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| Director 1940-1950 Joseph Huber | |||
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| JOSEPH HUBER 1940-1950 The year 1940 was a milestone year in the history of the Cadets. Mr. Joseph Huber assumed the position of Director (in addition to continuing on as horn and marching instructor). It was under Mr. Huber's watch that the reputation and competitive success of the Cadets began to soar. The team of Huber and Liptak as instructors had already proven to be a formidable asset for the Cadets. As instructors tend to be, Mr. Huber was far more competitive as a Director than his predecessors...even more so than his able predecessor Mr. Boyle. It was under Mr. Huber, beginning in 1940, that the Cadets' reputation for demanding discipline was established. Mr. Huber was a perfectionist, and he demanded 100% effort 100% of the time. To the boys in the corps it seemed like he was everywhere and saw everything. To say they were in awe of him and feared his wrath would be an understatement. It proved to be a formula for success that would serve the corps very well. Mr. Huber was the man, unquestioned authority figure of the Cadets. He made the decisions. He shaped the program. He envisioned where he wanted the corps to go as an organization and how to achieve the goals he established. In his first year as Director, Mr, Huber brought us our first American Legion National Championship, won in Boston, Massachusetts. Then, not too long afterwards, everything came crashing down. The United States entered World War II in December of 1941. A huge number of Cadets were of enlistment age, and like most of their contemporaries joined the armed services. Corps disbanded in wholesale numbers. Mr. Huber was faced with a difficult decision. He met with his staff and the remaining Cadets still too young to enlist. There were only three options; disband, go inactive for the duration of the war, or continue as best they could with a reduced program. It was the boys in the corps that pushed the hardest for the third option. They wanted their friends and fellow Cadets, now scattered all over the world, to know that when they returned the corps would be ready to welcome them back. It was during this period that the final words of the Holy Name Hymn took on special meaning to the Cadets. "For Holy Name shall always be..." meant that the Cadets remaining behind were making a solemn vow to the Cadets fighting for their Country that the corps would endure waiting for their return. It was a promise that was not broken. Following the end of the war many of the junior corps that Holy Name had competed against reorganized as senior corps. Holy Name considered that option as well, but after a short period of reflection and experimentation, decided to remain a junior corps. And so, under the leadership of Joe Huber, the corps commenced a rebuilding program, lasting from 1946-48. The years 1948-49-50 will always be remembered as a truly unique and proud period in the history of the Cadets. These were the years when Holy Name became more than a corps...we became a legend; and Joe Huber was the man who created the legend. We won the American Legion National Championships in 1948-49-50, an unprecedented accomplishment at the time. As his reputation grew, others in the activity came to Mr. Huber for advice and guidance. Almost single-handedly he was responsible for constructing the competitive drum corps model which until the early 1970s was utilized throughout the activity. Mr. Huber's influence was so pervasive and his ideas so respected and copied to the extent that he can justifiably be considered not only the father of the tradition of excellence, accomplishment, and pride that is the Cadets; but the father of the pre-DCI era of drum corps as well. Mr. Huber died prematurely and unexpectedly in the Spring of 1950. He never got to take the historical 1950 transcontinental tour that his Cadets took to Los Angeles, California to defend their National Title, and win the first 3-peat in drum corps history. He was there in spirit though, and he always shall be whenever or wherever the Cadets perform. He was the Cadets third longest-serving corps Director, and certainly one of the greatest. | |||
| 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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