HEUVELTON — When the Marching Bulldogs from Heuvelton Central School hit the streets this summer, they will be doing so with a band made up entirely of Heuvelton students, just as they have done for dozens and dozens years before now.

Director Megan Wattie said this year’s show will include a tribute to ABBA, including the songs “Mamma Mia” and “Dancing Queen.” “It should be a lot of fun,” she said.

This year’s band will include some 20 students with a color guard including approximately 16 more. Talk of merging with Ogdensburg did not materialize.

While the numbers are down from what the district is used to having, Ms. Wattie said she’s looking forward to this summer—and the future.

“We’re going to be very young this year,” she said. “A lot of out students are considerably younger than in the past. We had a lot of high school students who weren’t able to march this year.”

When asked why she thinks membership in the band has shrunk over the years, she said today’s world is different from even five or 10 years ago.

“There’s so many other things for kids to do over the summer,” she said. “It used to be marching band was the thing to do over the summer so you could see your friends. Now with Facebook and cellphones, they’re communicating all the time. They’re playing summer soccer. They’re working. They’re going to camp. There is just so much to do.”

But Ms. Wattie said she feels like the Bulldogs have a bright future ahead of them.

“It’s going to be a different experience, but over the next couple of years as these kids grow up, it’s going to be a great band,” she said.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer