This video shows footage of the Springfield (Ohio) High School Marching Band performing in the Memorial Day Parade in Springfield, Ohio on May 30, 1955. It starts with footage of the same location filmed in June of 2023 and “flashes back” to the older footage that was digitized from 8mm film, for a “then and now” effect. The roadway area has certainly changed but the Fire Station building and the cathedral in the background are still quite recognizable. Claudia Barr (Aunt Sis) is pointed out marching with her baton. She was quit the talented baton twirler. Frank Barr is pointed out playing the sousaphone..and I believe the “mystery girl” from the “Charles Barr Reels” 1954 Christmas film is the last musician in the closest column that passes by playing the saxophone. Still trying to identify her.

The marching band music used on this is from a vinyl album titled “Buckeye Battle Cry” from 1969. It is an album of and about the Ohio State All-Brass Marching Band. This is track 2 from side A of the album called “I Wanna Go Back”. Cousin Ronnie Williams had me convert this album for him and it turned out to be the perfect music for this video.

Production note: The sprocket holes were left in the framing of the 8mm film footage in order to capture the entire image recorded between the holes. This would normally be cropped out to the standard TV 4×3 ratio. This made it easier to convert to 16×9 to match the “now” footage. It was either crop off a lot of top and bottom image from the old footage or do it this way. Makes for an interesting look, and you get to see peripheral image that would normally be cropped away. Also, this cropping demonstrates how the image steadying software shifts the frame around to keep the image components “steady”.