It was windy, rainy and cool, but those things didn’t dampen the spirit of past and present Southerners and Marching Ballerinas Saturday.Jacksonville State University’s 50th year celebration of the band which has become one of the school’s centerpieces was held last weekend and culminated Saturday when the Gamecocks played Samford in football at Paul Snow Stadium.
“Everybody was just so excited to be here, and they refused to let a little rain get in the way,” JSU band director Ken Bodiford said. “The current Southerners were especially determined to not let a little bad weather interfere with their fun.”
Ugly rain clouds kept gathering in the skies Saturday as kickoff approached at 11 a.m. Approximately 13 minutes before kickoff the skies opened up and a heavy rain began to fall.
The east stands where the Southerners were gathered began to clear out. The returning band members sought cover under the bleachers and waited until the rain subsided to return.
“That’s how important this was to our people,” Bodiford said. “Everybody stuck around until the rain stopped.”
Bodiford said that 980 former Southerners and Ballerinas had pre-registered and most were on hand Friday night for a rehearsal and cookout.
“We were just talking and I believe another 200 or 250 who didn’t register showed up Saturday,” he said. “We don’t have exact numbers, but we think that’s pretty close. Then when you add the 370 members of the current Southerners and Ballerinas, and you can tell we had a great crowd.”
The climax of the 50th anniversary weekend came at halftime when former Southerners and Ballerinas joined this year’s groups for a musical performance.
The combined bands first performed “Stars Fell on Alabama,” a song the Southerners have performed since they were formed in 1956 by Dr. John T. Finley. Then Finley directed the band in a song he especially wrote for the group: “Southerner Special.”
Dr. David Walters, who was director from 1961 to 1990 and guided them to some of their greatest achievements, led the band in another of their special songs: “Quilting Party.”
Bodiford then stepped forward and led the band in the school fight song.
The only former director who did not lead the band was Dr. Scott McBride, who was leader from 1991 until Bodiford took over in 1995. McBride is now Chairman of the Department of Music at Morehead State University in Kentucky and did not attend the reunion.
The band then played five songs representing the five decades the group has been a part of the university in a tribute called “Southerners: Yesterday, Today and Forever.” From the 1950s they performed “Perfidia,” from the 1960s they played “Siboney,” from the 1970s they played “Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor,” from the 1980s they did “Spirit of the Bull” and from the 1990s and 2000s they did “Malaguena.”
“I can’t think of anything that went wrong,” Bodiford said. “The only glitch we had was when it rained. Really the only thing I was worried about was getting on and off the field in plenty of time so the football team wouldn’t get a penalty. We did that so everything was perfect.”
Bodiford said he hopes to make the get-together something special every year.
“In the past we have always had a get-together at homecoming and 200 or 300 former members would show up,” he said. “I am hoping this will spark a desire in our former members to come back every year.
“Now that we have a database of everybody’s addresses and e-mail addresses we will be able to stay in contact with a lot more people. Hopefully, we’ll have another big event at next year’s homecoming.”
Saturday’s attendance was listed as 7,211 – a number that was hurt by the rain and threat of rain and by the 62-degree temperature at kickoff.
The joke going around the stadium was that there was only a 40 percent chance of rain and that all 40 percent was over Paul Snow Stadium.
After the halftime show, many spectators decided to head home. However, about 1,000 to 1,500 people stayed after the game to watch the current Southerners perform their regular halftime show.
And to make things even better for the Southerners’ celebration, Jacksonville State defeated its in-state rival, 55-7, in the final home game of the season.
