Eileen Cunningham started marching for the St. Ann’s Colorguard when she was 12 years old. Her daughter followed in her footsteps. And so did her grandkids.
In all, Cunningham has been involved in the program for the last 50 years or so, many of them as its director, choreographing dances and instructing generation after generation of young kids on how to twirl batons and flags.
The nearly 85-year-old program that has amassed countless awards over the years is now at a standstill as it’s faced with no practice space available for the team this year.
“We need something, and we need it as soon as possible,” the 68-year-old Cunningham said this week.
After practicing at the Dorchester Armory on Victory Road for the last 25 years, the color guard was notified during the last week of August that its members couldn’t practice there anymore. They were told that the armory had put a pause on rentals due to the pandemic. Without a practice facility, the color guard had to postpone the start of their practice season.
“It just keeps evolving, but what a shame because we can’t find someplace to practice,” Cunningham said. “Kids today need something to do; it’s not like they don’t want to practice. They’re missing it. My great niece marched last year, and every day she asks me when color guard is starting.”
Said Mary Rutter, the program’s assistant director: “This past year’s been so hard on everybody, but I believe it’s been hardest on kids,” “Everything they had before has been disrupted so drastically.”
In 2020, before the pandemic forced the team to disband from practicing and competing four weeks before their season was scheduled to end, three teams met two to three nights a week at their old practice space.
After a year of limited practices, the color guard was looking forward to returning to a normal season. Throughout August, before their season was supposed to kick off, there were a few practice sessions.
Speaking about the limited practices they had this past month, Rutter said, “I could see how happy they were when they came back for those three nights in August. They missed out on so much during the pandemic. We’re trying to get back to normal, and for those kids, the color guard is a big part of that.”
The program, which consists of girls ages 4 to 15, is still planning on recruiting additional members over the next month while they scout out a new practice space. This year, its numbers have dwindled to 30 members, down from the last year’s nearly 50 girls.
“I have lifelong friends from when I was a member of the color guard,” Rutter said. “I want the current members to have that same thing—to have lifelong friendships, lifelong relationships.”
Rutter first joined the color guard when she was 9, and started coaching after graduating from high school. Now her two daughters, 18 and 15, are on the team.
For kids like 17-year-old Mackenzie Raymond, a former color guard member, the group played a pivotal role in teaching her to be independent. “This organization really raised me,” she said. “In practice, they were always so supportive, they taught me so many life lessons, and it’s an essential part of who I am today.”
Raymond said that from a young age she wanted to be involved with the color guard. When she would attend performances, she was always the loudest fan in the stands.
Just as the group helped her, she is returning the favor by volunteering to teach younger groups of girls on the color guard.
For Mary Rutter, the experiences she had while on the color guard are still with her today, offering lessons she hopes future generations will continue to experience.
“St. Ann’s taught me so much about being dedicated to something, life skills I wouldn’t otherwise have,” she said. “I can see how it means just as much to them, and I’d hate to see it end like this.”
