The official unveiling of the Harper’s Ferry National Park quarter was held June 8 before a crowd estimated at nearly 1,000 who gathered on the banks of the Shenandoah River in downtown Harper’s Ferry.
Providing the pre-event concert and music for the ceremony were rising senior, junior and sophomore members of the Spartan Marching and Concert bands of Greenbrier East High School.
The half-hour concert was shared by the Spartan bandsmen and members of the Chamber Ensemble of the Charles Washington Symphony Orchestra and under the direction of James Allder, director of instrumental music at GEHS, a program including “Open Space,” and “Country Roads” was presented.
For the ceremony itself, the Spartan Band presented the National Anthem and as a salute to honor the master of ceremonies, former pro basketball star and Olympic Gold Medalist Vicky Bullett, who is the new head women’s basketball coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College, performed “My Home Among the Hills,” one of three official state songs of West Virginia and the song adopted by many WV Wesleyan students and graduates as their own.
The two-day educational trip for the Greenbrier East students included a night tour of downtown Harper’s Ferry, complete with ghost stories, and a day-time history scavenger hunt through the historic town.
Arrangements were made for the Greenbrier East band through the Harper’s Ferry National Park staff which includes Autumn Cooke, a graduate of Greenbrier East High School Class of 2000 and former member of the Spartan Marching Band.
Each member of the Band and everyone under the age of 18 at the unveiling ceremony received a free first day issue commemorative Harper’s Ferry NP quarter.
