March On! ...the history of the
Toronto Optimists Drum & Bugle Corps
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Change History for this website
The most recent changes are listed first.
April 15, 2024
- added the April 2024 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter
to Newsletters. It includes:
- Chapters 27 and 28 of Colin's book
- a reprint from GCC about the Parachute
- a reprint from DCI Today about Ken Mulgrew
- memories from Wendy Paquin (from an old web post)
- The focus of our Feature Article is Barry Bell and Lorne Ferrazzutti as they turn 90!
- Our Spotlight shines on the Windsor Guardsmen Drum Corps
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the April 2024 issue
- updated the We Remember page to include Rob Trimble
- updated the We Remember video to include Rob Trimble
- added a We Remember page for Rob Trimble
April 9, 2024
- added GCC, Volume 7, #4 (Inside the Corps) (1967, July—August) to Newsletters
- added Gold Capsule Comments for March.1977
March 10, 2024
- updated the We Remember page to include Tommy Logan
- updated the We Remember video to include Tommy Logan
- added a We Remember page for Tommy Logan
- updated A Myriad of Memories to include a few histories of other corps in Acrobat format (De La Salle, Grantham, Jolly Jesters, LaSalle Cadets, Preston Scout House, Scarborough Firefighters/Seneca Princemen, St. Johns and Toronto Signals)
February 29, 2024
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists (added scores for a contest in Shawinigan, QC that was held on September 5, 1964).
January 16, 2024
- added the January 2024 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter to Newsletters (Chapters 25 and 26 of Colin's book with Doug MacKenzie's memories of a 1975 trip on the SS Badger. Our Feature Article is about the Scarborough Firefighters / Scarborough Princemen / Seneca Princemen and the focus of our Spotlight article is on the Kiwanis Kavaliers Drum Corps )
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the January 2024 issue
- Removed the "Happy New Year" graphic from our Home Page
January 8, 2024
- added GCC, Volume 1, #2 (Inside the Corps) (1961, Inside the Corps, July) to Newsletters
- Updated 1978 Gold Capsule Comments for August.
December 31, 2023
- added GCC, Volume 15, #2 (April, 1975) to Newsletters
- added a temporary "Happy New Year" graphic to the Home Page
October 16, 2023
- added the October issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (October 2023) to Newsletters (Chapters 23 and 24 of Colin's book with recollections about Mr Baggs plus some of Doug MacKenzie's memories of 1961. Our Feature Article is about Les Compagnons and the focus of our Spotlight article is on the Bandettes Drum Corps from Sault Ste. Marie)
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the October 2023 issue
October 4, 2023
- updated Don Daber's Remembrance page to include:
- the location of his gravestone at Duffin Meadows Cemetery in Pickering (the location is under the photo of his gravestone)
- a link to an Acrobat file with an extended version of Don's biography (published in the Toronto Optimists History newsletter for July 2023)
- a link to the 2023 Video Slideshow about Don.
September 30, 2023
- added GCC, Vol 10, #6 (June, 1970) to Newsletters
September 18, 2023
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists (added scores for two contests in August 1961: NY Canadians on August 12 and Titusville, PA on August 19)
- added GCC, Vol 2, #3 (1962, February-March) to Newsletters
September 13, 2023
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists (added scores for two contests in May 1961: Phillipsburg, NJ and the Preview of Champions in Jersey City)
July 15, 2023
- added the July issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (July 2023) to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the July 2023 issue
July 11, 2023
- added GCC, Vol 6, #3 (July - September, 1966) to Newsletters
July 09, 2023
- added a video Remembrance of Don Daber. The video includes a brief biography of Don, as well as images of Don and his work, both corps and non-corps related. The audio track is a recording of the Toronto Optimists competing in the 1967 CYO Nationals.
June 30, 2023
- added GCC, Vol 15, #4 (July-August, 1975) to Newsletters
June 20, 2023
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists (Updated scores for the 1966 CNE contest and added scores for the 1966 Grape Festival and 1966 Commanders' Contest)
- Updated Audio Files to include a 1965 recording of the Optimists in Hamilton (soundtrack for the 1965 movie)
May 30, 2023
- updated the We Remember page to include Peter Barclay
- added a We Remember page for Peter Barclay
- updated the We Remember Video to include Peter Barclay
May 15, 2023
- updated the Home and News pages to include a notice about the passing of Peter Barclay.
April 25, 2023
- changed the "Rifles" article in the April 2023 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter to include some memories from Brian Hogan as well as to add a few more photos.
