The first set of videos below is from the band's performance at the Raiders football homecoming game on Oct. 20, 2007.
Quest: Visions of a Dream
Music from "Man of la Mancha" and "Zorro."
Homecoming show, Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Finale: An added flourish
Here's the final minute of the band's performance at the USSBA Northern States competition in Allentown, Pa., on Nov. 3. A few little visual touches had been added - you'll see Christine lead her line of flutes in a cool move at 17 seconds into this clip.
Andy was among members of his Boy Scout troop who took a whirlwind tour of some historical and other sites in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia Nov. 8-10, 2007.
While at George Washington's estate in Mount Vernon, Andy took part in the daily wreath-placing ceremony at the tombs of America's first president and first lady.
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band won its second straight Group 6A New Jersey State Championship at a U.S. Scholastic Band Association competition in Sayreville on the night of Oct. 27, 2007.
Here the band's trio of drum majors marches off with the championship banner.
The victory is a credit to the many long hours of hard work that all the band and color guard members have been putting in since "band camp" began in late August.
Christine has been playing flute for several years, in school music classes and the Park Middle School band. Now as a freshman at SPFHS she's been learning to play more difficult music, while marching in complex formations. The band's show this year, titled "Quest: Visions of a Dream" includes music from Man of la Mancha and the movie Zorro.
The band's competitive season wrapped up the night of Nov. 3 at a USSBA competition in Allentown, Pa., which featured bands from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. In Group 6A, the Raiders came in second, narrowly edged out by a band from Pennsbury, Pa.
The band will continue to play half-time shows at SPFHS football games through Thanksgiving.
Thirty-five years ago. Can it really be that long? The six of us who trekked from Yonkers to Colorado and back again in July 1972 will never forget it. Read Lorraine's summary of that memorable trip. (If that link doesn't work, click here instead.)
Christine and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band had a very busy weekend Oct. 20-21, performing three times in two days.
On Saturday Oct. 20 the band played at the school's Homecoming football game (Union upset SP-F 22-13). Above they take the field to begin their performance; at right is a shot of Christine during the show.
Then after a dinner break the band took part in a competition at another school a few towns away.
On Sunday they went to the Central Jersey Regional competition held at the College of New Jersey in Lawrenceville, near Trenton.
Here are scenes from the Central Jersey Regional show Oct. 21, 2007. Above, Christine is at front left. Below, she marches past the musicians in the "pit" who accompany the marching musicians. Below, Christine is at the front of the line of flutes. Along with the color guard, the SP-F (or "spiffy") band has well over 100 students participating. At each competition, the bands are judged on various criteria of musicality, artistic presentation etc., and awarded point scores.
Xander turned 1 on Oct. 4, 2007, and the celebrations went on through the following weekend. Grandpa Dan flew out from New Jersey to join the festivities. They included a party Saturday the 6th at Marie and Brian's home, and a visit to a pumpkin farm the following day.
Here's a slideshow of photos from the weekend.
If that's not enough you can look at the full album of photos.
But wait, there's more! See the videos in the post below...
Andy was awarded his Tenderfoot badge in a Court of Honor ceremony held by Boy Scout Troop 33 on Sept. 24. The previous weekend he hiked along a portion of the Appalachian Trail with his fellow Scouts. Details and photos are here.
Brien returned to the Long Island for a late-September visit, enjoying a week of excellent late-summer weather with his parents, Daniel & Lorraine, and with his long-time friend Madelon, who took thi "long shadows" photo on Jessup's Neck.
At the end of the week, Dan, Christine, Kathy, Ted and Patrick made it out for the weekend and helped Daniel and Lorraine celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary on Sept. 22. Among the highlights were a feast that night at Il Cappuccino Restaurant in Sag Harbor and a ride across Noyac Bay the next day on Ted's motor boat.
In August 2001, family members gathered at Long Beach near Sag Harbor to surprise Lorraine and Dan in celebration of their 50th Wedding Anniversary, which was coming up on Sept. 22.
The secret plans went off without a hitch. In this video, the surprise is evident as the guests of honor arrive at the beach. The afternoon at the beach was then followed by a fine dinner in a reserved room at a restaurant in Sag Harbor. It was a wonderful occasion from start to finish.
