Back in October, one of our charter members, Don Pullyblank, died unexpectedly. A few months later, his older brother, Bob, died. Bob was never a member of Kelley's Heroes, but through his relationship with Don, he was always very supportive of everything we did, especially our parades. For many years, Bob was the announcer of the Caledonia Fire Department Parade. He was also the announcer for the Caledonia-Mumford Red Raider football team, so it was appropriate for his family to hold a memorial service on the football field.

We sat on the field along with the family and began the ceremony by playing God Bless the USA. During the ceremony, the microphone was available for anyone in attendance to speak. Arnie spoke about Bob's dedication to the Caledonia Fire Department Parade and about how Bob was always ready to assist with its organization. Later, Mary Catherine Hamilton spoke about one year when Bob had a family obligation that conflicted with the parade, and she was asked to fill in for Bob. She recalled how there were seemingly endless pages of comments to read as groups marched past the reviewing stand. Most people, spectators and marchers alike, don't realize how much work goes into organizing a parade. Don was known for playing Trumpet Voluntary at many local weddings, and it was one of Bob's favorites. Tim Kelley's son, Trevor, played it on the trumpet while his proud mother, Heidi, watched from the bleachers. We ended the ceremony by playing When the Saints Go Marching In, a favorite of both Don and Bob.

Marcia, who is Don's daughter and Bob's niece, plays clarinet with us. Other woodwinds were Irene on flute, Karen R. on clarinet, Margaret and Steve on alto sax, and Jack on tenor sax. Since we had no trombones, Cindy played the trombone part on alto sax. She had two musical friends from Tennessee visiting over the weekend, and she brought them, too. Tom played the 2nd trumpet part on a curved silver soprano sax and Jeannie played flute. For brass, Arnie played trumpet and Maria played sousaphone. For percussion, Scott M. played snare drum and Andy played bass drum.

None of the Benedicts could make it because they had a memorial service of their own to attend. Our condolences go to the Benedict family on the loss of their aunt.

We also had some good news. We won second place at the Spencerport FD Parade.

Our next event is the Penfield Independence Day Parade on July 1. See you there!