April 15, 2023
- added the April issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (April 2023) to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the April 2023 issue
April 11, 2023
- updated the We Remember page to include Noel Bramley
- added a We Remember page for Noel Bramley
- updated the We Remember Video to include Noel Bramley
January 14, 2023
- added the January issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (January 2023) to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the January 2023 issue
- added GCC Vol 7, #6 (November/December 1967)
- updated the We Remember page to include Ken Poole
- added a We Remember page for Ken Poole
- updated the We Remember Video to include Ken Poole and Marc Burns
January 1, 2023
- updated the Home and News pages to include a notice about the passing of Hazel Berger.
November 30, 2022
- added video footage of the Optimists performing at the 1968 Grey Cup Halftime show.
November 21, 2022
- added a "We Remember" page for Marc Burns
- Updated the We Remember Page to include a link to the We Remember page for Marc Burns.
October 14, 2022
- added the October 2022 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the October 2022 issue.
- updated the Home Page to include a link to the October 2022 newsletter.
- updated the Lancers/Cadet-Lancers webpage
- updated Optimists' Feeder Corps page to include a link to the Acrobat history of our feeder corps.
- updated A Myriad of Memories to include a link to the Acrobat history of our feeder corps.
September 24, 2022
- updated Don Daber's Remembrance page to include a photo of his gravestone.
August 18, 2022
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists (Added scores for the 1961 CNE contest as well as prelims to the 1961 Nationals)
August 4, 2022
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists (Updated Scores for: June 10, 1967 in Batavia, NY; August 26, 1963 in Waterloo, ON; September 4, 1967 at the CNE in Toronto, ON; Added scores for August 31,1968 in Sarnia, ON).
August 3, 2022
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists to include scores for three additional contests (July 20, 1963 in Falconer, NY; July 27, 1963 in Waverly, NY; July 28, 1963 in Salamanca, NY).
July 18, 2022
- updated the Home and News pages to include a notice about the passing of Rita Ferrazzutti.
July 13, 2022
- added the July 2022 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the July 2022 issue.
June 27, 2022
- updated the Home and News pages to include a notice about the passing of Judy Dey (Gasson).
June 22, 2022
- added We Remember pages for Jan Burgess, Marilyn Sturino and Randy Cochrane
- updated the We Remember Video to include Jan Burgess, Marilyn Sturino and Randy Cochrane as well as changing the photos for Penny Cassaday (Tudhope) and Sandy Stoklosa (Douglas)
June 2, 2022
- updated the Home and News pages to include a notice about the passing of Jan Burgess and Marilyn Sturino as well as the Celebration of Life for Jan Burgess.
May 30, 2022
May 13, 2022
- updated the Hall of Fame page to include Dave MacKinnon who was inducted into he World Drum Corps Hall of Fame
April 24, 2022
- updated the Home and News pages to include a notice about the passing of Randy Cochrane.
- add a We Remember page for Randy Cochrane.
April 9, 2022
- added the April 2022 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the April 2022 issue.
April 6, 2022
- changed the photo on the We Remember page for Penny Tudhope Cassady
- changed the photo on the We Remember page for Sandy Stoklosa Douglas
March 15, 2022
- added a We Remember page for John Kubicz
- Updated the We Remember Page to include a link to the We Remember page for John Kubicz.
- updated the Newsletter page to include GCC Vol 1, #3 (February 1961)
March 11, 2022
- added a We Remember page for Art Tamaki
- Updated We Remember to include a link to the page for Art Tamaki.
February 26, 2022
- updated the Newsletter page to include GCC Vol 12, #6 (July 1972)
- made some changes to the We Remember page for Vern Johansson
- updated the "Contest Scores " for the Toronto Optimists Acrobat File
- updated Optimists Conquer Rome! about Optimists beating Blessed Sacrament in Rome, NY
- updated the Acrobat version of Vern Johansson's "The Unstoppable Force and The Immovable Object " to include a photo of Vern.
- changed the We Remember page for Al Tierney to include a new photo
February 23, 2022
January 8, 2022
- added the January 2022 issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (January 2022) to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the January 2022 issue.
- updated the We Remember page to include Vern Johansson
- added a We Remember page for Vern Johansson
- updated the We Remember Video to include Vern Johansson
- updated the We Remember Acrobat file to include Vern Johansson
January 5, 2022
January 1, 2022
- updated the "Contest Scores Acrobat File" for the Toronto Optimists.
