A Reunion of Twirling Proportions
Eustis’ Deloris Carter Shares a Memorable Evening with Students
Written by Blair Townley
When you have devoted your life to a fun, recreational activity, like baton twirling, you are bound to inspire others to join in the activity.
Deloris Carter of Eustis experienced that same feeling after the recent reunion with several of the women, and men, she taught baton twirling over her 52 years.
The grand total for the February reunion was 130 former students, who brought memorabilia, pictures and memories of the times they shared.
“I was excited about the reunion because we had heard from a lot of the girls and members of their families that had called us [saying they were coming]. At 80, you think to yourself that you want to see all those girls again and they had asked if they could twirl,” says Deloris with a laugh.
The students did just that as they performed the first baton twirling routine they ever learned, with Deloris leading the routine. They were grouped together by the decade in which they twirled.
“We did a twirling routine, a marching routine and a pom-pom routine. There wasn’t anybody there who weren’t able to do any of the routines,” Deloris says.
“I said we’ll all do ‘Wooly Bully’ one more time.”
A power-point presentation was also given at the reunion, compiling pictures submitted by the students of practices, parades and competitions. Awards were also presented for oldest and youngest majorettes as well as those for who twirled longest and traveled farthest (which went to a student who came from Savannah, Ga.).
The idea for the reunion came about on Deloris’ 80th birthday in October, when her daughter, Dee Ann Wilson, gave her mother a card saying she was going to put together a twirling reunion reception.
“I wasn’t sure if it would happen but when we got closer to February, Dee Ann asked if February 20th was okay. I asked her if she was really going to do this and she said that she was and she couldn’t wait. She was like me where she wanted to see everybody too,” Deloris recalls.
Dee Ann, like Deloris, was also heavily involved in baton twirling and is also a national baton twirling judge with her mother. Deloris’ husband, Roy, brother, son, sister-in-law, niece and mother also took part in baton twirling, whether as judges, majorettes or providing help in some way.
First picking up a baton at age 14, Deloris went on to become a majorette for Hillsborough High School in Tampa and later accepted an academic scholarship to attend, and twirl, at the University of Tampa.
She also became involved with teaching baton twirling, instructing girls wanting to become majorettes at her high school and college as well as younger girls in the Tampa area.
A move with Roy to Eustis in 1955 brought her to Lake County where she continued her baton twirling instruction as well as worked as a teacher at Mount Dora High, Mount Dora Middle and Eustis High.
Deloris also ran a baton twirling summer camp each year that brought girls from all over the area as well as international countries like Belgium and France.
Yet Deloris remembers most fondly the times shared with the former students she spent the evening of February 20th with, students who shared her love of the grace and enjoyment that comes from baton twirling.
“The best part of baton twirling to me was looking behind me at all the little girls because whenever I would turn to see that they were doing what I was doing, they were all smiling,” she says.
Will she continue on with her love of baton twirling?
“Let me put it this way; we’re not twirling this year but that doesn’t mean we won’t twirl next year,” Deloris says with a smile.
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