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Director 1934-1935 Michael Koepf

MICHAEL KOEPF 1934-1935 It was Mr. Koepf and Mr. Charles Mura who first conceived of the idea of starting the Holy Name Cadet Fife and Drum Corps, and it was these two men who approached the pastor of The Church of the Most Holy Name in Garfield with their idea. Both men belonged to a senior fife and drum corps sponsored by St. Francis Church in Clifton, NJ, a town directly across the river from Garfield. Once the corps was chartered, Mr. Koepf became the first Chairman (Director) of the Cadets, in addition to becoming the corps' first drum instructor. Most of the drumming was done on wooden tables since there was no money at first and hence no drums. Other members of the original staff were John Baumfalk as the first horn instructor, as well as the first drum major. Once again money, or more to the point the lack of money, was a big factor, and there was but one single bugle to be shared among the boys. Each would take a turn having possession of the bugle for a single week, and future purchases were done one bugle at a time with prolonged time intervals inbetween. It's interesting to note that even though the Cadets were sponsored by a Catholic Church, John Baumfalk was not only the first drum major, but also the first Protestant member of the corps. It's assumed that fifes were more easily affordable at the time, because the Cadets had three fife instructors: Mr. Michael Chioda, Mr. Lane, and Mr. Grossman. One of these three was a left-handed fifer, which since instruction was mainly visual using the "watch how I do it" approach, must have been a little confusing to the young fifers. The corps' first uniform was simple, basic, and inexpensive. It consisted of a pair of blue trousers, white shirt with a blue tie, a white garrison cap with black peak, and white shoes. Mr. Koepf resigned his position as the Cadets' first Chairman in 1936. If he were alive today, able to see his Cadets 75 years later, he would probably be astounded that a great championship organization grew out of the simple fife and drum corps he and Mr. Charlie Mura were able to organize. Every Cadet of every generation is linked to these two men.

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, and love, and effort they put into this monumental project. Special thanks also to Bill McCullum (1942-52) and Al Mura (1934-54) for the supplemental information they provided.