The Toronto Optimists' Photo Gallery

Photos of the Toronto Optimists, the Seneca Optimists, the Optimists Alumni and many others!

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Home > The Old Days (Photos from our competitive years)

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Our RootsThe Optimists had its beginnings in 1952 as a Scout band. After leaving Scouts in 1955 and obtaining the Optimists Club as a sponsor, they became the Optimists Trumpet Band, also known as Opti-Corps. In late 1957, when they were joined by the instructors and many members of the Danforth Crusaders, they became the Toronto Optimists Drum & Bugle Corps. The Optimists merged with the Seneca Princemen in 1976 to become the Seneca Optimists. This section contains photos of the scout band, Opti-Corps and the Danforth Crusaders.

Toronto OptimistsThis category includes photos of the Toronto Optimists taken at performances (competitions, exhibitions, parades, etc.). There is an album for each year from 1958 through 1975. Sometimes it's difficult to identify the year and those photos have their own album.

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Seneca OptimistsThis category contains photos of the Seneca Optimists taken at performances (competitions, exhibitions, parades, etc.). There is an album for each year from 1976 through 1978. Albums exist for casuals shots taken during 1976 and another for 1977. There is also an album containing an article about the corps that was publish by the Toronto Star in 1978. Sometimes it's difficult to identify the year and those photos have their own album.

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Optimists' Feeder CorpsOver the years the Optimists had a number of feeder corps: the Bantam Optimists, the Optimist Cadets, the Optimist Lancers and the Cadet Lancers. This category includes separate albums for each of those feeder corps.

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Other Corps (mostly Canadian)Here you will find photos of corps that we were part of the 50s, 60s or 70s Drum Corps scene. Corps for which there are more than 4 photos have their own album and are listed by name. If we have fewer than 4 photos those images will be posted in either the Various Canadian Corps or Various American Corps albums.

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Those who have goneThis category contains photo memories of Toronto Optimists, Seneca Optimists and Optimists Alumni members and staff who have passed away. If we have a few shots for a particular individual, there is an album under their name. If we only have a single shot, the photo is included in the "We Remember" album. A corresponding category called "We Remember" can be found on our main website under the History section. A separate web page exists for each individual. Each page contains a photo and a few words about that member.

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MemorabiliaThis is a "catch-all" for things like old articles, Christmas cards, advertising, old Programs and anything that doesn't seem to fit elsewhere.

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Don DaberDon was involved with The Optimists from 1960 until his death in 2019. During that time he served as a photographer, the publicity director and the Corps Director. He was also the creator and editor of both Green Capsule Comments and Gold Capsule Comments. Don produced the artwork for a number of record albums as well as designing posters and doing the artwork for a variety of contests and programmes. Don's photos can be found in "The Old Days" category (Toronto Optimists, Seneca Optimists, Optimists Feeder Corps or Other Corps).