1970 a - Status Quo Ante

For someone entering SU in the fall of 1968, the prospects were dazzling. It was off to the big time, from our small Saturday morning high school bands, off to join a huge band with recent bowl appearances to its credit. But to receive a letter from Director of Bands Lyle Babcock stating that a European concert tour was in the offing -- that was beyond belief!

I'd just spent the summer in Europe, on concert tour with a choir, singing reverently in the cathedrals of Koblenz, Trier, and Vienna. To go again in two short years? Incredible!

On meeting Mr. Babcock that fall, you'd have assumed that he'd been with SU for years, possibly nearing retirement, with a quiet southern dignity. What nearly no one knew is that he was a sudden replacement. Upperclassmen turned to each other saying "Where's Voltz?" Ed Voltz, Dr. Harwood Simmons' hand-picked successor, had committed suicide. Babcock, this gentleman from Southern Mississippi, was tapped to fill the void.

Looking back on it, how hard it must have been. Probably from a well-funded position with many assistants, Babcock was now nearly alone, save for two grad assistants. On the practice field, he'd frequently shout "At ease" through the bull horn when he meant "attention." His mild demeanor did not inspire confidence, and as the fall wore on he suffered massive desertions. This meant ad hoc rewriting of halftime performances on a daily basis.

Stories of that period abound. We had fun, but we were not at all good. The early sixties vintage uniforms were already shabby, and dated from the time when only men marched. Fitting the women was a nightmare. Insurrection was in the air, and the key pivot for national embarrassment of our director belonged -- to me.

It was to be on December 3, 1968 at a nationally televised game at Penn State (back when TV appearances were rare -- and they actually showed halftime performances) during our "Salt City" halftime show. After outlining a canal boat and then a tepee, we'd spell out "Salt City." Band student president Bill K. approached me during rehearsal to say, "You are the key person in the key squad. Pivot this way instead of that, and we can turn it into SHIT CITY."

I wasn't much into national humiliation, never mind that the charts traced each individual to a spot, meaning I could be traced as the culprit. Therefore, the drill went as designed. On that day, it was three degrees with a brisk wind. Reeds and hands froze well before the show's end. That was the limit of the treachery for that day.

Yet the efforts to remove Babcock continued into the following year, in that age of student activism. By the spring of 1970, he was gone, but his invitation to the World Band Festival in Kerkrade, Holland remained. But who would direct the band, now committed to perform in a few short weeks?