[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2039-S2040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MONTANA IS PROUD OF THE BOZEMAN HIGH SCHOOL BAND

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to 
recognize an outstanding group of Montana students. Recently, the 
Bozeman High School Marching Band and Color Guard earned the 
opportunity to perform in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, CA. By the 
sounds of the crowd of onlookers, it is safe to say that they stole the 
show. It was a beautiful day for a parade, and the Bozeman High School 
Marching Band and Color Guard took advantage of the opportunity to make 
a name for themselves. Over the past few years, Montana students have 
truly become competitive in academics, athletics, and the arts. The 
Bozeman High School band is just one of the many examples where Montana 
students are gaining national recognition. There are few appearances by 
Montana High Schools at events of this caliber, but rest assured, there 
are many more to come.
  Under the direction of Russ and Loralee Newbury, these students 
worked extremely hard to prepare for this prestigious event. They 
represented their school, city, county, and state with great enthusiasm 
and talent. I know that I speak for the people of Bozeman and the State 
of Montana when I say that I am very proud of these students. I would 
like to take this opportunity to congratulate every one of these 
students on a job well done.
  Mr. President, I ask that articles from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle 
of December 29, 1998, and January 2, 1999, be printed in the Record.
  The articles follow:

           [From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Dec. 29, 1998]

                       California, Here They Come

                          (By Gail Schontzler)

       Three hundred Bozeman High Marching Band members boarded 
     charter planes in the wee hours Monday morning to fly to Los 
     Angeles in advance of Friday's big Tournament of Roses 
     Parade.
       Two hundred lucky friends and family members flew down with 
     them and will be able to see the New Year's Day parade in 
     person. The rest of us will just have to try to catch the 
     band on TV.
       Two television networks, CBS and NBC, and one available 
     only by satellite, Home & Garden TV, plan to carry the 110th 
     Tournament of Roses Parade.
       The parade itself begins at 9 a.m. MST and that's when NBC 
     plans to begin its 90-minute coverage. CBS will start at 8 
     a.m MST with an hour-long pre-parade show. Home & Garden TV 
     is the only station that will carry the entire parade live 
     and uninterrupted, but you have to be a satellite subscriber 
     to receive its programming.
       So when's the best time to try to see the Bozeman band? 
     According to the official parade program, Bozeman is 
     scheduled to march in spot No. 71 out of the 103 parade 
     entries, right after a group of fezwearing Shriners on 
     horseback. All together there will be 56 floats, 22 marching 
     bands and 25 equestrian teams.
       There's no way to know how many seconds of fame Bozeman's 
     band will get from CBS or NBC--there's no guarantee some 
     jovial commentator or commercial break won't blot the Bozeman 
     band out entirely. But the band's boosters did their best to 
     make Bozeman sound colorful.
       In the advance publicity sent to the parade organizers and 
     the Home & Garden channel, Bozeman listed its famous alumni 
     as actor Gary Cooper and New York Giants middle linebacker 
     Corey Widmer, ``who played trumpet in the band''; reported 
     that Bozeman High was named one of the nation's top 10 
     schools by Redbook magazine; and said it snows every month in 
     Bozeman.
       The marching band has practiced in weather as low as 10 
     degrees with 40-mph gusts of wind blowing snow down the 
     sousaphones,'' the school reported. ``Airplane hangers are 
     preferred practice sites in such weather.''
       It also boasted that Bozeman is the fly-fishing capital of 
     the world and that Bozeman led the state in National Merit 
     Scholars in 1997 and 1998.
       Bozeman will be competing for air time with the likes of 
     the Los Angeles Unified All District High School Honor Band, 
     which reported logging 100 miles around Dodger Stadium to get 
     in shape for the parade, and the Lincoln High School Band 
     from Stockton, Calif., one of the nation's asparagus-growing 
     leaders.
       To hear the bands and see the flower-covered floats, one 
     million people will line the five-and-a-half-mile parade 
     route, according to the Pasadena Police Department. Many will 
     bring sleeping bags and camp overnight.
       In honor of the end of the century, this year's Rose parade 
     will have four grand marshals, actress and diplomat Shirley 
     Temple Black, David Wolper, who produced ``Roots,'' a friend 
     representing the late baseball great Jackie Robinson and 
     astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who walked on the moon.
                                  ____