- Updated the article by Alex Barris about the Toronto Optimists (published in the Toronto Telegram on July 12, 1961)
December 23, 2021
- updated the video of the 1960 Seniors in Hamilton to include the names of the corps.
- updated the video of the 1961 Grape Festival Parade to include the names of the corps.
December 22, 2021
- added a video slideshow of the 1961 Toronto Optimists.
- added a We Remember page for John Van Der Flaes
- updated the We Remember Video to include John Van Der Flaes
- updated the We Remember Acrobat file to include John Van Der Flaes
October 13, 2021
- added the October issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (October 2021) to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the October 2021 issue.
- added We Remember pages for Al Taylor, Chris Taylor, Glen Durish and John Coull
- updated the We Remember Acrobat file to include Al Taylor, Bill Thorne, Chris Taylor, Glen Durish and John Coull
- updated the We Remember Video to include Al Taylor, Bill Thorne, Chris Taylor, Glen Durish and John Coull
- updated the We Remember page for Ben Burrage to include a photo showing the telescoping National Flag pole that he created
- updated the 1966 members page to identify as many members as possible
September 22, 2021
- added a video slideshow of the 1964 Toronto Optimists.
September 15, 2021
September 2, 2021
- Updated the Acrobat file for 1958 group photo to include the name of Wayne Moss, the second Bass drummer.
- Updated the Acrobat file showing the 1961 group photo, the 1962 group photo, the 1963 group photo and the 1964 group photo to change some names. I have also added a second page showing member names organized by section. Big Thanks go to Mike Thys for creating these lists.
- A Myriad of Memories has been updated to include links to these files
- the following pages have also been updated to include the appropriate links: 1964, 1965, 1966
August 5, 2021
- added Concert Photo of 1965 corps (with names but no colour guard)
- added Formal Photo of 1965 corps (with colour guard and names)
July 15, 2021
- added the July issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (July 2021) to Newsletters
- updated the TOH - Newsletter summary to include the July 2021 issue.
June 30, 2021
- Updated Memories to include an Acrobat file of a 1965 article about the Toronto Optimists. The article was published in the March 1965 issue of Drum Corps Journal.
- posted two similar slideshows of the 1963 Toronto Optimists on Youtube. The audio was recorded 58 years ago today so this seemed like a good day to post it.
May 31, 2021
- updated our Home Page and News Page to include a notice about Doug MacKenzie being inducted into the Buglers Hall of Fame.
- Updated the Hall of Fame Page to include an entry for Doug.
May 8, 2021
- added "We Remember" page for Bill Thorne
- updated the We Remember page to include Bill
April 19, 2021
- updated the April issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (April 2021) to include the complete version of Colin Hedworth's article about Optimists drumline. What? The article always appeared to be incomplete; however, it perfectly matched what I had been given. After posting the newsletter I obtained another version of the article that included two legal-sized pages that were not in the original version. This version contains all of the text from the missing pages as well as a few additional photos.
April 14, 2021
- updated the We Remember page for Ronn "Skip" Prokop to include a tribute written by John Swartz that was published in the Orillia Packet & Times.
April 13, 2021
- added the April issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (April 2021) to Newsletters
- added a Bookmark Summary for the Toronto Optimists History Newsletters (a table of contents for each issue)
- updated the Bookmark Summary for Grey Capsule Comments (a table of contents for each issue)
April 3, 2021
- added "We Remember" page for John Hertell
- updated the "We Remember" Video and Acrobat file to include John Hertell
- updated the We Remember page to reflect the above changes
March 24, 2021
- I've been playing around with the Photo Gallery software in an attempt to make it more mobile-friendly. I've made changes to the main software to make it work better on mobile devices. In addition, I have added a new theme that is geared exclusively to cell phones. I would appreciate any feedback that you might have (positive or negative).
March 12, 2021
- Removed the page for members of the Optimists Hall of Fame
- added a page dedicated to the drum majors during the competitive years
March 3, 2021
- Posted a video slideshow of the 1978 Seneca Optimists on YouTube. Here's the link
- Add the beginnings of a page for members of the Optimists Hall of Fame (this page has been removed)
February 18, 2021
- In an effort to free up space I've begun migrating videos from the website to YouTube. In the process some videos have changed and, over time, some others might change.
January 27, 2021
- Posted a slideshow of the 1962 Toronto Optimists to YouTube. View the slideshow on this website or view the slideshow on YouTube.
