Darby band takes top honors at show

At a tournament in Grove City, Ohio, the Hilliard Darby Marching Band won 10 trophies on Saturday, including Overall Grand Champion.

Of course, we know they couldn't have done it without Chris and Stephanie! (Look closely, they're both in the picture above.)

Annual Walk to End Alzheimer's approaching

Our team at last year's walk

With October almost here (gaak!) the time is approaching for the annual Walk to End Alzheimer's. Shanna is once again leading our family team in the New York City walk, October 19 at Riverside Park.

Click to go to our family team page

"Since 2009, our family has been involved in the Walk," Shanna says. "We have surpassed our fundraising goal every year, and hopefully raised awareness. We plan to do it all again in 2014 in memory and honor of my Grandma."

If you'd like to take part and/or help with a donation, please visit our team page. Thanks!

Visiting Lizzie at Elon University

Tish sends along these photos from Elon University's Family Weekend.

Daughter Lizzie is now a sophomore at the North Carolina school.

Seeing Andy & the band at U. of New Haven

On "Family Day" at the University of New Haven, freshman Andy was visited by his parents, Dan and Julie, his sister, Christine, and girlfriend, Shannon.

They saw Andy and the UNH Chargers Marching Band perform their halftime show at the school's blue-turfed stadium.



As at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, Andy's a member of the drum line, playing a set of tenor drums.

The band's uniforms include a stylized image of a horse, the Chargers' symbol.

The band's performance of its Superman-themed show was accompanied by a football game, which the Division II Chargers lost to the Greyhounds from Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.

Here's a video that another band family member or fan posted of Saturday's show. (For a larger view, click the YouTube or Full Screen button.)

Chris & Stephanie and their 'Superior' band

Marching band season continues for Chris and Stephanie. These photos are from Friday night, when they helped cheer the Hilliard Darby HS football team to victory and played the halftime show. Above, Chris lifts his sax in the air at the front of his section. Below, Stephanie on clarinet during the show.

The next day, the band took part in a competition held at a nearby high school, and their show, "The Midnight Ride," earned a "superior" rating from the judges.

A parent posted this video. Chris is one of the recorded narrators - he's heard at the beginning ("Listen my children and you shall hear..."), again at the start of the second segment ("If the British march from the tower tonight..." and near the end ("so through the night rode Paul Revere...").

Viewing and creating works of art

Dolores and Hugh were busy last week with a visit to Winterthur in Delaware and a "paint-off" in Western Maryland.

On Wednesday, Hugh reports, they joined a coach tour sponsored by Trinity Church to tour Winterthur, the family estate of three generations of the DuPont family. The 1,000-acre estate and its mansion are preserved as gardens and a museum. "The current exhibits are a wonderful show of antique needlework and an exhibit of the costumes from the TV show 'Downton Abbey.' Both were worth the trip," Hugh writes.

Dolores adds that she and Hugh have never watched "Downton Abbey." "Everyone (on the trip) was all gaga about it, and some were appalled that we had not seen the show!

"Anyway, we really enjoyed the day," Dolores adds. "We saw the fantastic costumes, which were really presented with great style. An adjoining gallery had a marvelous show of New England 18th Century embroidery, so that was a real bonus!"

The next day they decamped to their home at Deep Creek Lake, and on Saturday, Dolores went to Grantville, Md., to Spruce Forest Artisan's Village at Penn Alps for a day of plein air painting. It was the "second annual" event; Dolores also participated in the first, which was held to mark the 200th anniversary of the stone-arch Casselman River Bridge. "I guess they aren't waiting for another 200 years," Dolores remarked.

About a dozen artists took part in the event. Dolores notes that such events are "now a BIG deal. I am invited to plein air events about once a month now. I have worked outdoors for over 35 years, and now suddenly it's a 'plein air event!'

"I painted one of the buildings in pastel. It all fell into place nicely as I worked, and to my complete surprise, I won second prize."

A charity run and a family visit on Cape Cod

It was another busy weekend for the Cape Cod branch of the family. Tish and Gerrit both ran in the annual Mighty Meehan 5K race, a benefit for leukemia research.

The weekend also saw a little family get-together, as Owen's cousin Nanette paid a visit from Shelter Island.

Halftime is performance time, in Ohio and Conn.

The University of New Haven Marching Band made its football-season debut this weekend in Connecticut, with Andy on the tenor-drum line. Meanwhile in Ohio, the Hilliard Darby High School marching band played its second half-time show of the year.

Cathy sent along these game-day photos of freshman Stephanie and senior Christopher.

And from West Haven, Conn., we have these photos of Andy at the UNH Chargers' Division II home opener. Dan and Julie weren't at the game, but these were posted on the band fan club's photo-sharing site. Some are from practice, some from warm-ups and a couple from the halftime show.



The marchers did not wear their uniforms on Saturday due to the hot, humid conditions - hence the t-shirts and shorts.

