Waltham American Legion band celebrating 75th anniversary
WALTHAM – Maybe you've seen them or their trolley around. Marching in parades and playing at community events with their nearly 50 members and high spirited American marching band songs, the Waltham American Legion Band can be hard to miss.
"My favorite part is the people enjoying the music as we go by," band member John Baboian said.
"We've traveled together, and you make some good lifelong friendships," 19-year band member, Everett Erwin added.
This year is their 75th anniversary. Within those 75 years, they're created an incredible family.
"This band is kind of like a family. Sometimes a little dysfunctional family, but a family," Erwin joked.
They've traveled the world together, performing Germany, Ireland and the USSR in 1990.
"We were the first military band to go and play God Bless America in Red Square," Baboian said.
Baboian is one of their two members left who went on that trip.
"The people that were listening to us during the parade started following us down the street. So as we kept going down the main street of Moscow, they're joining us to the end of the parade. I had never experienced that before," he said.
His father got him involved and eventually, Baboian got his son in the band too.
"I've kind of grown up in the band. I started in the band around 1971. I was around 15 years old and this was because my father was in the band," Baboian said.
You don't have to be a member of the American Legion to join the band or even affiliated with a military branch.
The band is open to people of all ages and musical abilities. You just have to love music.
The band told WBZ-TV they're always looking for more members to join. If you're interested, they practice at the Waltham American Legion Post on Monday nights at 7:15 p.m.