When the Centerburg High School marching band plays outside off the school grounds, it needs a trailer, and not just any trailer, to haul dozens of instruments with them. The 80-plus-member band had outgrown its old trailer, according to Music Booster Club president Dawn Dice.
"We were carrying our instruments in the back of pickup trucks and people's yard trailers," she told the Mount Vernon News.
The effort to raise money for a new trailer started strong, with donations from White Farms, a family-run farm in Centerburg, T.J. Thorpe Trucking Co. and an anonymous donor.
"Then COVID hit, and [we] had to stop," Dice said. "Once things started to let up a little bit, we started trying to raise money again."
The boosters found one trailer for $6,800.
"Before we could take possession of it, it was totaled in a storm," she said. "So not only did we not have a trailer, now we had to raise more money."
The group later found another slightly used trailer for $8,600 and raised more than $13,000 to buy it and equip it with shelves and other items needed to house instruments securely.
"It was just a shell when we got it," Dice said. "Now we have shelves in there, straps to keep the instruments from rolling around."
A dolly to haul a large cooler for the band members can also fit in the trailer.
In addition to football games, the band plays at festivals, parades and other events, including band competitions.
"Next year, we're going to New York City," Dice said. "We're going to be in the St. Patrick's Day parade, which is a pretty big deal. I don't know if we'll take the trailer for that, but it's there if we need it."
Meanwhile, the Danville High School marching band bought Centerburg's old trailer.
"They were using a bus, and the bus kept breaking down," she said.
The Booster Club hopes to honor the sponsors at a football game this fall.
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