Waltham American Legion Band Performed At The Veterans' Day ...
The town offered a full day of entertainment under the Harris Pavilion which was just behind the Reviewing Stand at the end of the parade. In addition to the food and entertainment, the Historic Manassas Museum is located across the railroad tracks from the Harris Pavilion on Prince William Street. The current 7,000-square-foot museum building on eight acres opened in 1991. Permanent and temporary historical exhibits interpret Northern Virginia Piedmont history through artifacts, documents, videos, and images. Foreign travels for the band have included Ireland, England, and a famous parade through Red Square in Moscow with Dot at the helm.
The Waltham American Legion Band is a volunteer band, originally directed by Dot Hill, Larry Gilbo, Ed Russo, and now John O’Toole. The membership consists of men and women who enjoy playing music together. The band plays 25 to 30 parades and 8 to 10 concerts annually throughout New England and the Greater Boston Area. The band travels in its own bus from Waltham to the parade or concert site. Uniforms, music, and stands are supplied, as well as percussion and sousaphones. Revenues from the parades and concerts support bands expenses, scholarships as well as the major cost of an annual trip, frequently to the American Legion Annual Convention. At these conventions the Band enters competition with other marching bands from throughout the country. Rehearsals are held at the Waltham American Legion Post 156, 215 Waverley Oaks Rd, (Corner Rte. 60 and Beaver St), Waltham, MA on Monday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Most of our members have played in high school and college bands. Auditions are not necessary. You'll find you'll get up to speed quickly. The Waltham Legion Post also hosts the Soft Touch Dance Band, an 18 piece "big band" specializing in music from the '40s and '50s. The band was formed in 1980 by members of the Waltham American Legion Band and contributes its net proceeds to college scholarships. The Waltham American Legion Band was founded in 1946 by Dorothy (Dot) Slamin Hill and her husband Joseph F. Hill, for whom the Waltham Legion Post is named. Following her husband's death, Dot became the director of the band and served in that position until her retirement in 1996. A champion baton-twirler in her high school days, Dot performed at the front of the band throughout her fifty years of service. She and "her" band were famous throughout Massachusetts, New England, and most of the 50 states, including Hawaii. Dot passed away in September of 2004. [["validates_presence_of",{"message":"Please enter your email address."}],["validates_length_of",{"too_long":"Your email address must contain between 5 and 100 characters.","maximum":100,"allow_nil":true}],["validates_email_format_of",{"message":"Your email address is not properly formatted. Mind giving it another shot?"}],["validates_uniqueness_of",{"message":"The email address you entered is being used by another member. Please try a different address.","client_can_validate":true,"exists_url":"/users/exists?email="}]] [["validates_presence_of",{"message":"Please enter your password."}],["validates_length_of",{"too_short":"Your password must contain between 4 and 40 characters.","too_long":"Your password must contain between 4 and 40 characters.","allow_nil":true,"minimum":4,"maximum":40}],["validates_format_of",{"message":"Your password may contain only letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens. No emoticons, please. :p","with":["^[a-zA-Z0-9\\_\\-]*?