The cast of characters includes (in alphabetical order) Andy, Annamarie, Brien, Christine, Dan, Dan, Dan, Emory, Genevieve, Julie, Kathy, Kathy, Kevin, Kevin, Lorraine, Marie, Pat, Patrick, Shanna, Ted and Vivien.
Dolores recounts how she dealt with a setback just before she and Hugh flew off to Germany for a Rhine River cruise. The word "unstoppable" comes to mind.
The Scotch Plains Fanwood High School Marching Band performing in the stands at the SPFHS Raiders varsity football game on Sept. 8, 2007. The middle of this clip zooms in on Christine playing her flute.
Here the band performs its half-time show. This was its first half-time performance of the season, so the show was still a work in progress. This clip is the first one-third of the show.
The second third of the show is broken into two video clips. This portion features the color guard and a drum line solo.
Can you pick out Christine among the flute players in any of these clips? It's not easy in those uniforms!
The final portion of the program. Lots of percussion in this portion.
And oh yeah, there was a football game. SPFHS won 31-0.
It must be fate. All three members of this California family have their birthdays within a four-week span.
Brian's is Sept. 6. He and Marie celebrated by going out to eat at a "new-ish" Indian restaurant in Morgan Hill. Xander visited with Grandma so they could enjoy some grown-up time together. Marie's birthday is coming up Sept. 16, and Xander's 1st birthday arrives soon after on Oct. 4. Yes, it's been a year already!
Marie writes: "Xander's getting very close to walking. He has taken a few very wobbly steps, mostly when he's very excited and distracted enough to forget that he might fall if he tries to walk. He's an active little guy, and a 'people person.' He gets cranky if he doesn't see 10 different faces in a day, minimum."
If you haven't already seen it, be sure to check out the video of Xander learning to stand on his own, taken in late July. And of course his photo gallery pages.
Andy turned 11 years old on Aug. 23, 2007, and celebrated the following Saturday (8/25) with a dinner party at Arirang, a Japanese hibachi steakhouse. It's one of those places where the chef cooks the food right in front of the diners while entertaining with little tricks and jokes. Andy and his family and guests all had a great time.
On Saturday Aug. 11, Mom, Dad, Kevin and I took a trip out to Sag Harbor for the day. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kathy, Genevieve, Vivien, Patrick and Uncle Brien were all out there so it was very nice to see all of them. I was really happy to get a chance to see Genevieve and Vivien before they went away for school.
We spent the majority of our day at Long Beach with everyone. It was a beautiful day outside and we all definitely enjoyed it. Many of the boys spent a great deal of the their time in the water and the rest of us were chatting on the beach. (See the photos in the Gallery.)
We stayed at the beach literally until the sunset, which was amazing. We then all headed over to Aunt Kathy's house for a pizza dinner and spent the evening talking there.
The week that lapped from July into August saw plenty of activity around the eastern Long Island vacation retreats of several branches of the family.
Dan & Julie & Christine & Andy spent the week on "Birch Street East," renting a house just footsteps away from the famed cottage where Dan and Lorraine are once again enjoying a summer-long stay.
They visited with Kathy & Ted at their summer home a few blocks away, which is in the midst of renovations that will make it an even more fabulous place. Patrick was there all week and Genevieve & Vivien part of the week.
On Sunday, Aunt Anamarie and Emory ferried over from Shelter Island to join in a gathering at Kathy & Ted's, and later in the week Brien arrived for a stay.
Throughout this week of comings and goings, the weather was consistently beach-y -- sunny with temperatures in the 80s and occasionally the low 90s. Trips to Long Beach and the ocean beaches in Bridgehampton were the main activities. Here's a photo from Mecox Beach.
There was also a visit to Jessup's Neck, where Christine, Andy and Patrick hand-fed the hungry chick-a-dees, and Dan & Dan got in a great sail across Noyac Bay.
Here are a couple of fun video clips:
Patrick, Christine and Andy leap from the lifeguard stand at Long Beach in Noyac, 7/30/07.
Andy, Christine, Patrick, Genevieve and Brien crashing through wild ocean waves in Bridgehampton, August 2007
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The Birch Street Web, devoted to helping our extended family keep in touch, debuted in March 2007 on "Googlepages." On Nov. 11, 2008, it switched to its current format on Google's Blogger platform. As of November 2015 there are more than 1,000 posts in this blog, with links to more content at Google Sites, Picasa and YouTube.
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