identify cadets by their first name or initials. To access posts, please use the 'blog archive" on the right. Finally, the change from black to red type is just my style for indicating a change in the message context much like writing a new paragraph. Ready to take a ride? Let's begin! [Question: Is the ENMS band in the above picture performing at the beginning or end of the routine Sunday parade? Answer: With the platoons gone in the background, the parade is coming to an end with the ENMS band the last to pass and review -- following the Junior School platoon. Since we supplied the music / cadence for all cadets it made sense to have the ENMS band behind everyone keeping them all in step. Question: Who's the officer standing there with his back to us? Answer: That's CPT Fred V. Rosenberger, Assistant Commandant. Question: Is this the 1963-64 ENMS band or the 1964-65 ENMS band? Answer: It's the 1963-64 ENMS band because cadet Bob who became the 1964-65 ENMS band leader is in the band ranks playing snare drum -- first drum row center.]