City of Cypress, CA honors PebbleCreek resident

Gail Kuester and Sheila Parker

One would think the events that occurred in Cypress, California, fifty years ago were created in a Hollywood movie studio.

In the early 1960s, while residing in Cypress, California, Clarence Parker invited 20 local youngsters including three of his own, aged five to nine, to learn the basic elements of playing a snare drum or twirling a baton. The goal was to create a stand-still percussion and baton twirling group.

Every Saturday morning the youngsters met in Clarence’s back yard to practice.

There were a few handicaps. Clarence cannot read a note of music and had no experiences in baton twirling. Clarence’s only experience was in the early 1940s as a drummer in the Shipmates Drum and Fife Corps in Astoria, Oregon. He was taught to play the drum by the “it sounds like this” method. Another handicap was having no drums or batons.

Instead, wooden dowels were provided for the girl baton twirlers. Clarence constructed wooden stands with a tilted piece of plywood as the drum faces. The parents supplied the drum sticks

Weeks passed and, surprisingly, the boy drummers progressed rapidly and were soon capable of playing beats in unison. The baton group was becoming quite proficient following the basic instructions from a baton twirling manual. The progress demanded the need for real drums and batons.

Clarence met with and invited the Cypress City Council to a Saturday practice. With parents and City Council members present, the youngsters performed admirably. The Council approved a $2,000 donation toward the group’s development. To complement the donation, the Council named the group The Cypress Showstoppers and nicknamed Clarence The Music Man.

The Showstoppers became a nonprofit organization. Batons and snare, tenor and bass drums were purchased. However, with Clarence’s limited ability it began to appear that future development would be limited.

The word must have gotten out. Miracles began to occur. A student music director, Bob Gregg, from Cerritos Jr. College in Cerritos, California, agreed to volunteer his time to develop and teach a brass section of the band. The U.S. Baton Twirling Champion from 1948 to 1955, residing in Buena Park, California, volunteered her time to instruct the baton and flag twirlers. The California Parent Teachers Association (PTA) approved use of an elementary school auditorium for Saturday practices.

The parents designed and created band uniforms. One group of parents designed and constructed a nine foot bass drum on wheels. All materials were locally donated. A Cypress attorney and accountant volunteered services when needed.

The Showstoppers were now officially known as The Cypress Show Stoppers Marching Band. Fundraisers and donations helped to purchase used trombones, trumpets, bass horns and cymbals.

None of the members of the band had prior musical experience. Practices were extensive over the next year. Popular marching music was limited to modified renditions of The Ballad of the Green Beret, Seventy Six Trombones and When the Saints Come Marching In. The object was “do simple things well.”

Between mid-1965 through 1967 the Show Stoppers won over 50 trophies. In 1966 they won first place honors nine times in a row highlighted by outpointing the state champion Whittier Cavalier Junior Marching Band from Whittier, California.

On June 16, 2014, the City of Cypress presented Clarence a Certificate of Special Recognition as Founder and Director of the Show Stoppers Marching Band.

Today Clarence feels such plaudits needed to go to the parents and unselfish volunteer assistants and especially to the band members.

Clarence said, “It was all for and by the kids. They performed beyond expectations as a team. I am very proud to have been a part of an incredible journey.”