Did you know that the term quarter staff has nothing to do with length of the item? It comes from the old usage of such wooden sticks as a means to defeat an enemy without killing him, as in, giving him quarter. The meaning of it has been lost as the word quarter being used to mean mercy has fallen from popularity. So the next time you hear someone refer to a quarter staff, don't think you can get it from them for 25 cents.
I could see why you think there was only 1 staff member at that time. But when one of us is on, we all are.Staff is a unit. Staff is one.(We may, on occasion separate once in a while)
