ASHLAND — With 100 years of Ashland High School marching band history, more than 100 alumni performing and a band member at 100 years old, there was a theme to the band’s Homecoming performance Friday night on Friday night.
Former marching band performers usually return for Homecoming to play with the current band members each year.
But, with the band’s centennial homecoming on the table, Tiffany Sanders, the program coordinator for Ashland Visual and Performing Arts, wanted to do something special.
Sanders decided to track down 100 alumni this year, instead of the typical 30 or 40 who usually attend. According to Sanders, the band achieved that goal.
“We heard lots of, ‘I haven’t played,’ or, ‘I don’t have an instrument,’ but we still invited them to come and walk down with us,” Sanders said.
The efforts paid off. The final count of alumni that signed in at the start of the performance was 127, Sanders said, well over the 100 alum goal.
On top of that, the band included Joe Denbow, a recently-turned 100-year-old World War II veteran who once played in the marching band. He was recognized at the beginning of the game as the band’s oldest living alumnus.
Alumni of all ages returned to play with this year’s band for the 100th anniversary, and some played special roles in planning the performance. It offered a chance to reminisce on histories both personal and program-wide.
Family matters
For Abby Sanders, an Ashland High 2020 grad, the marching band is a family in more ways than one. The current senior at Ashland University is the daughter of Tiffany Sanders.
Abby Sanders said the band was like a family, and Friday’s event was also literally a family affair.
Abby’s mom, Tiffany, was involved in planning the performance. Abby played French horn, the instrument she was a section leader for when she played in the band.
Her brother, also a band alum, played snare and her dad came out to watch and cheer them on, too.
“Both of my kids came back, and some of their most precious memories are from band,” Tiffany Sanders said. “That sticks with you forever.”
Abby Sanders said it was great to see the legacy of the band on display with all the people who returned to play on Friday.
“We have different seasons in our lives,” Abby said. “But it’s OK to take time to celebrate it, even if you’re not involved in it anymore.”
Abby had a lot in that season of life to celebrate. The future teacher said the band helped her develop leadership skills she plans to use in her classroom. Plus, she claims her era as the band’s best, playing in a time when the band performed college music.
Even for alums with less family directly involved than Abby, the marching band still felt special. It certainly did for Lucas Snader, a 2009 Ashland High School graduate.
“I met people I consider to be my family,” Snader said.
He works in technology at The Ohio State University, where he played in the marching band in 2009. Snader arranged one of the songs the band chose to perform at the halftime show, “Proud Mary.”
Alums had a chance to give their input on the songs the band played. Snader said he did the arrangement of “Proud Mary” for Ashland High alum Missy Dropsy, a twirler who comes to Homecoming every year.
“It’s humbling and exciting to be back,” Snader said.
A chance to remember
For others, returning to their old school and band offered a chance to reminisce on days gone by.
Jim Benshoff, a class of 1961 Ashland High grad, said the 100th anniversary only happens once. He was in the band in high school and said he wanted to be part of the centennial celebration.
Benshoff said he’s played the trumpet his whole life. The Homecoming performance gave him a good excuse to break out the same one he played in high school.
He said his dad bought it for him in 1959, and he used it to play the halftime performance Friday night.
While he had some apprehension about coming, he said he was glad he attended.
“Everybody’s got something to offer,” Benshoff said.
He said the young people in today’s band are vibrant, noting the energy they bring to the performance.
Pixie McClurg, a 16-year-old junior and assistant field commander in the marching band, said when the band practiced with the alumni for the first time before the show, the sound was powerful.
“The Star-Spangled Banner had me in tears,” McClurg said. “It was just so heartwarming to know that everybody remembered.”
McClurg also said she’s taken away lessons from the alums. Mainly, she said, she’s been told to enjoy her time in the band and not to stress, even when things get hard.
Back to band
The band even had former directors join its ranks Friday night, like Jordan Koogler, who was an assistant marching band director from 2009-2015.
Koogler teaches in Pickerington now, but returned to Ashland High — the place where he learned how to march — for Homecoming.
Koogler said when he left in 2015, Ashland’s band only had about 60 or 70 students in it. Today, it’s at over 100 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the large number of involved students and the alumni turnout, Koogler was impressed.
“Music must be really special in Ashland to get this many people to come out,” Koogler said.
