Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2007 - (Page 23)

A WAY OF LIFE When Jonathan Elkus replaced William Schempf as band director in 1957, he “brought a Stravinsky-like freshness to musical life” at Lehigh, according to W. Ross Yates’ Lehigh University: A History of Education in Engineering, Business and the Human Condition. When Elkus returned for the Marching 97 centennial celebration in June at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center, the former professor of music recited from an article he wrote in 1974 that described band musicians as “big-hearted, well-read, resourceful and fun-loving. “They are a tough, resilient, all-weather breed and their legs, lungs, and ears are remarkably hardy,” Elkus recounted. “They have almost insatiable appetites for novelty as well as for tradition, and are dedicated to their instrument and to the music they play. They are almost always fanatically devoted to their own band, which ‘is not an organization,’ as the saying goes, ‘but a way of life.’” band members stepped forward, doffed their caps, and shook their long hair—women had ﬁnally joined the Marching 97. Afterwards, the Brown and White praised the band for the performance: “After much kicking and screaming, the band at last has admitted coeds—and did so with a touch of class. Their showmanship transformed a bitter controversy into a dramatic, heartwarming spectacle.” In time, band members realized that “the effect of women was only positive,” Gabriel says. Rather than disapproving of juvenile pranks and jokes, “the band’s women were just as obnoxious and bawdy as the men.” Within a decade, Haines had become the ﬁrst female band manager. While overseeing a halftime routine one fall afternoon, Shmerler approached her. “He told me that I cost him a bottle of Scotch,” Haines says. Shmerler, it seems, had bet that no woman would be elected band manager. Today, Shmerler sees women marchers as “the salvation of the band. “They have increased the ﬁeld of applicants,” he says. “If we hadn’t tapped women, the band may not have enough players to continue.” The Marching 97 has not only continued, but is thriving. Even after graduation, many band members remain dedicated to their music, to the band, and to Lehigh. Haines continues to play with the Quakertown marching band, along with Gary Scott ’57. Following graduation, Thaler played in several marching bands, but “I could not replicate what I experienced through the Lehigh band, until I joined a pipe band,” he says. Today, Thaler, president of D.S. Thaler and Associates, Inc., also presides over the Baltimore Police Department Ceremonial Unit as pipe major. Former band members gather twice a year to relive their marching days. Pete Matt ’04, former computer engineering major and an alto saxophone player, regularly plays in the Alumni Marching Band. “It’s the only thing I do, as far as Joseph Snyder ’65, his wife Carol (right), and daughter Kathryn Franklin ’93 created the Snyder Family Endowed Scholarship Fund to celebrate their beloved band. alumni stuff,” says the solution architect for High Performance Technologies, inc in New Jersey. Other alumni, including Gabriel, frequently ﬁll out the ranks of the Marching 97 during the Lehigh-Lafayette football game. “The band is one of the more active alumni groups,” Haines says. Their involvement suggests that some friendships formed through music and marching outlast four years in college. Says Turnowchyk: “It’s like a family.” LU fall 2007 23

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Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2007

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