U.S. Marine Band to perform for Bagley's all-school reunion

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

July 1, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

When U.S. Marine Corp Warrant Officer Lauren LaVine comes marching home this weekend for Bagley's all-school reunion, he'll be dragging more than 40 other Marines in tow.

LaVine, a 1983 graduate of Bagley High School, is the director of the U.S. Marine Band in Albany, Ga. -- one of 12 such bands in the world.

The band will be performing several times throughout the remaining four days of Bagley's all-school reunion -- an event held every five years.

Three public performances for the band have been scheduled, including 11 a.m. Sunday at the Bagley Elementary School gymnasium, 1:30 p.m. Sunday in a Fourth of July parade and later that evening at dusk at Lake Lomond where they will briefly perform prior to a fireworks show.

According to reunion coordinator Margi Galli, even though LaVine is a Bagley alum, it has not been an easy task to get the band here.

"(LaVine) approached me with the idea," Galli said. "He made it sound really easy. It's not. It's a lot of work and it's costly."

LaVine, who entered the Bagley School District's music program in fourth grade, has been a Marine and has played in Marine bands for 15 years.

Prior to taking over as director in Albany, he played in the 3rd Marine Aircraft Band in El Toro, Calif.; the Marine Corp Aircraft Ground Combat Band in Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif.; and the 4th Marine Aircraft Band in Louisiana.

"He's obviously very good at what he does to make it as far as he has -- to have his own band," said Galli, who is not only sponsoring the Marine Band but is a sister-in-law to LaVine's sister.

LaVine, speaking from his office in Georgia Tuesday, said he was excited to be mixing a little business with pleasure. This will be the first time since he enlisted in the military that he has been home without being on leave.

"I'm so excited I can barely sit still," he said.

LaVine says that all 12 Marine Bands try not to repeat performances, meaning they play in a different location every Fourth of July. And the "Bagleys" of the world are no exception, he added.

"We like to spread the wealth," he said. "We do 200 to 250 performances annually."

But the Bagley graduate also has another motive. Marine recruiting in the Midwest has always been difficult. So LaVine figures that a high-profile appearance by his band might help boost awareness of the Marines.

"We're giving taxpayers some of their money back," he said. "We like to let people see what they're paying for."

LaVine says at their Saturday concert, the band will play some concert band literature, rock and roll, pop and show tunes. On Sunday, the band will play marching tunes.

In addition, separate performance groups within the band will be performing at smaller all-school reunion events.

About five performances are scheduled.

LaVine's band is the newest of all 12 Marine Bands, having been formed in January 1990. Marine Bands bear the heritage of the whistling fifes and rolling drums of the first Marine music in 1775, according to their literature.

Galli, who arranged for the entire band's lodging, meals and ground transportation, says it has been exciting supervising the Marine Band appearance.

She added that LaVine has made only request of her during the time leading up to this weekend.

"He asked that if they were to perform in the parade that they be scheduled before any animals," she said. "(Lauren) said they can't go out of line. If there is a pile ahead of them, they have to march right through it."