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THEIR CADET STORY:

(taken from the Cadet History Book: https://www.theholynamecadets.net/82.php)

 

“The girls might have lost that first battle for hearts and minds, but their skills were too obvious to deny.  Jim (D’Amico) and his staff were of one mind.  The Cadets were going to break the gender barrier and admit girls.  The boys took far less time to adjust than was anticipated, and within a very short period, the boys, however reluctantly, welcomed the girls into the now co-ed Garfield Cadets.

 

The first girls’ uniform basically duplicated the boys’ uniform, with the exception of wearing a white skirt with maroon kick pleat and black riding boots.

 

Traveling with a co-ed group of teenagers would provide yet another cultural change for the corps.  For the beginning of that year, they traveled on two buses – one for the boys, and one for the girls.  They had two dedicated quartermistresses to address uniform and chaperone needs: “Aunt Nellie” DiDomenico was the matriarchal quartermistress, and she worked tirelessly on the boys’ uniforms for over twenty years, traveling by bus with the members, and spending twenty-four hours a day serving their needs.  All the while Aunt Nellie was attending to the boys’ needs, her daughter, Marie, was assisting whenever and wherever needed.  In 1969, Mrs. Anne Wildt, the mother of two of the new girl guard members, joined the staff to handle the needs of the girls.”

 

Cindi Carozza DeVivo (Cadet Guard Member, 1969-1973; Instructor, 1974)

“To this day, people know my friends and I as “The Original Girls”.  The reason is that our group in 1969 broke ground by becoming the first female guard in the Cadets history.  We are proud that we were the first, and we remain in contact with each other, and are still friends until this day.”  Not many people outside of the drum corps world can fully understand what it’s like to grow up in drum corps, and to maintain friendships that began when we were very young.  We were particularly fortunate that we had the opportunity to become Cadets.  And in the Cadets . . . once the bond is formed, it remains for your entire life.   FHNSAB . . .