- added 1972 GCC, Volume 12, #5 (June) to Newsletters
January 14, 2021
- renamed "GCC Archives" to "Newsletters". I did this because we have identified our new publication as a Newsletter instead of a GCC.
- added the first issue of the Toronto Optimists History Newsletter (January 2021) to Newsletters
- added a photo and the corps' crest to the Optimist Cadets page.
- added an MP3 of the 2006 Optimists Alumni performing in Waterloo at a show sponsored by the Scout House Alumni Band
December 31, 2020
- added 1962 GCC, Volume 2, #5 (June – July) to GCC Archives
December 22, 2020
- Updated the We Remember page for Ronn Prokop to include a memory from John Arksey.
- added a 1960 photo of the main corps and Bantams to the Bantam Optimists page
- changed the 1969 photo of the Optimist Cadets in Batavia that was on the Optimist Cadets page
- added 1971 GCC, Volume 11, #2 (March – April) to GCC Archives
December 17, 2020
- made slight changes to the acrobat file about Whaley-Royce. (A link to the file is on our Memories page.)
- changed a couple of the photos in the Acrobat file about "The City of Toronto Flag"
- added 1970 GCC, Volume 10, #1 (January) to GCC Archives
December 4, 2020
- Added an acrobat file about Whaley-Royce. A link to the file has been posted on our Memories page.
- added 1969 GCC, Volume 9, #4 (November) to GCC Archives
November 27, 2020
- added "We Remember" pages for John Peachey and Rick Cooper
- updated the "We Remember" Video and Acrobat file to include John Peachey and Rick Cooper
- updated the We Remember page to reflect the above changes
November 24, 2020
November 20, 2020
- updated the "Contest Scores File" for the Toronto Optimists. This file now includes competition scores from 1958 through 1975. The list of contests and scores is not complete and should be viewed as a work-in-progress. In fact, identifying contests and gathering scores is close to impossible so this project might never be 100% complete! Having said that, there is a lot of information in these fifty-seven pages. You will find the dates, locations, names of competing corps, placings and scores for as many competitions as I have, so far, been able to find. Updates will be posted as I obtain new scores, identify errors or find additional information.
- updated the We Remember page for Mr. Baggs. It now includes links to an acrobat file with his obituary from the Toronto Star as well as a biography of Mr. Baggs by Sadie Mau-Mau (from GCC).
- updated the page for the Bantam Optimists to include a history that had been published in an old issue of Green Capsule Comments.
- updated GCC Archives to include some historical information regarding the beginnings of GCC.
- added 1961 GCC, Volume 1, #6 (May – June), to GCC Archives
November 12, 2020
- Added an acrobat file showing scores and other information for competitions that included the Seneca Optimists. There is a link to this file in A Myriad of Memories. The 15 pages of information cover the years 1976 through 1978, the competitive life of the Seneca Optimists. The file contains the dates, locations, names of competing corps and scores from as many contests that included the Seneca Optimists as I could find. This document may not be complete and should be viewed as a work-in-progress.
- updated the Seneca Optimists page to link to an acrobat file from Drum Corps World about the merger.
- Added video footage from the 1955 Waterloo Band Festival. The video shows the Davenport Trumpet Band (part of the Optimists family), Preston Scout House, the Western Tech Band, Niagara Militaires and others.
- added 1964 GCC, Volume 4, #2 (March – April) to GCC Archives
November 5, 2020
- Updated A Myriad of Memories to include an acrobat file that includes information for competitions that included the Toronto Optimists. The 33 pages of information includes the dates, locations, names of competing corps and scores. This is a draft version of the file and it only covers the years 1958 through 1970. Please note that the listing, even for these years, is not complete. Gathering all of this information takes a lot of time and I decided that it was best to post something now rather than wait until the project is complete. Updates will be posted as I add scores for new years, identify errors or find additional information.
- added 1970 GCC, Volume 10, #4 (April) to GCC Archives
October 31, 2020
- updated GCC Archives to includes some photos
October 28, 2020
- changed Home Page and News Page to include a notice about the passing of Rick Cooper
- added 1970 GCC, Volume 10, #8 (October – November) to GCC Archives
- added a graphic of the corps crest and motto to the Home Page
October 20, 2020
- Added video footage of the 1960 Toronto Optimists at Toronto's City Hall.
- Added a link to a video that I recently posted on YouTube. The video shows the 2006 Optimists Alumni performing at Scout House's show in Waterloo, Ontario.
