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Not For Profit: Middle Age Majorettes

June 22, 2008 — When the annual July 4th parade wends its way through the streets of St. John, the Middle Age Majorettes are sure to get lots of attention.
Twenty-eight strong, the majorettes range from their 40s to 70s with younger women occasionally joining for a brief spell. It is the latest women-only group to march in the July 4th parade.
First came a group of tap dancers, which evolved into a mocko jumbie troop before Deanna Somerville formed the Middle Age Majorettes. Mary Ellis belonged to all three groups.
"We have the best time," she said.
The group got its start in 2000 when Somerville was sitting around with friends Nancy Hedlund and Marilyn Hunter. They got to "yakking" about what happens to all those majorette skills learned in high school.
"And Nancy said she still had her baton," Somerville recalled.
Subsequently, she and Hedlund went on a cruise where they saw fellow passengers wearing those "tacky" T-shirts printed with bikinis. "That's where the idea was born," Somerville said.
She bought 25 T-shirts and rounded up a group of St. John women who ordered batons on the Internet. Those who couldn't twirl carried pompoms.
The Middle Age Majorettes still wear those bikini-printed T-shirts, with the design changing every year. As for what they'll wear at this year's July 4th parade, it's still a secret.
Somerville said she was nervous at that first parade, but great reviews from parade-goers gave the group just the encouragement it needed.
While she has since bowed out, the group continues to participate in the July 4th parade as well as the Coral Bay Labor Day parade and the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Members also volunteer at events such at Wagapalooza, Children's Carnival Village and Relay for Life.
Over the years, the group has evolved into a social and support club where everyone is welcome.
"A lot of new ladies to the island don't know how to meet other ladies," Somerville said.
Carol Wassel joined six years ago. She said she had just moved to St. John when she saw the group strut their stuff at the Coral Bay Labor Day parade.
"The following July 4th they let me in," she said.
Jane Washburn, who now serves as the point person for the group, said that the support aspect of the group can't be overlooked. The women are there for each other through all sorts of crises.
"And it's a chance to be part of the community," Washburn said.
While the majorettes often do their routines under broiling Caribbean skies, Lee Morris said she's able to ignore the heat and the infirmities that come with being middle-aged and beyond.
"I can do it with a fake knee," said Morris, who has had knee replacement surgery.
To join, call Wassel at 693-7777.
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