Fife and Drum

Twelve solemn figures dressed in Revolutionary War-era uniforms marched perfectly in step to the crisp  taps of a snare  drum  through  smoky  campsites and canvas tents near the Saginaw River on Saturday.

People stopped to watch as they passed by in their distinctive black hats and green coats, coming to attention on the empty parade ground. A few minutes passed while their leader, Jim McMahan, conferred with a few French Canadians reenactors, milling around and soon word passed down the line, “We’re early.” As the group broke their formation, a few chuckled as they complained:  “Didn’t this happen last year too?”

An hour later, the distinctive sound of the fife and the tap-tap of the snare drums filled a full parade ground as the Tittabawassee Valley Fife and Drum Corps hailed the start of the annual River of Time, a living history encampment event in Bay City.

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