Debonnaires

The Debonnaires “All-Girls” drum & bugle corps was originally formed in 1938 as the St. Catherine’s Girls and sponsored by the St. Catherine of Siena parish of Norwood. Father Walsh, a classically trained musician, was instrumental in the formation of several musical groups within the school and parish.

The St. Catherine’s corps was active and supported by the parish for the next 25 years as well as the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) diocese. In the early years, the corps participated in the annual CYO Archdiocesan competitions and from 1946 to 1952, the corps operated with limited activity, often nicknamed the “Blue and Gold” due to their snappy uniform colors before entering the field of competition in the 1953 as members of the CYO “Class B” circuit. Over the course of the 50’s, they would remain competitive and were sponsored by the Norwood American Legion (AL) Post 70 in 1957, in their new uniform colors of orange, white and black and renamed the St. Catherine’s Debonnaires, maintaining their affiliation with the St. Catherine parish until 1963. They went on to win 1958 and 1959 CYO “All Girls” title.

As members of the Eastern Massachusetts (E-Mass) circuit, the “Debs” competed in the “Class B” division, placing 2^nd in 1960 and were crowned both  the 1961 E-Mass “Class B” and CYO “Junior Division” champions. The following season saw the corps move up in the “Class A-1” division but wouldn’t qualify for the finals until 1965. In the interim, began a string of 6 consecutive Mayflower “Class A” championship titles between 1963 (1^st annual) to 1968, finishing 2^nd in 1969 and 1970. On the E-Mass “Class A-1” circuit front, they finished in the finals over the next 5 years, placing 4^th in 1965, 3rd in 1966 and 1967, 5^th in 1968 and 6^th in 1969.

In 1965, the corps entered the National scene, participating in the VFW Nationals, where they finished 31^st in the preliminary round and the World Open championships, finishing in a strong 12^th position in the prelims. The following year, the Debonnaires arguably enjoyed their most successful year in history by finishing 13^th in the prelims in the 1966 AL Nationals and reached the finals in the World Open contest, placing 9^th. In 1967, they returned once again to both the AL Nationals and the World Open championships, missing out on a finalist spot that year, finishing 19^th and 15^th respectively.

The Debonnaires finished a respectable 12^th position in the 1968 World Open “Class A” championships followed by an appearance in the 1969 VFW Nationals, placing 39^th position. From 1970 to 1974, the corps competed within the “All-Girls” division in the World Open championships, qualifying for finals four out of the five years, placing between 4^th and 7^th over that period. They also participated in the US Open “All-Girls” championships from 1971 to 1973, attaining a finalist position in 1971, finishing in 4th and returned the next two years in the preliminaries, placing 5^th in 1972 and 11^th in 1973. The corps also competed within the CYO “Senior Division” circuit, placing 5^th in 1971 and 4^th the next three seasons. 

In 1975, the corps participated in only a few contests due to low membership but returned to the National stage one last year, performing in the 1976 World Open “All-Girls” championships, finishing in 8^th position in the prelims. They also came full circle in the Mayflower circuit where they competed from 1976 to 1978, placing 6^th in the 1976 “Class C” division and 6^th and 3^rd respectively in 1977 and 1978. Over the years, the Debonnaires were also supported by the Norwood Elks Lodge 1124 and were under the direction of several managers that included Wallace McDonald, Walter Aspinwall, Joseph Wapple, Francis Connolly and Robert Parquette to name a few.

They disbanded in 1979.

The Debs, with their hard work and precision drills, made it all look easy. Hard work and dedication to the corps and each other as part of the whole, and their outstanding musical skills, brought accolades to them wherever and whenever they performed. They learned skills that carried them throughout life and made friendships and memories that never faded. Many women would reminisce that performing with the Debs was one of the best times of their lives.

Besides all that they earned to enrich their own lives, they brought fame and notice to the town of Norwood, and truly were the Town’s pride and joy. The Norwood Historical Society was proud to preserve and share artifacts and memories telling the history of the Debonnaires.

Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle Corps, 1966; rec.arts.marching.drumcorps; Karen De Napoli, Laurie Kearney, Linda Rau and Kathy Mullen;  Norwood Historical Society archives; St. Catherine of Sienna parish 100th-anniversary book; Wikipedia: Drum & Bugle Corps (Classic); Yamaha Music USA – Marching Through Time website; Paul Legault (DCX)