On a Sub-Zero Morning, the High School Marching Band Makes Super Subs
- Philip Thibodeau
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
Some parents set their alarms for 4:30am. Others ‘slept in’ until 6, roused their kids from bed, and, after bundling up against the brutal cold, made their way to the high school for the 6:45 start.
Once everyone was ready, the Blue Knights Marching Band’s annual Super Bowl sub-making marathon got underway.
This year, orders came in for a total of 2,418 subs. The most popular choice was the ham, salami, and cheese combo, followed by ham and cheese, then turkey and cheese. Each sandwich went for $10, with the net proceeds going to support various band activities.
Five sub-making assembly lines were set up in the cafeteria, each one manned by about fourteen students. As the subs moved down the table, some opened the rolls, while others added the meat or cheese. Once topped with lettuce, the final product was ready to be rolled up in its wrapper, labelled, and packed into a cooler for delivery.
While the kids assembled the grinders, parent volunteers near the cafeteria entrance removed the ingredients from their packaging and distributed them. Bethany Rosin was in charge of all the lettuce. How much did that amount to? “Each of these boxes was five pounds and there were five boxes, so about 25 pounds,” she estimated.
By and large, things went without a hitch. Perhaps the main challenge was making sure the teenagers observed Health Department protocols for food preparation: workers had to keep their hair under wraps and wear gloves; anyone who was not properly protected had to stay out of the assembly area.
At one table, a group of band sophomores took a break after completing their task ahead of time. While the schedule anticipated that the work would be done by 10:30, they had finished around 9:30. “We had really good teamwork,” Lily Dauphinais observed. “Everyone was communicating well and we finished early.”
Band parent Robin McBride was in charge of running the event this year. “Our bread comes delivered from Bernadino’s in Massachusetts,” she said, “and our cold cuts and lettuce and cheese come from Tops Supermarket in town. My husband Steve rented the refrigerator truck, drove it over to Tops, and brought it back over here.”
“We missed a whole weekend of sales due to the weather, but we still had a phenomenal demand. We’re only down 20 subs from last year, despite losing a weekend.”
Asked why they got up before sunrise to lead this endeavor, she answered: “Our youngest daughter is in band now and our two oldest kids went through band. We were familiar with it and there were so many rookies that weren’t sure how it should go, so we stepped up – we knew the scoop.”
The final task was delivery. Parents loaded the packed coolers into their cars and drove from address to address, taking care not to miss a single order:
Once all the revenues and expenses are tallied up, the band expects to clear about $20,000, which will go into its general fund. That money will then be used to help offset the cost of uniforms and travel expenses for trips to Ohio and DC, where the band and color guard will participate in national competitions.