Brigade members focused on Purkhisers’ influence
By: Roger Moon
roger@tmnews.com
Bedford Times-Mail
FRENCH LICK — Springs Valley Blackhawk Brigade members have been asked to spend this marching season reflecting on the theme of a show that took the band to state finals on Saturday.
The show is called “Lasting Impressions.”
The theme became particularly poignant for two Blackhawk Brigade members, Harley Parsons and Kylyn Dixon, who, on Saturday, were focused on the indelible impression that their grandmother Sue Purkhiser had made on their lives.
Purkhiser, regarded as one of the Springs Valley’s band’s most loyal supporters throughout the years, wasn’t physically in Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday to see her grandchildren march.
She died unexpectedly on Oct. 19.
But she didn’t depart without leaving her influence behind.
Dixon said of her grandmother, “She definitely made an impression on me. She taught me to never give up, to stay positive and to keep peace with everybody.”
The lasting impression that Purkhiser made on her family isn’t the only one the Purkhisers have been focused on during the past few days. Purkhiser died just after she returned from helping make funeral arrangements for Vera Purkhiser, the mother of her husband, Ray.
The double dose of grief meant the Blackhawk Brigade had lost two people who had been prominent in marching band circles. They represented a family whose participation in the marching band has been fairly consistent for 52 years. Ray first marched at West Baden High School and then at the newly consolidated Springs Valley High School in the fall of 1957.
In ensuing years, all of Ray and Sue’s children — three daughters — were members of the Blackhawk Brigade. The time on the marching field for Sherri Horton, Pam Dixon (the current band boosters secretary) and Amanda Parsons (current treasurer) spanned the late 1970s and the 1980s.
“They all get five years of marching in,” Ray said.
“That’s a requirement,” Ray quipped. “They all have to march at least five years.”
Ray’s mother hadn’t been as active with the band as Sue was. But, Ray said she had made quilts for raffles.
She also took on another responsibility. Vera wanted to make sure a winning band received a proper welcome when coming back home, and that meant a fire truck was needed. “Whenever she found out,” Ray said, “that the band was coming back in and that they had won, she wanted an escort (for the Brigade), and my mother ... called the fire department.”
Sue’s level of participation, however, has been greater. She and Ray would support the band even when they didn’t have children or grandchildren in the Blackhawk Brigade.
This year, they had attended a number of marching events and Sue was caught up in the various rounds of competition that led to the state finals. Ray took time Wednesday to address the marching band and told them Sue had planned to go to the semistate at Franklin.
“It wasn’t to be,” Ray told the students.
But, Ray also said, “She saw your performance. I truly believe that, and she approved of it.”
In addition, he told the current band, “The Blackhawk Brigade is in our blood. We love you. She is smiling down on you right now.”
Family members share stories that illustrate Sue’s dedication to the Brigade.
They looked back at what they call “The Martinsville Mud Bowl” from a number of years ago.
“When we marched (at) Martinsville,” Ray said, “it started raining when the first band went out on the field. ... When we came off the field, our band was muddy almost to the waist and well above the knee.”
Ray and Sue took the uniforms home with them. “They were dry-clean only,” Ray said, “but we took a pair of the pants and thought, ‘Well, we’ll risk it and try to see if it will work.’ We washed them and they didn’t draw up. ... That woman washed pants ... just about all night long.”
To further emphasize Sue’s resolve to help the band, Ray said, “One year, she was band president. She had major surgery and was told to rest and recuperate ... and of course the next week being band camp, her rest and recuperation was, ‘I’ll have to wait until after I take care of band camp.’ ... She did not know what rest and recuperation meant during band season.”
Ray said Sue lived life to the fullest.
In dying, she left behind the kind of lasting impressions that band members have focused on all season.
Luke Aylsworth, band director, suggested this year’s show has been powered by emotion.
As the band prepared for semistate, Aylsworth said, “I think the kids understand that this show is more than just a marching band show. It is a tribute to individuals that have left lasting impressions on our lives. They take that very seriously. They want to go out and make sure they perform a show worthy of the people they admire, love and respect.”
People like Vera and Sue Purkhiser.
Times-Mail Staff Writer Roger Moon welcomes comments at 277-7253 or via e-mail at roger@tmnews.com. |
