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| C0-Director 1936-1939 Eugene Boyle and Marinus Burgs | |||
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| CO-DIRECTORS 1936-39 EUGENE BOYLE & MARINUS BURGS 1936-1939 Following the resignation of our first Director (Chairman), Mr. Michael Koepf on May 30, 1936, he was succeeded by Mr. Eugene Boyle and Mr. Marinus Burgs. Mr. Boyle was a Garfield Police Officer who had lived in Garfield for most of his life. Mr. Marinus was a former quartermaster, the first of several quartermasters to move into the position of Director over the years. Mr. Boyle was the right man in the right place at the right time for the Cadets. It was he that engineered the corps' conversion from a fife and drum corps into a drum and bugle corps, and it was he that set the corps on the road to competition and competitive success. The two new Directors assembled a new staff: Mr. Joseph Huber on Bugles and marching, Mr. John Mahady (an army officer) on marching, and Mr. John Liptak on drums. They raised the minimum age requirement for membership in the Cadets from age six to age twelve, recognizing that competition required a higher level of maturity. Membership soon increased to approximately fifty Cadets. New uniforms were also part of the plan. The style chosen was semi-military in design. The jacket color was maroon, with five horizontally laced braids across the chest. A satin cape was draped over the left shoulder and was secured by two tassels hanging in front of the chest. The outside of the capes were white, with maroon lining. The uniform pants were white with a maroon stripe down the leg. White shoes completed the uniform. Our corps entered our first field competition in Passaic, NJ on June 1, 1936, placing fourth. After a summer of intense rehearsal and competition exposure, we won our first contest in Caldwell, NJ on September 26, 1936. It was the beginning of our corps climb to national fame. The corps entered a great many more competitions during the 1937 season, climaxing with our first title, 1937 Eastern States Champions, won in Union City, NJ. Nineteen corps competed. The Cadets placed first with a score of 94.5. The Cadets were initially announced in third place, but a review of the score sheets uncovered an error that elevated the Cadets to first. The three major corps in the Country in 1937-38 were the Holy Name Cadets (a predominately Catholic corps), Moe Wolf of New York City (a predominately Jewish corps), and the Grand Street Boys of New York City (non-denominational). In 1939 the Cadets were invited to perform at the New York World's Fair. Prior to that May, 1939 performance, and the worldwide exposure it would entail; the Cadets administrative and instructional staff determined that a world-class uniform would be required. Mr. Joe Huber, destined to become the Cadets' next Director, designed the uniform closely modeled after the West Point Parade Uniform. Permission was obtained from the United States Military Academy at West Point for the use of this design. At the same time our corps adopted the West Point discipline and honor code as well. In five short years our corps had grown from a parish youth activity of The Church of the Most Holy Name, to become the most famous junior drum and bugle corps in the Country. Our future had begun. | |||
| This information obtained from "A History of our Corps," published in 1976 by Greg Cinzio (1967-77), with collaboration by Frank Brogna (1974-76) and Vincent Florio (1976-76). Without their efforts much Cadet history would have been lost. We are very grateful for all the time, love, and effort they put into this monumental project. | |||
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