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After two years of coming oh-so-close, Derek DeRoche finally walked away with the Leonard J. Waxdeck Memorial Trophy on Friday as winner of the 43rd annual Piedmont High School Birdcalling Contest.
Derek, a junior, finished third two years ago with his version of the mating call of the Atlantic Puffin. Last year, he placed second with his imitation of a flamingo.
But this time he and his friends, sophomore Eric Sezgen and senior Eric Wheeler, overcame a faulty microphone and wowed the judges with their rendition of the Great Blue Heron.
"They had the most authentic call, by far," explained judge Matthew Callahan, who took second place in the 1984 birdcalling contest with his call of the Western Brow n Pelican.
Senior Jackie Gage and sophomores Katharine Marley and Anna Kritikos placed second this year with their spirited version of the Blackbellied Sand Grouse; and senior Lillian Meagher and her freshman brother, James, took third with their call of the American White Pelican.
After the contest, Principal Randall Booker handed Derek, Eric and Eric the coveted trophy, which bears the name of the 42 previous winners.
"You guys can take it home over the weekend, but you'll have to bring it back on Monday so we can engrave your names on it," he said.
Immediately, Eric Wheeler turned the trophy over to Derek.
"Here, man. It's yours. You deserve it," he said, as Eric Sezgen nodded assent.
Derek
"I can't believe it," he said, "especially after the trouble we had with the mike. But I guess that only added to the humor."
Jackie, Katherine and Anna seemed equally pleased with their second-place finish, especially since this was their first attempt.
"We played the three daughters in 'Fiddler On The Roof' last year," said Jackie. "We were talking about the birdcalling contest, and we decided to go for it. But we never expected to do this well."
The birdcalling contest was founded in 1963, when a student asked Waxdeck, a biology teacher, "Wax, what can we do to liven things up here?"
For the first few years the contest took place in Waxdeck's classroom. But soon other students and teachers were dropping by to watch.
The contest, which had eight acts performed by 21 students Friday, was moved to the auditorium, the Alan J. Harvey Theater, where it rapidly became the hottest ticket in town.
"There were TV sound trucks lined up around the block," recalled Callahan. "It's more low-key now, more mellow."
One of the contest's biggest fans was Johnny Carson, who hosted Waxdeck and the contest winners on "The Tonight Show" for 17 straight years until Carson's retirement in 1992.
Waxdeck died two years later, and there were fears that the contest wouldn't survive.
But the people of Piedmont refused to let it die. A group of parents and former birdcallers revived the competition.
Feelers were put out to Jay Leno to continue the tradition of having the students on "The Tonight Show." But Leno, who was still trying to escape Carson's shadow, refused to touch anything that reminded people of his predecessor.
Fortunately, "Late Show" host David Letterman was happy to step in and have the kids on his program. And there they have appeared ever since.
Over the years, the contest has evolved to reflect changing times. Gone is the controversial "Miss Birdcalling" beauty pageant, which was cringe-worthy even in the old days. Gone, too, is the elaborate mock formality that Waxdeck used to delight in.
"The contest definitely had its tongue stuck firmly in its cheek back then," Callahan said. "The introductory skits are also longer. And Waxdeck always made us wear three-piece suits. But the biggest difference is that the calls are a lot more authentic now."
That's probably because the current judges actually know something about birds, unlike the old days, in which the judging panel was usually composed of local celebrities.
In addition to Callahan, this year's judges were Denise Wight, who teaches birding classes for the Berkeley Adult School and leads Audubon Society walks, and Andrew Willats, who teaches biology and environmental studies at Piedmont High.
Now comes the waiting to find out who will be selected to appear on the Letterman show. The date has already been selected — this coming Thursday. But the decision on who will appear won't be made until Letterman and his producers have viewed a tape of the contest that Booker will send to them on Monday.
"We don't know for sure whom they will select," he said. "But for the last three years they've picked the first-, second- and third-place winners."
