Mark Novak was at New Prague’s Annual Firemen’s Dance & Drill Saturday, April 1, at the Park Ballroom. He was among the 16 members of the fire department’s drill squad and it was his 20th year participating.
The dance and drill are long time traditions, as this was the 135th year of the dance and the 115th year of the drill.
Novak said firefighters from the volunteer fire department join the drill squad after they’ve reached a level of seniority in the department. For Novak, he has been a member of the department for 25 years. He noted the current drill master, Drew Koloc, is the third person he’s done the drill under. Novak said the other two drill masters were Jeff Smith and Jeremy Tikalsky.
“It’s good being part of it,” he said of the drill squad, adding there have been some changes in the types of formations the squad performs. One formation removed from the drill performance was what Novak called, “fan off the box.” The drill squad started in a box formation and then moved into a fan formation. It was dropped due to its difficulty.
“All the other moves are pretty easy after we practice them,” said Novak.
“There’s been turnover and there are younger guys on it (the squad) now,” said Novak. “I’ll see how long I’ll go.”
“I’ve had the same spot over the years,” he said about where he stands in the squad. “They go by height so I haven’t had to move.”
Novak remembers the moves for the different marching formations, although sometimes the hardest part is keeping the beat. On Friday, March 31, he, other members of the squad, their families and members of the New Prague Veterans Honor Guard were having their final of four practices at the ballroom. The Charlie Sticha band was also there, playing a version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” that the drill squad has marched to over the years. All of the members of the drill squad wore the dress uniform shoes and hats for the practice. Come Saturday evening, the drill squad’s shoes and hats were completed with full dress uniforms. The veterans honor guard marched in the U.S. flag at the beginning of the firemen’s drill performance. Representatives of area fire departments also attended the event.
“This is a fun group of guys,” Novak said of his fellow firefighters with the New Prague department. “I know most of them.”
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To see more on this story pick up the April 6, 2023 print edition of The New Prague Times.
Firemen’s Dance & Drill continues, Novak in 20th year on drill team
