Days were very dark 90 years ago. The Great Depression.

The stock market crashed in October 1929. By 1930, the economy took a huge hit. Workers lost jobs. Families struggled. In those bleak days, Pennsylvanians desperately needed something to build morale.

The answer came from a little town in the coal regions. A few hundred young women of Tamaqua joined together, strived for perfection and started a tradition that achieved greatness.

At the time, high school history and German language teacher Salama Steigerwalt realized that, sadly, an important local musical organization had disbanded.

The Tamaqua Laurel Troop Girl Scouts Bugle Corps, begun in 1926, ceased to exist after just four years. The bad news left dozens of young female musicians without a venue to showcase their skills.

Steigerwalt took those girls, merged them with others, and molded them into an organization large and awesome - the Tamaqua Senior High School Girls Drum and Bugle Corps.

They practiced together in 1930, drilled in military precision, and made their debut in the 1931 Tamaqua Memorial Day Parade. They were new, but many of them weren’t beginners, having been veterans of the Laurel corps.

Immediately, the all-female marching unit turned heads, described as “outstanding” in newspaper accounts.

Fast rise

Almost immediately, the bright, blue-and-white-clad band was in demand across Pennsylvania.

In 1936, the Tamaqua girls traveled to the nation’s capital to lead the Pennsylvania delegation in Washington, D.C., after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election to a second term.

They also paraded up Fifth Avenue in New York City, where they were the toast of the American Legion National Convention.

To top it off, the corps was officially reviewed in Washington by a U.S. Army Major. While there, the girls of Tamaqua marched to the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks to undergo military-type inspection.

In fact, they were so celebrated that the girls rode in a special train provided by the Central Railroad of New Jersey - an entire train sent specifically for them and their equipment.

Accounts in the Tamaqua Evening Courier say the spectacular corps of buglers, thunderous drums and rows of American flags was inspiring beyond compare.

Men would stand staunch and salute. Some even cried. Women and children clamored to get a look.

The highly disciplined girls were in demand everywhere, especially during the war years.

They performed before dignitaries, heads of state and at nationally publicized events of the day.

In 1937, they appeared in Washington, D.C., reviewed by U.S. Army Capt. Norbeth Manley.

In 1938, they traveled to Harrisburg to render a command performance at the request of Gov. George Earle, leading his inaugural parade. He proclaimed: “They’re one of the most outstanding organizations of its kind I’ve ever seen.”

They made regular appearances at Miss America parades in Atlantic City and were showcased at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The Tamaqua girls were all the rage, a reason to smile and be proud during the Depression years.

Their success mounted, year after year. On Oct. 21, 1952, the corps appeared before President Harry S. Truman.

Time was right

How did such a special group of young women arise in a blue-collar, coal-region town up in the mountains?

Some say it was a combination of talent, dedication and timing.

Many of the girls had the advantage of bugle corps training at a very young age. By the time they reached high school, they were veterans in instrumental music and snappy marching. They knew how to look good.

Their pillbox-style caps, similar to a bellhop’s, were worn slightly to the side, tilted just so. Their skirt bottoms measured 12 inches from the ground, no more, no less.

They stood at attention military style and, when lined up, appeared to be uniform in height. Some of the tallest were selected to be drum majors or to march up front where they carried and played impressive coach horns.

As girls excelled on the bugle they rose in rank from corporal to sergeant.

Final years

The group lasted nearly 40 years, to 1969, fading toward the end, especially after girls were permitted to join the THS Boys Band in the 1960s.

The final street appearance was in the 1968 Tamaqua Memorial Day parade. Afterward, much of the equipment was donated to the Tamaqua Area High School Raider Marching Band. Some was sold to the girls themselves.

On graduation evening of June 8, 1973, three young women accepted diplomas and marched out of the stadium. Lila Miller and Alice Rudloff of Tamaqua had been buglers. Dorothy Light of Hometown once played the bell lyre. They were the final corps girls to leave Tamaqua High.

With their exit, the bugle corps symbolically marched out of the stadium one final time. The lights were turned off and one of Tamaqua’s greatest traditions was gone.