MORE THAN 100 Durand band alumni joined the Durand Marching Railroaders on the field before the Thursday, Aug. 31 varsity football game against Corunna, as the band unveiled its new uniforms to the public for the first time. Lead organizer Mike Boudro (left) can be seen with guest conductors Ed Turner and Charles Birch on the track before the alumni event.
Former band directors Birch (1964 to 1996) and Turner (1984 to 2013) led the band during the pre-game festivities before handing the baton off to new band director Nick Remesz for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. The earliest graduate said to have participated in the alumni event hailed from the graduating class of 1957.
Birch and Turner led the Railroaders marching band to 15 state championships and nine 2nd-place finishes, and the band has participated in every MCBA state finals competition since its inception. The marching band also participated in the 1966 Rose Bowl Parade as Disneyland Holiday National Champions for 1965.
(Independent Photo/Graham Sturgeon)
