Love of marching in the Purdue Band spans generations
Parents return to march with their kids at Homecoming 2003

It’d been years, decades actually, since John Eagin had put a trumpet to his lips. But when he got the letter inviting him to join the Purdue “All-American” Alumni Marching Band for a halftime show at Homecoming 2003 he knew he had to do it.

Nostalgia washed over Eagin. It was, after all, the final year his daughter Suzanne, scheduled to graduate in December, would play piccolo with the band. So he got out his trumpet, which had been silent for 30 years, and immediately started practicing.

Eagin isn’t alone. He’s just one of several alumni band participants this year who have sons and daughters carrying on a family tradition of playing in the Purdue band.

For all alums, Homecoming generates a flood of memories. Being able to march onto Ross-Ade’s turf to present a Homecoming show with your son or daughter, however, puts emotions way over the top.

“Every time I try to put my emotions into words, I get all choked up. I have so much emotion, I have had to promise my son that I won’t be a crying, slobbering idiot at homecoming,” says Nancy King Theis, a former twirler whose son Andrew is a sophomore tuba in the “All-American” Band.

“The first time I saw him in uniform I cried, and I cried when I saw him do the band cheer. Being a part of the “All-American” Marching Band was one of the best experiences of my life and to be able to share it with my son is a great joy. It is one of the golden moments of parenting.”

Theis never thought her son would come to Purdue because he grew up in the green and white Michigan State world of East Lansing, MI, listened to his dad cheer for the Spartans, and often watched the MSU band practice.

Eagin, an Austin, TX, resident, always thought there was a good chance his daughter would go to Purdue because her parents and grandparents are Purdue alums. “Suzanne always loved band and had been very active through high school. She first visited Purdue when an older brother was looking and she took a liking to the campus. Band was just the clincher for her,” Eagin says.

Marching as part of the same halftime show on Saturday “will be one of the truly unique, one-on-one moments, that my daughter and I will share. It will be very special for me to relive those feelings of excitement and pride that I have watched Suzanne experience in recent years. I am really thankful for the opportunity to do it,” says Eagin.

It’s been a common joke, from Eagin’s and Theis’ time in the band to their children’s, that nothing ever changes in this tradition-rich band. But that’s not really true and Eagin’s glad one thing has disappeared – the military edict that only men could play instruments.

“If things hadn't changed then my daughter would have never experienced the thrill of marching in the band. The only women in our band were the featured twirlers and the military-style majorette corps.”
Theis experienced life from the twirler’s side and is also glad some things have changed. “We had to weight in every Monday. It was very stressful,” she recalls.

Ask her about the things that haven’t changed and Theis really gets passionate.
“Lots of things have not changed. For one thing, the location of the Clothing Office is still up many, many flights of stairs. Band camp is still grueling. My favorite tuba cadence still is played after the game. Drummers and tubas have not lost their zest for life. Band people are still loads of fun and demonstrate great enthusiasm,” she says. And those are just the things at the top of her list.

Passing on the band legacy from one generation to the next starts with the telling of stories. Kids hear them told, and retold, from the time they’re small.

“There were a couple of stories,” admits Eagin, “like the thrill of going to South Bend when Purdue and ND were ranked #1-2 and we whipped them on their own field. Or the one about the trip to Columbus in 1969 when we were on national TV and I had left my suspenders in Lafayette. I marched all day with one hand up under my jacket holding up those baggy pants.”

Theis, who married a Michigan State fan, says: “I was determined to share the wonderful traditions of the ‘All-American’ Marching Band. They heard stories about daily drill, fantastic friendships as well as about my travels with the band. Many stories were told about hurrying to wait on trips, scum pond adventures after drill, hearing my number (M24 where are you!!) announced over the speaker at drill and so much more.”

She traveled to Venezuela and Canada with the band as well as trips to various Big 10 football games, and those experiences resulted in more than memories and scrapbooks full of photos.

“It sounds funny and insignificant, but from the traveling with the band, I learned how to hurry up then wait with patience and grace. Patience is a great lesson and has been valuable in my professional and personal life,” Theis adds.

As they get ready to return to Purdue for Homecoming and play “Hail Purdue” one more time in Ross-Ade Stadium, Theis and Eagin are both keenly aware of the special bond band has created between them and their children.

“Suzanne and I both enjoy music and appreciate great performances. The common values we share do help to form a special bond as we experience the joy from both participating in and attending musical events,” Eagin says.

The band connection “has drawn us closer,” adds Theis. “Andrew is an adult and there are times when I see him now that I realize he is becoming a friend and not just my child.”
It’s not just the parents that are looking forward to Homecoming.

“I’m very excited to have my dad marching with the alumni band this year. He was a member of the band 30 years ago and I always heard stories that he told me about his days in the band. I can’t wait to watch him out on the field,” says Suzanne Eagin, a senior majoring in communications.

“ I tried to get him to march for alumni band my sophomore year, but I just couldn’t convince him. I told him though, to be prepared to march my senior year, never really meaning he had to, but I was hoping he would. He knows that it means a lot to me to see him out there on the field reliving his days with the band.”