On Thursday, June 9 at 8 p.m., Boothbay Region High School Alumni Association will hold the Grand March at Sherman Field. All are invited to attend and tickets are $5 on site. Allan Crocker, math teacher, athletic director and main organizer of graduation, said the Grand March is an American tradition that began in the early 1900s. In 2002, the Alumni Association hosted its 100th anniversary so it is speculated that BRHS has been participating in the Grand March for 120 years, Crocker said. Over time, the Grand March tradition has gone away and BRHS is one of the few schools in the U.S. that still hold it, he said.

“It’s a throwback event, an old-fashioned event,” Crocker said. “You know, guys all in tuxes and girls in long gowns, marching arm in arm. We have people that come year after year after year to watch. When people think of Boothbay graduation, the first thing that comes to mind is Grand March.” The purpose is to present the newest graduates to the community and introduce them as the newest members of the alumni association.

Principal Tricia Campbell said, “We’re rich in tradition in Boothbay. The reason why we continue to do Grand March is because this means something to the community, we celebrate each other.”

Crocker said, “One thing I always tell the senior class at the very beginning of the year when we meet them is that their graduation is going to be the same experience as the graduation of a student 25 years ago, which is the same as the graduation experience 50 years ago. It is a common bond that all BRHS graduates share. We take pride that it’s a common experience and that’s what keeps the tradition.”

Organizations donate

To prepare for the Grand March, BRHS arranges for all participating students to have either a tuxedo or white gown. The Rotary Club in Boothbay Harbor donated $1,890 to bring down the cost of renting a tuxedo from $250 to $100 and $1,310 to dry clean and alter donated white gowns. Rotary Club has also helped BRHS with other needs such as the costs of shipping supplies to children in Ukraine.

The Lions Club also donated $1,000 and the Seaside and Bayside Masonic Lodge donated $250.

Marching practice takes place from June 2 to June 9. Crocker said, “It’s like herding cats in the beginning but it always comes out right in the end.”