I spent two weeks down at the Fair that year as part of this group, which I wrote about here. Even as a crusty 58-year old, I still get a lump in my throat when I think about how much fun it was.
Fellow Admiral King High School Band member Dave Szabo was a member of the State Fair Band too that year. Consequently, we missed summer band camp, as well as being in the AKHS marching band photo for the 1976 football program – but it was worth it.
The All-Ohio State Fair Band tradition continues today (here’s the link to its website).
As for the photo, I still remember the day they took it because we had to sit perfectly still for what seemed like a long time while the panoramic camera did its job. It was a sunny morning, too, and I was really squinting.
To reproduce the photo here on the blog, I had to scan it in pieces and reassemble it, so there’s a visible seam (sorry about that). But since this photo is nowhere else on the internet, I thought it would be nice to post it.
And since the blog software automatically reduces large jpegs to a maximum of 22” wide, here it is below in larger, cropped sections (in case some 1976 Band members would like to pick themselves out in the crowd.
The red, white and blue personalized jumpsuits we wore (remember, it was the Bicentennial year) were a little gaudy, but they created a distinctive look for the Band – especially the groovy scarves that would look right at home around the neck of Fred on Scooby-Doo.
(By the way, your humble blogger is in the bottom photo, in the back row with the other trombone players, seventh from the end.)
In the 1974 (or was it 75?)panoramic photo, a drummer stood on the left, then crouched down and ran behind the band to the other side, so he appears on both ends of the drum line.
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