Bellaires

Organized in 1957 as the Bellmawr Cadets drum and bugle corps Inc., they were originally under the direction of John B. Drummond.

The corps became the Bellaires in 1958 and competed in the National Association circuit. They participated in parades and contests in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Uniforms consisted of gold trimmed tan trousers with maroon satin blouses and maroon shakos with gold plumes. Some of their instructional staff included Don Adair, on brass; Gene Bunting as rookie brass player; Hugh McGinness on percussion and Fred Ekardt doing the drill work.

Starting with a small corps in both size and stature, they progressed each year, appearing at the NJ VFW state championships in 1960, placing 14th. In 1961, they appeared at the NJ American Legion championships and won the Round Robin trophy at the National Association championships, defending their title the following year. The 1963 season saw the corps enjoy great success, traveling over several states and matched very well against their rivals. They followed up the next year with an 11^th place finish at the NJ VFW state contest and a 3^rd place finish at the 1964 National Association championships.

In 1965, the Bellaires placed 10th at both the NJ VFW championships and the NJ Fair contest held in Trenton. Due to struggling membership in 1966, the Barr-anotes parade corps from Barrington fused into the Bellaires organization, helping the corps remain active that season. Returning to field competition in 1967, the revived Bellaires from Bellmawr and Barrington competed within the Eastern Sates circuit and met with more challenges in 1968, when they had difficulty in securing a corps hall for weekly rehearsals.

They did manage to complete their competition season but finally disbanded in 1969.

Vol.11 No. 4 April 1961 Drum Corps World; Paul Legault (DCX)