Eau Claire Sundowners

The corps became co-ed in 1970 - and in 1971, the name was changed to Sundowners. The corps achieved its highest level of competitive success under the Sundowners name, reaching the finals at VFW Nationals five times (1973, 1974, 1978, 1979 & 1980), AL Finals in 1978 & DCI Class A Finals in 1980. 1984 was the last year of competition for the corps, although it continued as a parade unit for several more years. The Sundowners Winter Guard competed until the mid-'90s, placing 2nd in Class A at the WGI Championships in both 1988 & 1994.

EXCERPTS FROM THE CORPS NEWSLETTER, MARCH, 1978 Behind the Drum Corps Scene by Michelle Svoma Our morning begins at the crack of dawn as we all try our best to smother a yawn. We’ll stand there for roll-call, then get on the bus - away from the noise, the confusion and fuss. Our parents will wave and yell their goodbyes but none of us notice, we’ve all closed our eyes. With a grunt and a groan our buses do start, amid prayers from our drivers that they won’t fall apart. As we go down the road, not a whisper is heard but a few hours later come those two desperate words. “Potty stop!” comes a shout from the back of the bus - we all wake from our slumber, then oh, what a fuss. They tell us we’ve only a few miles to wait - that we must keep going, or else we’ll be late. When we finally arrive, there’s a parade we must do. By the time that we’re done, it’s practically two. We’ll start practice at three, then eat supper at five - by that time we’re wondering if we’ll ever survive. At six we will leave to put on our show - we’ll give it our damnedest, use all that we know. Our music is sure, our marching precise - to find our mistakes, the judge must look twice. The contest is over, we look back on our day. Was it worth all we put up with? “You betcha,” we’ll say. As we march off the field, there is pride on each face. Our hard work is rewarded as we bring home a First Place. Drum Line Goes to Madison by Pat Seidling On February 11th, the drum line went down to Madison, Wisconsin to see the Madison Scouts, a DCI ranked Drum Corps, at a weekend rehearsal. We went to Queen of Apostle Catholic High in the morning to see sectionals and then to Madison East to see marching practice in the afternoon. Although they were no further in their drill than we are, they have their entire opener, a latin-rock piece, down and memorized. Marching an unbelievable 12 snares, 7 trios, 5 bass, 5 tymp, 4 cymbals and 2 keyboards, their drum line’s in for a National title. Complemented by 47 Powerful horns, Madison’s in for a good season. The colorguard, being average size is working on winter guard and looking good. In the evening, the Scouts treated us to a horn-drum music practice. TERRIFIC!!!! They played like we did last July and maybe better and it was only February! The dedication, pride and companionship these boys have really shows and gives a lot to learn from. The kids are generally the same age group as us except for the drumline, which is older. Even when they are tired and hungry, they never stop giving their best. Chris Theo, our host and Madison’s head drum instructor, invited the whole corps down in the future, if we have time. Chris is planning on coming down this winter to instruct the drum line and talk with the corps some weekend. Last winter, he did the same thing and it really proved helpful for the entire corps. This trip was something I doubt the drum line will ever forget.