Christopher, Stephanie march together

The 2014 edition of the Hilliard-Darby High School Marching Band made its public debut Friday, performing at halftime of the school football team's first game.

Here are senior Christopher and freshman Stephanie in the band's new uniforms as they prepare to head to the field.

Stephanie, right, with band mates

New owners for old family home

Aug. 29, 2014

Forty-eight years (and 25 days) after Dan, Lorraine, their four children and pet beagle made this Yonkers house their home, another family purchased it on Friday.

For Dan, Kathy, Brien and Kevin, it's been a difficult process emptying the house and preparing it for sale, but there was a sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to pass it on to new owners. As Kathy told the buyers, "It's always been a happy house."

File photo: May 1, 2014

See previous article: Buyer found for family house

Christine and Dan attend Hampton Classic

Horse lover Christine and her dad attended part of the Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton this week. They spent a couple of hours watching riders practice with their horses on Monday, then returned to watch a full day of competition on Tuesday.

Dan enjoyed taking hundreds of photos of the beautiful animals. Here are just a couple dozen of his favorites.



SIDEBAR: On Monday, the ASPCA put on a presentation about rescue animals - pets purchased from shelters, horses purchased from auctions. To promote their adoption, animal advocate and NBC correspondent Jill Rappaport launched a campaign called "Pies for Paws," hoping to repeat the success of the ALS Association's "ice bucket challenge." Here Jill, already pie-ed, finds a willing volunteer in professional rider and Hampton Classic competitor Georgina Bloomberg.

Lizzie starts 2nd year at Elon

Owen and Tish accompanied daughter Lizzie as she returned to North Carolina for her second year at Elon University. Tish posted this photo of a "wonderful evening with Lizzie's friends and their families. May all the girls have an amazing second year at Elon!"

Dolores in annual Rehoboth Art League show

Cape Gazette photo

August means Rehoboth Art League Show for Dolores, the show's former chairperson and long-time exhibitor. The photo above, showing Dolores talking with a visitor from Virginia, ran in the Cape Gazette. 

The 41st annual show was held Aug. 9-10 and 16-17 and featured more than 130 artists. Read the Gazette's article here.

Our Roster of Scholars, Fall 2014 edition

Here's our annual back-to-school rundown of teachers and students in our extended family. Please let us know of any errors or additions.

STUDENTS:

Patrick - Fourth year at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Lizzie - Second year at Elon University in Elon, N.C.

Andy - Freshman at University of New Haven in West Haven, Conn.

Christopher - Senior at Hilliard Darby High School in Ohio.

Shannon - Junior at Catholic Central High School in Troy, N.Y.

Stephanie - Freshman at Hilliard Darby High School in Ohio.

Xander - Second grader at Battlefield Elementary School in Fredericksburg, Va.

TEACHERS:

Kathy - Teaching science at the Heschel School in Manhattan.

Mary - Director and head teacher at Stillwater Head Start in Stillwater, N.Y.

Shanna - Teaching at the Ann and Andy Child Care preschool in Elmsford, N.Y.

Who are we missing? Let us know!

Is it summer, or fall? Some of us are back to school

While some of us are still in summer mode, Christopher and Stephanie started the new school year today (Aug. 19). This is the year that both are at Hilliard Darby High School, Christopher as a senior and Stephanie as a freshman.

They're not the only ones getting their school year started this week. As previously reported, Andy is already at University of New Haven, where marching-band camp will lead into freshman orientation later this week. Liz will be heading back to Elon University later this week, and others will be starting in coming days. We'll run our annual Roster of Scholars soon!

Andy gets early start at University of New Haven

Updated 8/18 with more photos

Andy has moved into his dormitory room at University of New Haven, where he's joining the Class of 2018 as a computer science major. He arrived a week before the general freshman move-in because he's joining the school's Chargers Marching Band.

Parents Dan and Julie dropped Andy off on Friday (Aug. 15). As they took their leave, Andy was meeting his new mates in the band's drumline.

The next day, he was out on the field practicing with a set of tenor drums, as seen in these photos taken by the leader of the band's booster club.

More summer fun and music with Gerrit and 28

Saturday was another busy day for Gerrit in his roles as Minister of Fun (a.k.a. Recreation Coordinator) for the Town of Dennis and Rock Star in the band Twenty-Eight.

The day began with the town's annual Sand Castle Contest on Mayflower Beach. One of the most impressive creations was this volcano, complete with dry ice to simulate steam emitting from the crater and the "lava pool" at its base.

That evening, Twenty-Eight played the final show of its Summer 2014 Reunion Tour, at The Sand Bar, a waterside pub.

Conveniently, Saturday was also the night for a fireworks display on the beach near the Sand Bar -- "so we had a perfect view prior to the 28 show," reports Tish.

Learning to use the force at Jedi Academy

How's this for a summer class? During his visit to Disneyland in California this month, Xander enrolled in an introductory course at the Jedi Training Academy.

At the conclusion of the course, Xander received a certificate declaring him "a padawan, a student devoted to the ancient training of the Jedi knights."