“It paved the way
for my career
choices and
where I am
today. Band
was one of the
important things
that shaped me.”
pharmacy school. She has also worked as a
twirling coach in addition to raising a family.
“Twirling is one place that I can go and be
creative on my own,” she notes.
As a coach, McFalls expects a lot from her
students but also encourages them. “I don’t
believe in the philosophy that yelling and
criticism makes you better,” she says.
Being a majorette requires physical
coordination and mental strength. “It’s a whole-
body experience,” according to McFalls.
Her oldest daughter, Lauren, has been a
majorette at South Fayette for two years, and her
youngest daughter Kaitlyn also plans to try out.
McFalls is proud of them although she never
pressured them to follow in her footsteps.
“Everybody needs to live their own life and have their own dreams,” she says. “I wanted
to be sure they were doing it because they wanted to.”
McFalls is only aware of two other families where both mothers and daughters have
performed in the South Fayette majorettes.
She created a website to share some of the history she’s uncovered about the majorettes,
including historic photos and a collection of uniforms from the 1970s to 1990s. The
uniforms were largely unchanged until recently. McFalls found a lot of photographs and
information dating back to the 1940s, although she hasn’t found much material from the
early 2000s. “The pictures tell the story,” she notes.
With her background in educational technology, McFalls designed the website herself.
She plans to add a discussion forum in the future so that alumni can share memories with
each other.
McFalls also interviewed a number of alumni and recorded their anecdotes. Some
elderly individuals may have difficulty remembering recent events, but they had no trouble
recalling details from their experiences as majorettes. “It was so ingrained, they really could
go right back in time,” McFalls says. “You could see it on their faces. They were as sharp as a
tack. It’s interesting how memory works.”
For example, one former majorette recalled how police cars and fire trucks would come
down to the practice field during the 1950s. There weren’t any lights at the field so the
police officers and firefighters used their headlights to illuminate the area.
McFalls hopes more alumni will visit the website and join the alumni association. There
are currently about a dozen members, but she hopes it will grow to include hundreds of
former majorettes.
Eventually, McFalls would like to have the alumni participate in community events.
“Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we still don’t love performing for others,” she says.
“There shouldn’t be an age limit or a time limit on that.”
For more information, visit sfalumnimajorette.com. n
South Fayette | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 15