March On! ...the history of the
Toronto Optimists Drum & Bugle Corps
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A Myriad of Memories
These memories are organized by year
Many of these files are in Acrobat format. Files without a year are listed first.
Here are quick links to each section
Newsletters General History Contest Scores We Remember Other Corps Memories By Year
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1984 1985 1990 2002 2010 2020
Newsletters
- Green Capsule Comments: Newsletters of the Toronto Optimists
- Gold Capsule Comments: Newsletters of the Seneca Optimists
- Geriatric Capsule Comments: Early Newsletters of the Optimists Alumni
- Grey Capsule Comments: Later Newsletters of the Optimists Alumni
- Toronto Optimists History Newsletters: Newsletters from the Toronto Optimists History website
General History
- A biography of Don Daber (from July 2023 Toronto Optimists History Newsletter)
- From Toronto...The Optimists, the First Edition of Colin Hedworth's "History of the Optimists". This 400 page book begins with the Boy Scout Band. It covers the Scout Band, Opti-Corps, Toronto Optimists as well as the Seneca Optimists which was created by the merger of the Toronto Optimists and the Seneca Princemen. There is a chapter for each year until 1978, the final year that the Seneca Optimists competed.
- From Toronto...The Optimists, the Second Edition of Colin Hedworth's "History of the Optimists". This version contains the same text as the First Edition; however, the Table of Contents has been simplified and the cross-reference of included photos has been removed. To offset that, many photos have been changed and we've added more than 40 pages of information and photos. (added May 31, 2025)
- Photo History Booklet about The Optimists (updated May 2025)
- Vern Johansson's History of The Optimists
- Web Pages (Go to the start of "Our Optimists Roots")
- Acrobat Version (with photos)
- Diceman Radio has an audio version of Vern's history
- Article about the Toronto Optimists Feeder Corps
- Article about "Old Skool Drum Corps" (updated May 2025)
- Article about Whaley-Royce
Contest Scores
-
Scores from contests that included the Toronto Optimists
- Note: This acrobat file covers the competitive life of the Toronto Optimists (1958 through 1975) and includes the dates, locations, names of competing corps, placing of corps and scores. I've gathered information from every competition that I have, so far, been able to find. Please note that the listing is definitely not complete and may contain errors. In some case I've included a placeholder when I found a contest listed in a schedule but could not find results. Without results I do not know whether the competition even occurred or, perhaps, was strictly tentative. Updates will be posted as I add additional years, correct errors or add missing information. The file was last updated on August 18, 2022.
-
Scores from contests that included the Seneca Optimists
- Note: The 15 pages of information cover the years 1976 through 1978, the competitive life of the Seneca Optimists. Information includes the dates, locations, names of competing corps and scores from from as many contests that included the Seneca Optimists as I could find. This document may not be complete or 100% accurate and it should be viewed as a work-in-progress. Updates will be posted as I add scores, identify errors or find additional information. The file was last updated on April 9, 2021.
We Remember
- Names of those who have passed
- Acrobat File — all of the "We Remember" pages in one acrobat file
- Video — music with names and photos of those who have passed away
"We Remember Those Who Have Gone" is a tribute to those who have passed away
Other Corps
- De La Salle: from a 1965 issue of Drum Corps Digest
De La Salle: from TOH Newsletter (January 2022) - Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights: from a 1966 issue of Drum Corps Digest
- Grantham Police Boys Band: from TOH Newsletter (January 2023)
- Jolly Jesters: from TOH Newsletter (July 2021)
- LaSalle Cadets: from TOH newsletter (April 2022)
- Preston Scout House Band: from TOH Newsletter (October 2021)
- Scarborough Firefighters/Seneca Princemen: an extended article based on the version published in the TOH Newsletter (January 2024)
- St Johns: from TOH newsletter (July 2022)
- Toronto Signals: from TOH newsletter (April 2023)
Memories Arranged By Year
| YEAR | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 1956 | Certificate for winning first place in Junior Novice class |
| 1957 | Program from a contest sponsored by the Parkdale Lions Club |
| Program from the first contest sponsored by the Optimists | |
| Article about Opti-Corps from the Toronto Globe and Mail | |
| 1958 | Memories of the 1958 Toronto Optimists |
| Newspaper clippings about the Toronto Optimists winning the Nationals | |
| Phil Hennings scrapbook (newspaper clippings about the 1958 Toronto Optimists) | |
| Photo of the 1958 Toronto Optimists on the steps of De La Salle "Oaklands" (includes the names of corps members) | |
| The strange case of the City of Toronto flag | |
| 1959 | Nothing Yet |
| 1960 | Memories of the 1960 Toronto Optimists (by Terry Sweeney) |
