Seven years into a new century, the current generation of the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Drill Team in Lorain is rehearsing their list of  drills for the upcoming Tartan Day Parade Saturday in Manhattan.   "Some of the members are the children or grandchildren of original members," said Kathi Macgregor who is both the captain and a member of the drill team and has been since 1973. Macgregor's mother, the late Phyllis Wilson-Schooley, was a member of the team. "There were a lot of mother-daughter members, especially in the 1950s and 1960s," Macgregor said. "Back then, some were wives of Lochaber Pipe Band members."                                                                             
Other members of the current drill team include Nancy Miller, Lorain, a 24-year member; Diane Cuenin, Amherst, an 11-year member; Sandy Bahn, Lorain, a 29-year member; Karen Nolan, an 11-year member; Marlene McCauley, Lorain, a seven-year member; Sharon Riegelsberger, Avon Lake, a 22-year member; Chris Kosztyo, Lorain, a 32-year member; and Christeen Currie, Amherst, a member for 16 years.                                                                                                                                        Macgregor said drill team members receive donations from festivals and other venues where they perform, although individual members "pay for rooms and flights."
"At one time, there were seven or eight posts in Lorain, such as the PLAV (Polish Legion of American Veterans) and the Knights of St. John, with auxiliaries that had drill teams. We used to be in competition with each other," she said.  On occasion, drill team members still join forces with another of Lorain's ethnic entertainment groups, the Lochaber Pipe Band, she said.   Although the current drill team has nine members, Macgregor said, "we're always looking for new members."  The women are versed in about 25 different precision drills, according to Macgregor.  When the drill team is participating in a parade, or "street marching," as Macgregor described it, there are about 10 different drills utilized.
          This will be the fourth consecutive year the drill team has participated in the Tartan Day Parade, which is in its ninth year in New York City.
"For the three years that we've been there, it's rained," Macgregor said.
          Pipers, drummers, pipe bands, organizations from around the world, have participated in the Tartan Day Parade, billed as the largest Scottish celebration in Manhattan and one of the largest Scottish parades in the world.   In last year's parade, according to the official parade Web site (www.tartanweek.com), participants hailed not only from Canada and Scotland, but Australia, England, France, Switzerland and Pakistan.  Observing the parade maneuvers of the drill team, backed up by bagpipe music, can stir up patriotic feelings in individuals who are neither Irish or Scottish.

For further information on becoming a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Drill Team, visit contact Kathy Macgregor by e-mail at: drillcaptn@eriecoast.com. "It's enjoyable; the travel and the camaraderie," Macgregor said.