The Doodle Dandies of Watsontown Pa

Brothers Of The Brush clubs formed for the centennial celebrations in towns across the country.  Their mission was to promote the centennial events, and to do so by growing beards.  Women joined clubs as Ladies Of The Swish, or more often, Belles.  

While researching something else today, I saw a headline that read The Watsontown Doodle Dandies were hosting an Easter Egg Hunt.

Wait - the who? Turns out the Doodle Dandies did a LOT for the town in the late 1960's through the mid 1970s. Providing awards to high school students, hosting dances, raising money to build the town pool, organizing Easter egg hunts, the Halloween Parade, and setting up Santas house each year... and they also once threw an umpire in the Susquehanna River after not agreeing with his calls.

The Doodle Dandies, one of 25 Brothers Of The Brush Clubs formed in 1967 for Watsontown's sesquicentennial, continued on for years after the celebration.  The club competed in softball games & wrestling matches,  walked in parades, hosted dances, organized raft races, donated a refrigerator for public use at the Watsontown Park, set up Santa's house each year, organized Easter egg hunts, and the Halloween Parade.  They took group trips to New York and Pittsburgh to watch professional football games.  They raised money for the building of the Watsontown Pool, and provided a long list of  awards for students at the end of the school year.  They also threw an umpire into the Susquehanna River, after a series of "bad calls" caused them to break their winning streak.  

In July of 1967 the Brothers Of The Brush marched through town in a solemn procession to bury a ceremonial razor, signalling the beginning of the Watsontown Centennial.

In June of 1967  the Doodle Dandies,  charter was closed to active membership.   There were 25 members present at the June meeting.  They voted to  purchase 6 centennial badges for senior citizens who were unable to purchase them, and they made them honorary members of the doodle dandies.

In August of 1967 the Doodle Dandies made a "good-will tour to Shamokin" where they met at John's barber shop to advertise the Watsontown Centennial to be held the following week.

In 1968, the Doodle Dandy club was an incorporated off-shoot of a Brothers Of The Brush Chapter formed for the previous  summers Centennial celebration in Watsontown. The group sent a package to Gerald Folk, a Doodle Dandy member serving in Vietnam.

In October of that year, the Doodle Dandies sponsored the Halloween Parade. "Selected as king and queen of the mummers were James Lehman Jr & Mrs Marjorie Black.  They rode on one of the Watsontown fire trucks."  Riding in convertibles were Mary and Mrs Frank Kear, and Frank Gentile, president of the Doodle Dandies, along with his wife.  The Watsontown Centennial band marched in the parade, along with the snoot band of McEwensville.  The Turbotville girl scouts all dressed as ghosts and road on a truck.  The parde ended at the parking area near the river bridge, where the Centennial band gave a concert and doughnuts and cider was served.  Each child who participated in the parade was given 25 cents.

In 1969 the Doodle Dandies received permission from the borough council for a series of dances.  They planned  a battle of the bands for boys and girls ages 12 to 21, with Carl Pick, John Burrows, and Salvatore Nicolosi chairing the event.  The bands were to be Echoes LTD, The Genesis, and the Glass Menagerie.  They also planned a record hop, and received permission to place a refrigerator in Pavilion #2 at the park. The Dandies would be responsible for the refrigerators care and maintenance, but the public was welcome to use it.

The club were original supporters of the town pool.  As of August 1969, the group had contributed more than $1700 for the building of the pool.

They also supplied awards to high school students, including awards for little league teams, outstanding citizen under the age of 21, an essay contest, and awards for seniors in each sport as well as the chorus, at Warrior Run.  Chief Reed was on the committee to choose the award recipients.

At a baseball game between the Doodle Dandies, and the Legion 9 Team, the Dandies lost 11-6, breaking their five game winning streak.  Unhappy with the umpires "bad calls", the Brush Brothers threw the Umpire James Garthwaite into the Susquehanna River.

======================