- added 1964 GCC, Volume 4, #1 (January – February) to GCC Archives
- updated the Memories of 1966 to include the cover of Optimists 1966 record album
October 14, 2020
- With the exception of GCCs (they have their own page) all Acrobat files are included on the page "A Myriad of Memories". As a result I have removed the "Acrobat Files" page.
- added 1972 GCC, Volume 12, #4 (May) to GCC Archives
October 7, 2020
- changed some on the images on the Toronto Optimists page
- added an article by Alex Barris about the Toronto Optimists published in the Toronto Telegram on July 12, 1961
- added 1966 GCC, Volume 6, #4 (October – November) to GCC Archives
September 30, 2020
- added 1973 GCC, Volume 13, #3 (May thru September) to GCC Archives
- added a "We Remember" page for Florence Sciore
- updated "We Remember" Video and Acrobat file to include Flo Sciore
- changed the photo of Bill Ukas on Bill's "We Remember" page
September 22, 2020
- added an Acrobat article about the 1964 Toronto Optimists from "Marche et Manoeuvres" (in French)
September 16, 2020
- Added photos to the acrobat version of Vern Johansson's "History of The Optimists".
- added a "We Remember" page for Tom May
- updated "We Remember" Video and Acrobat file to include Tom May
- Added Acrobat versions of all 3 issues of GCC (Geriatric Capsule Comments) – the first newsletter of the Optimists Alumni. In case you are wondering, "Geriatric Capsule Comments" is the name Vern Johansson used in his draft versions.
September 8, 2020
- Most of the changes have been cosmetic as I've worked to finalize the way the website looks.
- Updated the story of the 1962 Optimists in Rome to include a few color photos taken at the show. I also replaced the photo of the Baritones with an image of them holding their shakos so that it would be easier to see their faces.
September 1, 2020
- Added a "Lightbox" option to the Photo Gallery. What is this and how does it work?
- A Lightbox is basically just a big image that is framed and given a backdrop to make it look nicer. In this case I have hidden the photo gallery behind a black backdrop. This allows one to focus on the image. When one exits this feature the regular photo gallery reappears.
- In most cases the website contains 3 sizes of images: thumbnail, mid-size and full-size. The thumbnails are the smallest size and you will find them in the black film strip. A mid-sized image will be in the white space above the film strip. When one clicks on a Thumbnail it will display the mid-size image in the white space.
- The "Lightbox" gets activated when one clicks on a mid-size image.
- I have implemented the Lightbox as a dual-function: It shows a large image with a border and a description of the image in the border, below the image. If you do nothing, it then begins a slideshow. (Some of the images in the gallery do not have large versions so do not be surprised if there are a few small images.)
- To return to the "normal" view, click in the black area outside the image or click on the "X" to the right of the caption. This will return you to the mid-size image that you clicked.
- By the way, implementing this feature means that it takes a bit longer to display a full-size image and its info. If users find it too slow I can remove the feature.
August 25, 2020
- My focus is on improving the website before I start posting new material.
- The most recent changes are designed to make the website more "mobile-friendly". Material on the main website should now be readable on everything from a cell phone up to a desktop computer.
- Changing the Photo Gallery so that it can easily be viewed in Portrait (normal) mode is a major challenge and, I dare say, counter-productive. I suggest that you turn your phone sideways when visiting the Photo Gallery.
August 19, 2020
This site went live on August 19, 2020. The focus of this site is the Toronto Optimists Drum and Bugle Corps. It is a repository of historical information relating to The Toronto Optimists, it's precursors and successors. While this site is based on the old version of the Optimists Alumni website (with Alumni Corps specific material removed) every page has been changed in some way.
All of the images in the old Photo Gallery as well as all historical material have been preserved.
Some changes include:
- The menu system has been redesigned and is locked at the top of the page.
- The "Search" option in the Photo Gallery has been augmented with a list of Years for keyword searches (look for the blue links at the bottom of the page). Clicking on a Year will show all of the images for that year.
- in addition to what you see below, every pages has been redesigned.
- clicking an image on a webpage will display a large version of that image.
- Interview added: Gene Chepswick interviews Richard Robida, Ronn Prokop, Fred Lombard and Joe Palanica for a 1963 issue of GCC.
- Added a new article from 1968: "A Day in the Life of a Corps" (subtitled "The unusual account of how a junior corps primes itself to win the Canadian Nationals". The article was written by Douglas McPhail.
- On the Memories of 1958 page I've included scores for all of Optimists' competitions in their first year of competition.