New Orleans high school band marches into Sandwich as part of Underground Railroad tour
A group of young American men marched into Sandwich Monday night — but it wasn't part of an invasion or re-enactment of the War of 1812.
The occasion was a trip by a New Orleans high school band on a mission to learn more about the history of the Underground Railroad.
"We're taking our journey from the south of the U.S. and then going to different spots," explained Fr. Tony Ricard, campus minister at St. Augustine High School, an all-boys Catholic high school in New Orleans.
"This year we went to Birmingham, Alabama, then we stopped in Cincinnati."
About 170 students and 20 staff members are part of the trip, which is in its second year.
"We're very famous for our music program," Ricard said, noting that his students have performed at the Rose Bowl, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Super Bowl, in addition to Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans.
After crossing the border the band's first Canadian stop was Sandwich First Baptist Church on Peter Street.
"Slaves who had escaped into Canada hid underneath the floors," Ricard said. "For our boys to have the chance to literally go down into those tunnels and actually see where the slaves hid, [it's] a phenomenal experience."
The group will stop in Toronto and Niagara before heading home.
