Kathy Larsen – band mom extraordinaire

Every band needs a mom, and it helps if the mom sews and is organized, personable, generous and perseveres.

Kathy Larsen has volunteered with The Pride since 1998. Her tasks include fitting, mending and hemming the band’s uniforms.

All of those qualities describe The Pride of the Dakotas supermom Kathy Larsen, who has been altering hem lengths and assembling the pieces of the South Dakota State University marching band since 1998. “She’s one in a million,” said Jim McKinney, the former Pride director who recruited Larsen.

“You can imagine it’s a horrible job to issue all those uniform parts. We were trying to find someone who would organize it and (as a bonus) Kathy would also do the hemming of the pants,” McKinney said.

Larsen, who learned to sew at age 8, already was working with Brookings High School and SDSU theater costumes when McKinney asked her to take over the SDSU band responsibilities. Since then she has added care of the SDSU choir tuxedos and dresses to her volunteer duties.

“It’s not that I can’t say no. I think there’s a need. I enjoy doing it and I think it keeps me pretty young,” said Larsen, who turned 67 Sept. 1.

McKinney complimented the hardworking Larsen for her “sticktuitiveness. It’s really a year-round job, collecting the uniforms, making sure everybody gets things back, getting them to the cleaners, organizing them after they get back from the cleaners and having them ready to issue in the fall.”

In the fall, Larsen spends 15 to 20 hours per week on Pride matters; more when fitting uniforms at the start of the year.

Those are 8- to 10-hour days. Even though Larsen schedules a couple of days in the Christy Ballroom in Pugsley for fittings, there are students who can’t make it in during those hours. “You have to accommodate people. I set days for fitting, but I give that option for them to call me and schedule a fitting,” Larsen said.

She would rather be accommodating mom than supermom to the rescue, but Larsen has had her share of that duty as well.

“When we have returning students, I put their uniform in bags. They are told to try on their pants and jackets before game day. If it doesn’t fit or they split the back out of their pants, I’m running back to Christy to get a uniform. Kids sometimes don’t realize they’re growing up and sometimes out,” she said.

But they do realize they have a special band mom.

Larsen, who makes her own music as a clarinetist in the community band, said, “The students have such a good personality. They’re very respectful. They’re always saying ‘Thank you for doing this Kathy.’ I just really enjoy working with the Pride and will continue to do it as long as I can and as long they want me to do it.”

Dave Graves