            [From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Jan. 2, 1999]

        Bozeman High Band Takes its Place in Rose Parade History

                         (By Ann Arbor Miller)

       Pasadena, Calif.--Instruments in hand, shoelaces double-
     knotted and hair tucked inside hats topped with red and black 
     plumes,

[[Page S2040]]

     the Bozeman High School Marching Band took its place in 
     parade history.
       The band, 298 teen-agers strong, marched the five-and-a-
     half mile route Friday through the heart of this Southern 
     California city.
       ``I'm felling awesome,'' said junior Brandon Warwood during 
     a brief break eight blocks from the end of the 110th 
     Tournament of Roses Parade. ``I could do this all day.''
       An estimated one million spectators, seated in stadium 
     bleachers, lawn chairs and on the curb, lined the streets for 
     the New Year's Day spectacle. They took to the roof tops of 
     local businesses and apartment buildings. They built 
     makeshift bleachers with stepladders and wooden boards, 
     topping the seats with blankets for padding.
       Many shouted praise and cheers for the Bozeman band, whose 
     members wore their stately, wool uniforms of black, red and 
     silver.
       ``Go Bozeman.''
       ``Looking good.''
       ``Happy New year.''
       ``Take the cold weather home with you.''
       Parade-goers left a trail of confetti, silly string and 
     tortillas along the parade route.
       Bozeman's appearance here was a first in the school's 
     history and is certainly a rarity among Montana high schools. 
     Many young musicians were still trying to comprehend their 
     arrival here during the hour before the parade start at 9 
     a.m.
       ``It doesn't seem real,'' said freshman Jamie Booth. ``It 
     is so much bigger than any parade we've ever been in.''
       For Jeff Knacht, a 1998 Bozeman High graduate, Friday's 
     event was a chance of a lifetime.
       ``We actually get to do it--a little nowhere town in 
     Montana,'' said an amazed Knacht, one of half a dozen or so 
     recent graduates asked to rejoin the band for this parade.
       A full moon shone over the group as it made its way from a 
     hotel in Buena Park, Calif., to Pasadena in the early 
     morning. The band arrived in Pasadena at 8 a.m. MST, sleepy 
     and groggy after the more than an hour drive.
       On one of seven buses carrying band members to the parade 
     the sounds of the Beach Boys and Aretha Franklin blared from 
     the charter's sound system, courtesy of a Los Angeles radio 
     station. The music prompted some musicians to dance in the 
     aisle and sing along.
       But the students' attention soon turned to more important 
     tasks like adjusting chin straps and warming up their hands.
       Band director Russ Newbury called a last minute check for 
     all instruments.
       A sense of nervousness and excitement loomed as band 
     members settled in their positions and waited to take spot 
     No. 71--behind the Araret Shrine Mounted Guard and its 17 
     horses and in front of an impressive float with a giant pair 
     of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
       Augel Medina, of California, knows the importance of a good 
     seat. His grandson spent the night babysitting eight empty 
     chairs on Colorado Boulevard to ensure the family had good 
     views of the floats and bands.
       ``It's more fun to be closer,'' Medina said. ``You can talk 
     to the participants and even shake their hands.''
       Bozemen's marchers earned high marks from Medina, who 
     admitted he's a huge fan of a good parade.
       ``It is always a beautiful day for a parade,'' he said.
       Almost two hours after the Bozeman band began this parade 
     trek, members passed a child holding a Magna Doodle that 
     read: ``Almost there.''
       Minutes later, the Bozeman High School Marching Band 
     completed its journey with sore feet, much pride and a 
     desperate thirst for water.

                          ____________________