Franklin High School Black Knight Marching Band returned to march and perform in the national Memorial Day Parade. As part of the trip they also got a chance to tour several of the Capital's attractions.
To view a little of their performance click on the below video. They appear around the 14-minute mark.
Christian Bullard, said she loved the parade and the fact so many people who don't even know where Franklin, Pennsylvania is were there cheering them on.
Many of the kids really appreciated being able to tour the capital and seeing all the sights. Below is a list of some comments gotten on the bus ride back from Amanda and Sandy Lewis. They asked the band members what they liked about the weekend.The photos are also courtesy of Lewis mother and daughter.. Breanna Clark - Going the Lincoln and Washington memorial and seeing the reflection in the water. Tyler Thompson - Seeing the Korea and Vietnam memorials. Reston Weismann - The world War two memorial. Ruth Rangel - Going to the Smithsonian Measum of natural sciene and getting to see the live butterflies. Seth Pierce and Joe Martin- Our tour guide Jean. She was a very sweet and kind women. Gracia Riddle - Lincoln Memorial and the wall at the vietnam memorial. Being there and getting to walk through the memorial just hit different. Danielle Anderson - My favorite part about the entire trip was probably learning about all the different monuments and the history behind each one. I’m glad that this trip fell on my senior year so I could get the chance to experience before I leave high school. Karis Heckathorne -My favorite part of the entire trip was getting to march in the band even though it was super duper hot outside. I would definitely go again to learn some more things about different monuments. Makenna Reavis -I really just enjoyed spending time with everyone one last time. Seeing things together and marching with my friends one more time before they go to college. Andrew Rugh - My favorite part of the trip was the parade. Despite the fact that it was incredibly hot being able to represent the school in front of so many people was an awesome experience. I also really enjoyed being able to experience new things with my friends one last time as a group before we all move onto new things. Ally Wilson and Logan Stumpf - The trip to DC was a great experience for both of us. Although it was not necessarily a “once in life time” trip for either of us (we hopefully will get to go again our senior year), it was a once in a lifetime experience with the great group of people this year. Gracie Hollis - I really liked the trip overall! Although it was like a million degrees, the ending of the experience was worth it. We all worked really hard for the parade, and our hard work has definitely been paid off. "You can tell the dedication that Mr. Johnston has towards these students. We left at 00:15 on two Anderson Busses. The students knew they had to sleep, anyone who travels on a bus knows that this is a difficult task. But these students were silent and tried. We arrived at 7AM at Union Station and ate Breakfast. Then the touring began. We had two excellent drivers: Kevin and Lori. With our two tour guides that filled us in with tons of information. Because of the Bike Rally, we had to adjust our schedule and be “flexible”. That was the word of the day. We didn’t get to see everything, but when we finally got to the hotel, we were exhausted. With over 22,000 steps on Saturday and approximately 12,00 on Sunday and the temperature both days in the 90’s-100’s. It was well worth it to see the kid’s expression and watch them learn about history. The pride these students have and excitement to march down Constitution Ave and hear the people 5-6 rows deep cheering for our kids! It always amazes me that every trip I have chaperoned for and as many photographs that I have taken, when the kids ask him, Mr. J. to join in the group photo he always says, “It’s about the kids, not me.” Of course, after some chanting “Mr. J, Mr. J, Mr. J” he always joins in. Today, before they stepped off in the parade he said, 'Today, show them all why you are the Pride of Pennsylvania!' There is no question they are!" - Sandy Lewis |