Fife and drum corps enthralls crowd at New Presque Isle Lighthouse centennial finale

Scores of local residents and tourists were treated to an authentic re-enactment of a Revolutionary Era drum and fife corps drill Saturday at the New Presque Isle Lighthouse. The program was the crowning performance of a summer-long celebration for the newly-renovated 1905 lighthouse assistant?s residence by the Presque Isle Township Museum Society. The precision and authenticity of the drills and music were excellent and the unique setting gave the program an uncanny element of realism. The Midland-based Tittabawassee Valley Fife & Drum Corps was organized in 1988 with the primary purpose ?to honor our American heritage through a re-enactment of the military music and pageantry of the American Revolution.?

THE SERGEANT of the guard is 16-year-old Anastasia Ault. She is home schooled and lives in the Midland area. Anastasia says she has ?been around the corps? for eight years and has been a regular member for five years. Ault carries a six-foot spear known as an espontoon and follows a rigorous routine that was originally created by 18th century Prussian officers. She demonstrated the correct method of saluting with the weapon, first lifting the espontoon onto her shoulder, then bringing it down in one motion while stepping forward with her right foot, removing her hat and bowing her head at the same time. It?s like watching a ballet dancer with a deadly weapon.

?It takes many years of practice. You start out as a flag bearer. After a year or two, you can be elevated to the sword position and then you might be ready to become the sergeant of the guard,? she explained. A musket rifle demonstration was conducted by Dave and Karen Keeley from Beaverton. Their oldest son Scott, 17, is a sword bearer and Eric, 14, plays a fife. Their youngest child, Emma, 10, was dressed in period clothing as one of the camp followers.

THE M– USEUM society president, John Gledhill, is a former resident of Midland and was responsible for arranging the program. ?This celebration completes a five-year renovation program of the ?1905 house? costing $39,453, all raised through private donations and without any government involvement. Two key people in this effort were board members Jim Conley and Stan Paavola. They were the co-chairs of the restoration committee,? Gledhill said. Gledhill said the renovation work included more than 5,400 hours of volunteer effort by ten people over the five-year period. The first lighthouse keeper was Patrick Garrity who had transferred to the new lighthouse in 1871 after serving ten years at the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse. Garrity handed over the job to his son Thomas Garrity in 1885. Thomas continued the family tradition until 1935. The 113-foot New Presque Isle Lighthouse is the tallest on the Great Lakes.

The Drum & Fife Corps members wear what is referred to as the ?small clothes? of the American colonial soldier and the round hat of the continental marines. In addition, the drum major, musket bearers, and members of the Color Guard wear the green-faced-with-red regimental coat of the first colonial military unit and the forerunner of the U.S. Marine Corps, the oldest branch of the armed forces in America.

THE MUSICIANS played replicas of the six-hole fifes and rope-stretched drums commonly used during the Revolution. They performed selections from the fife and drum repertoire of the period. The Color Guard personnel carried different flags associated with the American Revolution including the yellow serpentine ?Don?t Tread on Me? banner. The musket bearers were armed with working replicas of the muzzleloaders of the period and demonstrated their loud re

port when they fired their rifles after the concert. Five ?camp followers? in authentic civilian dress, including the aide-de-camp Jim McMahan who also narrates the program and acts as the administrative secretary of the corps, accompanied the performing personnel.

McMahan said the second purpose of the Corps is ?to educate the public, in an entertaining way, about the history of this great nation.? McMahan presented some brief facts during the program about the history of the flags of the Revolution, the clothing and weaponry of the colonial soldier, as well as the clothing and lifestyles of the camp followers.

WHILE THE Corps is headquartered in Midland, its members come from Bay, Gladwin, Midland, and Saginaw Counties. Most of the performing members are junior high and high school students, but there are also some college students and adult members. All of the musket bearers and most of the camp followers are adults. ?They would like to return next year because they really enjoyed our hospitality,? Gledhill said. ?The Presque Isle Harbor Association hosted a big dinner and lodged them overnight at the clubhouse, then they fed them breakfast and sent them on their way. Those kids said they had never had such wonderful treatment and they would love to come back again,? he continued. Some of the historic places where the corps has performed are: Boston Commons, Mount Vernon, Statue of Liberty, Greenfield Village, Old Fort Niagara, Fort Ticonderoga, Liberty Square in Philadelphia, Fort Michilimackinac and many others around the country. The group is one of only four non-resident fife and drum corps ever to be invited to perform at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

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