Eastbayri.com

PORTSMOUTH — For nearly 20 years those uniforms have marched — across the Portsmouth High School football field, along Washington DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue, and down Central Park West during the Macy’s Parade.

It’s beyond time to replace them and the Portsmouth Music Boosters are planning to do just that.

The group has put in an order for 150 brand new uniforms, one for every band member. A company representative visited town recently and measured every marching band member seven ways.

“For at least the first year, every one of them should be a perfect fit,” said Jackie Shearman, who, with Diana White, is coordinating the effort for the Music Boosters.

To pay for it all, they have launched an ambitious $100,000 fund drive, an amount that would cover all of the uniforms plus some needed instruments (tubas especially) and other band equipment.

They hope to tap into 45 years worth of band loyalty by reaching out to the many hundreds of PHS Marching Band alumni who have worn red and blue since the high school opened in 1963.

“There is a real emotional tie to the band,” said Ms. Shearman whose own Marching Band connections go way back — she was there with the band when it performed at President Reagan’s inauguration.

They are printing up flyers to mail to past band members and will also reach out via Facebook and phone calls. The Boosters also hope the Portsmouth community gets behind the effort on behalf of Patriot Pride.

The new uniforms will maintain the general look of the present outfits, with some upgrades.

The pants and bib will be blue with a zipper up the front and straps. Jackets will be red with the word ‘Patriots’ against a strip of white background. Hats, “which really take a beating over the years” will be blue. Plumes will have more sparkle than before. And percussionists will finally wear the same colors as the rest of the band.

Ms. Shearman said there have been two sets of uniforms over the 45 years that the band has been led by three directors — Ray Ainsworth, Lou Ricci and now Ted Rausch.

The first were in 1965-66, purchased with help from the Portsmouth Rotary Club and the School Committee. It is believed that the latest uniforms arrived about 20 years ago, debuting in 1992.

“Almost 20 years — I’d say the time has come,” Mr. Ainsworth said.

Retired now, the PHS band founder said the red, white and blue color scheme was a natural choice to match the Patriots theme.

“They always looked sharp out there,” he said. “The uniforms are well made but we put them through a lot, pretty much year-round.”

And he said that good uniforms encourage band enthusiasm which has been strong from year one.

“That first year we had 32, then 64, and pretty soon 128 – it kept doubling.”