A Marquis mom hangs up her(tricorn) hat

By Lori Catlin Garcia

This is the last Marquis of Granby article I will write for the Granby Drummer. After more than 10 years as a “Marquis Mom,” I will retire from my board position after this year’s Memorial Day parade. As I contemplate my soon-to-be-empty nest, I want to thank every person who ever directed, chaperoned, cooked, sewed, donated funds, or participated in any one of the hundreds of other tasks that have kept the Marquis marching for almost 50 years.
Privately funded, all-youth fyfe and drum corps are a rarity these days. At last count, there were just over a dozen in the entire United States. Of these groups, the Marquis of Granby is among the most highly regarded, as evidenced by the invitation it received to perform at the International Muster in Basel, Switzerland in 2012. I hope that the entire community realizes what a precious gift the Marquis is to the town of Granby. Your support through the Granby Community Fund (and in so many other ways) has given many of our youth the opportunity of a lifetime.
As I watch my son major the Memorial Day performance on the town green, I am sure I will be thinking of a little boy who marched around our yard with a stick behind his sister until he was old enough to join. I will remember how proud he was when he marched with a musket in his first parade, when he made the drum playing line, and when he was finally handed the major’s mace. He has had the chance to travel more than many adults—to Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fort Ticonderoga, Canada, Switzerland and countless other venues. Most of all, he has learned that greatness only comes with much discipline, practice and determination. Luckily, all of that hard work was more than balanced by an enormous amount of fun.

The Marquis is truly one of the things that make Granby a great place to live. The fact that parent volunteers have kept a fyfe and drum corps alive for almost 50 years says more about Granby than any real estate brochure possibly could. It is the kind of town where parents band together to create the Granby Education Foundation, to support a high school football team, scouting groups, and countless other youth organizations. It is, indeed, a great place to raise a child. I am profoundly grateful that we were able to raise our family here, and that we had the honor of being a Marquis family.