![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC06876-683x1024.jpg\")
“JUNE BUG”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the helm of the corps was Cowan known as \u201cJune Bug\u201d to family, friends, and students, Featherstone was a man of many talents, according to former Townsend Drum Corps member Joanne Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was a jack of all trades. He made sure we were all on point and well-dressed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nimox added that Featherstone ensured each student who joined the corps was well-trained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe practiced almost every day. June Bug lived up the road from where I lived in Cowan, and Dorothy and I used to go up there and practice in his yard. He was teaching us how to twirl the baton. June Bug was a gifted man. There wasn\u2019t too much he didn\u2019t know how to do. He was funny, but he was for real. He had an idea of how things should be for our performance and wanted to see it executed in the best way possible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that Featherstone was always helping to care for his students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe had a Volkswagen Bug, and when we wanted to go to a football game we would give him a quarter,\u201d she said. \u201cGas was a quarter a gallon at that time. He was just a good guy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n MAKING A STATEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nimox said that Featherstone was in charge of choosing the uniforms for the corps. Making a memorable statement were the outfits, complete with yellow and gold, which were the school\u2019s colors. Each member wore white boots that Nimox said were always clean and white, thanks to white shoe polish and frequent cleanings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBack in the day, we thought the uniforms looked good because we thought we looked good wearing them,\u201d laughed Nimox. \u201cIt was good to know that we had something like that going on for a black high school. We looked forward to performances, especially the Christmas parade. We were always in the Cowan Christmas Parade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A significant event in itself, the Cowan Christmas Parade is one of the most well-known events in Franklin County, with people coming from outside of the county to either participate or watch the long line of participants that in the mid- 60s included the drum corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI remember when we were getting ready at the school to go to the Cowan parade, and we were so excited to be able to march together,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was so exciting to know that this all-black school had a marching band. We commanded attention, and we had a particular beat. When we heard that beat, we\u2019d get to stepping. And when the crowd heard that beat, they knew we were coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In remembering those times, Hill said they were remembered fondly and cherished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe enjoyed everything we did,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were just happy people. From the drum corps to basketball to cheerleading. It was all fun and brought back so many good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those interested in revisiting memories or viewing memorabilia of the drum corps can do so at the Townsend Cultural Center, located at 910 S. Shepard St. in Winchester. GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE 1960S was a decade filled with transition and turbulent times. Overseas, the Vietnam War was raging. War protests were taking place across the country. Martin Luther King Jr. led peaceful protests and marches across the South at the height of the civil rights movement. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[75,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-franklin-county","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC06874-1-1024x683.jpg\")