The Toronto Optimists' Photo Gallery

Photos of the Toronto Optimists, the Seneca Optimists, the Optimists Alumni and many others!

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The Old Days (Photos from our competitive years)Here you will find photos of the Toronto Optimists, the Seneca Optimists and Our Roots (boy scout bands, Danforth Tech, Western Tech, etc). There are also photos of many other corps, mostly Canadian. In addition, there is a category for memorabilia and another section where we remember "Those Who Have Gone." The sections for the Toronto Optimists and the Seneca Optimists are organized by year. Also, whenever I have yearbooks, I post them as Acrobat (pdf) files under the appropriate year. Their is a new section dedicated to the artwork and promotional materials created by Don Daber. As for Don's photos, the majority of the photos in the various "The Old Days" categories were taken by Don. Under the mid-sized image it will say "Photo by Don Daber" or whomever took the photo.

Our RootsThe Optimists had its beginnings in 1952 as a Scout band. After leaving Scouts in 1955 and obtaining the Optimists Club as a sponsor, they became the Optimists Trumpet Band, also known as Opti-Corps. In late 1957, when they were joined by the instructors and many members of the Danforth Crusaders, they became the Toronto Optimists Drum & Bugle Corps. The Optimists merged with the Seneca Princemen in 1976 to become the Seneca Optimists. This section contains photos of the scout band, Opti-Corps and the Danforth Crusaders.

Toronto OptimistsThis category includes photos of the Toronto Optimists taken at performances (competitions, exhibitions, parades, etc.). There is an album for each year from 1958 through 1975. Sometimes it's difficult to identify the year and those photos have their own album.

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Seneca OptimistsThis category contains photos of the Seneca Optimists taken at performances (competitions, exhibitions, parades, etc.). There is an album for each year from 1976 through 1978. Albums exist for casuals shots taken during 1976 and another for 1977. There is also an album containing an article about the corps that was publish by the Toronto Star in 1978. Sometimes it's difficult to identify the year and those photos have their own album.

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Optimists' Feeder CorpsOver the years the Optimists had a number of feeder corps: the Bantam Optimists, the Optimist Cadets, the Optimist Lancers and the Cadet Lancers. This category includes separate albums for each of those feeder corps.

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Other Corps (mostly Canadian)Here you will find photos of corps that we were part of the 50s, 60s or 70s Drum Corps scene. Corps for which there are more than 4 photos have their own album and are listed by name. If we have fewer than 4 photos those images will be posted in either the Various Canadian Corps or Various American Corps albums.

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Those who have goneThis category contains photo memories of Toronto Optimists, Seneca Optimists and Optimists Alumni members and staff who have passed away. If we have a few shots for a particular individual, there is an album under their name. If we only have a single shot, the photo is included in the "We Remember" album. A corresponding category called "We Remember" can be found on our main website under the History section. A separate web page exists for each individual. Each page contains a photo and a few words about that member.

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MemorabiliaThis is a "catch-all" for things like old articles, Christmas cards, advertising, old Programs and anything that doesn't seem to fit elsewhere.

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Don DaberDon was involved with The Optimists from 1960 until his death in 2019. During that time he served as a photographer, the publicity director and the Corps Director. He was also the creator and editor of both Green Capsule Comments and Gold Capsule Comments. Don produced the artwork for a number of record albums as well as designing posters and doing the artwork for a variety of contests and programmes. Don's photos can be found in "The Old Days" category (Toronto Optimists, Seneca Optimists, Optimists Feeder Corps or Other Corps).

Casual ShotsHere you'll find photos showing our corps members and staff "back in the day" as well as more recent photos. In addition, as we get our hands on them, we'll include some "Then" and "Now" shots. Come-on gang and get those photos coming in!

Old and NewIndividual and groups shots, photos from trips, etc.

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IndividualsPhotos of Individual Alumni Corps members, former Drum Majors and the photographers who have supplied us with photos- today and from years gone by.

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Photos from recent years (Optimists Alumni and other corps)Photos in this category are more recent, beginning around 2002. This is where you will find photos of the Optimists Alumni Corps and other corps. The photos are organized by year then by performance within the year. The majority of photos in this section were taken by David Johns or Eric McConachie. The "Our members marched with" album contains a few old photos showing some of the corps with which our alumni members have marched.

Optimists Alumni and other corps (until 2015)This category shows images of the Optimists Alumni and other corps with whom they have performed. They include shots from the 1983 and 1998 reunions but, primarily, cover the period from about 2002, when the Optimists Alumni was just forming, up until 2015 when the Optimists Alumni changed from an Old-School Drum and Bugle Corps to a band focussed on entertaining people. Photos from 2016 until today can be found in the "Optimists Alumni Party Gras Band" category

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Optimists Alumni Show Band (2016 - present)The majority of those who joined the Alumni Corps had performed with the Optimists in the 1950s and 60s. Over time the effects of aging took their toll. By 2016 the Optimists Alumni no longer had enough members to perform a traditional Drum and Bugle Corps field show. Since their remaining members still wanted to perform they transformed themselves into a "Fun Band". This new incarnation had a Party Gras feel with a focus on entertaining audiences. For a while they called themselves a "Party Gras" band; however, people seem to resonate more with the term "Show Band". This category contains images for the Show Band years.

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Our members marched with...The Optimists were always open to anyone who was interested. Here we honour the history of our members by displaying photos of many of the corps with which they marched.

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