CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Katie Gruner was known as “Kit Kat” in high school, but that is just one of many things that have changed since she graduated in May from Natrona County High School.
“Some people told me I need to have a real name for my actual life, so it’s Katie now,” she said as she scarfed down a chicken sandwich while speaking with a reporter.
“Graduation was cool and exciting. I did the party and the overnight, and then I left for the Troopers the next morning,” she explained.
“The Troopers” is the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps, a world-class group of musicians based in Casper. A casual observer might at first mistake them for a marching band, but the drum corps is different - the music and visual performances are more difficult and consist of only brass, percussion and color guard.
Its ranks are filled by high-schoolers to 22-year-olds who compete in a series of contests for seven weeks each summer. Founded in 1957 by general contractor Jim Jones, the Troopers have performed for presidents, at inaugural and bowl parades and at Denver Broncos halftime shows.
That success demands rigorous training. While many recent high school graduates are making money and socializing, Katie is rehearsing during the day, performing in the evening and sleeping on a bus as it rolls through America at night.
She didn’t always plan to be a Trooper. But the drum corps is in her blood.
Katie is the daughter of Troopers alumni Charlotte (flugelhorn) and Daron (baritone) Gruner.
“During the summer at home, it’s all we can talk about sometimes,” she said. “We watch the shows in Casper and volunteer, and work at the wrapping booth at the mall for Christmas, follow them on tour and even went to the finals in Indianapolis on a family vacation.”
Having been around the Troopers mystique all her life, Katie said she never thought about how they became that good.
“They were definitely glorified, immortal beings around our house,” she said. “I never really thought about how they got that good. Now I know: lots and lots of practice.”
Her parents weren’t always certain that Katie would have the opportunity to perform as a Trooper. Daron served on the group’s board of directors for at least 10 years, including when the corps did not march for a year to get its financial house in order.
“There were many times that we thought we weren’t going to get through this,” Daron said, tearing up. “And now, to see our daughter …”
Katie’s parents met in the summer of 1991, when Charlotte and some friends came from Tucson after their corps, the Arizona Sunset Regiment, folded.
“It was my last year to march and I was not going to not march,” Charlotte said, “so I came to the Troopers with friends.”
Daron Gruner was born and raised in Casper, where he performed in the Natrona County High School and University of Wyoming marching bands. He was in the Troopers in 1988, 1990 and 1991, skipping the 1989 season because of an illness in the family.
While with the Troopers, he spotted Charlotte for the first time.
“She showed up out of the blue, and the rest is history,” he laughed. “She had extremely short hair and this Army boonie hat, and I was gone.”
SHARING THE NEWS
Although Katie says she had thought about being in Troopers for a “really, really long time,” she chose a unique way to tell her parents.
“It was at Senior Night for the band at NC at the last home football game, and we were on the field with her,” Charlotte began through tears.
“And you could hardly make out the ’wah wah wah’ from the public address system,” Daron added.
“But then we heard, ’Her goal is to be in the Troopers,’” Charlotte said.
“It’s not easy to make it into the corps these days, and she is a competitive cross-country skier, so it was hard to get her to an audition camp, but then once she started going, she didn’t miss,” Charlotte said.
So now that Katie is a Trooper - something she been acquainted with since nearly birth - how is it?
“It’s hard. That’s the word for it,” Katie said. “I thought it was going to be much easier than it actually is. Twelve hours of rehearsal a day is definitely pretty daunting. It was a big adjustment the first couple of days. Now I’ve kind of gotten into the swing of it, and it’s much better. The second day was the worst day because you knew what was going to happen. The third day, it was better, and the fourth day, I was like, ’here we go. We gotta do this.’”
Katie, a trumpet player, said she couldn’t tell if the music or the drill was harder.
“I can’t tell you because the music at some point, there are parts where I’m just struggling, and parts in the drill I’m running around not knowing what I’m doing. I would say it’s equal parts beating me up right now.”
People say the corps transforms them forever. New high school graduates in drum corps return with purpose and maturity carved from 12 hours a day, day after day, in sweltering heat, pouring rain and repetition - over and over and over while seeking perfection that remains elusive.
“The corps changes people,” Charlotte said. “It makes them more intense, more focused.”
At the end of August, Katie will move to Laramie, where she will attend the University of Wyoming. After that, Katie doesn’t know what the future holds - except that music will be involved.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, https://www.trib.com
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