| 1961 | Photo of the 1961 Toronto Optimists on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (includes the names of corps members) |
| Article about the 1961 Nationals re-created from GCC | |
| Article by Alex Barris about the Toronto Optimists published in the Toronto Telegram on July 12, 1961 | |
| Optimists Corps Song A contest to create a corps song was announced in the February, 1961 issue of GCC. The winner would get a new corps jacket. The contest was won by Glen Durish. | |
| Article about "The Port Credit Pear Pickers" Optimists alter-ego that performed in a Santa Claus parade | |
| 1962 | Memories of the 1962 Toronto Optimists |
| Optimists Conquer Rome! about Optimists beating Blessed Sacrament in Rome, NY | |
| Photo of the 1962 Toronto Optimists at Varsity Stadium (includes the names of corps members) | |
| Bill Thorne interview with Doug MacKenzie and Joe Gianna (for GCC) | |
| Program for the Junior International (Optimists first contest of 1962) | |
| Program for the 1962 Nationals | |
| 1963 | Memories of the 1963 Toronto Optimists (by Bob Carell) |
| Article about the 1963 Individual Championships (from "Off The Line" magazine) | |
| Article about Optimists mini-corps by Dave Watts (article from GCC plus some photos) | |
| Interview Gene Chepswick interviews Richard Robida, Ronn Prokop, Fred Lombard and Joe Palanica for GCC | |
| Photo of the 1963 Toronto Optimists at Waterloo Lutheran University (includes the names of corps members) | |
| 1964 | Memories of the 1964 Toronto Optimists (by Bob Carell) |
| Article about Toronto Optimists from the Toronto Telegram (April 23) | |
| Article about Toronto Optimists from "Marche et Manoeuvres" (the article is in French) | |
| Article about a contest in Highland Park IL that included the Optimists | |
| Photo of the 1964 Toronto Optimists at Varsity Stadium (includes the names of corps members) | |
| 1965 | Memories of the 1965 Toronto Optimists (by Bob Carell) |
| Toronto Optimists Yearbook | |
| Article about Andy Henderson as "Drum Major of the Month" (from March issue of Drum Corps Digest) | |
| "Men of Ideals" about Barry Bell (from March issue of Drum Corps Digest) | |
| Article about The Optimists (from February issue of Drum Corps Digest) | |
| Article about The Optimists (from March issue of Drum Corps Journal) | |
| Article about De La Salle (from May issue of Drum Corps Digest) | |
| Formal Photo (with colour guard and names) | |
| Concert Photo (with names but no colour guard) | |
| 1966 | Memories of the 1966 Toronto Optimists (by Brian Byrne) |
| Report about the Optimists at the 1966 Nationals (from March, 1967 issue of Drum Corps Digest) | |
| Article about Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights (from January issue of Drum Corps Digest) | |
| Photo of the 1966 Toronto Optimists at the Shrine Temple (includes the names of corps members) | |
| 1967 | Memories of the 1967 Toronto Optimists (by Bob Carell) |
| Drumming out Delinquency (from Toronto Star, promoting the Shriners Contest) | |
| Report on the Shriner's International (by Vern Johansson) | |
| Reports on the Nationals (from Ottawa newspapers) | |
| Report on the 1967 Nationals (Volume 7, #5 issue of GCC) | |
| Members Manual for the Toronto Optimists | |
| 1968 | Memories of the 1968 Toronto Optimists (by Brian Byrne) |
| "A Day in the Life of a Corps" The unusual account of how a junior corps primes itself to win the Canadian Nationals (by Douglas McPhail) | |
| How Rick Roussel became an Optimist (by Ray Roussel) | |
| 1969 | Memories of the 1969 Toronto Optimists (by Brian Hogan) |
| Article about Nationals (from Ottawa newspapers) | |
| The Youth of Toronto and Optimists International (Optimists International and The Optimists) | |
| 1970 | Nothing Yet |
| 1971 | Nothing Yet |
| 1972 | Names Photos of Corps Members (from GCC) |
| Report on the 1972 Nationals (Vol 12, #8 issue of GCC) | |
| Article about the Optimist Lancers | |
| 1973 | Nothing Yet |
| 1974 | Article from GCC about the Optimists Cadets Awards |
| 1975 | Toronto Optimists Yearbook |
| 1975-75 Flying Dutchmen Program and Yearbook | |
| 1976 | Seneca Optimists Yearbook |
| Information Drum Corps June 1976 (Submitted by Enzo Marrella) | |
| Information Drum Corps October 1976 (Submitted by Enzo Marrella) | |
| 1977 | Seneca Optimists Yearbook |
| Article about Ken Mulgrew of the Seneca Optimists (This article was taken from a 1977 issue of DCI today) | |
| Dutch Boy/Northstar Program and Yearbook | |
| 1978 | Article about the Seneca Optimists (from City magazine) |
| Information Drum Corps March 1978 (Submitted by Enzo Marrella) | |
| Dutch Boy/Northstar Program and Yearbook | |
| 1984 | Book commemorating 50 years of Drum Corps in Canada (published by the Canadian Drum Corps Association) |
| 1985 | a tribute to the All Ontario All-Stars Drum Corps (published in the November, 1985 issue of "Parades and Pageantry") |
| 1990 | Article about former member Bill Thorne and his family (from Parades and Pageantry, February, 1990) |
| 2002 | Announcement of the Optimists Alumni's first rehearsal |
| 2010 | Article about the Optimists Alumni (from the Welland Tribune) |
| 2020 | Article about "Old Skool Drum Corps (from GCC) |
| Drum Corps World (DCW) Interviews Doug Darwin about the Optimists Alumni |
