Texas, Here We Come (And Returned!)
by Tammy Gigstad
The band made it, y’all!!! On Wednesday, April 9th at 11:00 pm, 88 eager JCN band students and 12 calm, patient sponsors boarded 2 charter buses and 1 school van to head for Dallas/Ft.Worth. After riding several hours, we stopped at Denton, Texas for breakfast and a quick change of clothes.
Our first day began with a walking tour of the Stockyards with our true Texan guide, Miss Julianne. We toured Booger Red’s Saloon, the stockyard exchange, the coliseum and saw original pens in which the animals were kept prior to the sale. After witnessing a live cattle drive (including 13 Longhorn cattle who really knew the route!) and eating lunch at one of the many fun establishments along the route, we headed to Billy Bob’s huge dance and entertainment hall. Many famous entertainers perform regularly at Billy Bob’s. Each performer(s) has their handprint cast in plaster paris. A few of our group managed to shoot a few games of pool. We then boarded our buses for a tour of downtown Ft.Worth and eventually checked into our hotel.
After a chance to swim and catch some sun (weather in mid 70’s), we changed for the Texas Ranger game. A delicious meal of fried chicken, smoked brisket and all the fixin’s was served to us in the stadium. The Rangers came out victorious over the Baltimore Orioles. Although we were exuberant fans, we didn’t hold a candle to one fan who chose to express his enthusiasm in a more natural way! Needless to say, our first day was full of fun and we were happy to get a good night’s rest.
Day 2 was our museum trek. We began with the Ripley’s Believe It
or Not and the House of Wax museums. Lunch was at the Spaghetti
Warehouse, downtown Dallas. We then went to the John F. Kennedy
Sixth Floor Museum. We were able to learn of the events preceding
the assassination,
view the Grassy Knoll and view footage of the actual tragedy. Miss
Julianne then led us through the amazing architecture of downtown
Dallas. We stopped enroute and walked through Pioneer Park, which
is home to 40 life-size Longhorn cattle in various positions, and
the Water Park, a beautiful concrete structure with cascading
waterfalls. After a drive by tour of some VERY beautiful homes
owned by the VERY wealthy people of Dallas (like Ross Perot and
Mark Cuban), we changed clothes and headed for the rodeo! After
cheering on bull riders, barrel racers and steer rope teams, we
headed back to our hotel. Day 2 was in the books.
Our 3rd day in Texas was performance day! The band played two contest selections at the beautiful Majestic Theatre. The band received an “Outstanding” Ranking and a “II” rating. The judges were very complimentary of our performance. A quick change and we were on our way to Six Flags over Texas for thrilling roller coaster rides, water rides and much more. After enjoying our day, we boarded the bus for our long ride home. Tired and a little sunburned, we returned to the high school and much cooler temperatures at 5:00 am Sunday morning.
A trip such as this isn’t possible without willing sponsors giving up 2 days of work and paying the same price as the students, to carefully ensure 88 band members’ safety and happiness. I wholeheartedly thank Kristina Edwards, Debra and David Schuler, Steve Noll, Melynda Swoyer, Sarah Noll, Gigi and JR Perry, Rhonda Noll, Lori Navinskey and Ruth McFarland for a job well done! They were “super sponsors” and definitely worthy of a cape!
Thanks to many families, we ate snacks and had plenty of water and juice to drink on our journey. The band thanks the following families for donating to the cause: Jim Brickell, Rick McFarland, Paul Becker, Randy GrandPre, Raymond Riley, David Schuler, Scott Navinskey, Jim Wolfe, David Hutchinson, Daniel Weishaar ,Ray Brown, Don Schrick, Paul Finley, Amy Higgins, Nancy Ballinger, Joan Wallace, Paul Brown, Danny Noll, Glen Pyle, Rich Deviney and David Benner. I am sorry if I missed someone, but we truly appreciated your kindness.
The band appreciates Mr. and Mrs. Gary Bedigrew making the journey to spend time with us and to hear our performance. Without the great support of our administration and school board, our transportation costs would have been much higher. We sincerely thank them for the funds they allocated for our charter buses. Until next trip, y’all take care!
