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There were many corps back then in Connecticut , I marched in St. Peters Royalaires bpt ,ct 1974 -81 , my last year was 1980, I joined the Ct. Hurricanes. Royalaires competed in northeast ,garden state , and penn state circit

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"Connecticut Corps":

Throughout the late 1950's all through the 1960's there were INDEED "Many".

Fairfield County had:

St Raphaels Buccaneers, Musketeers & Marionettes.

Bridgeport PAL Cadets

St Anne's Loyalaires

Connecticut Royal Lancers

BFD Scarlet Knights

St Peters

St Stephens

Notre Dame All Girls

Colonades

"Right Up the Road":

Trumbull Troubadors

Trumbull Cadets

Milford Police Cadets/Shoreliners

Emerald Cadets (New Haven)

Conn Classics (New Haven)

Conn Grenidiers (New Britian)

Silver Falcons (Stamford)

Surfers (New London)

Fireettes (Norwich)

Oxford Explorers

Derby Cyclones

Norwalk Hot-Shots

Seymour Vanguards

Byram Stateliners

There were the "Merger" corps such as the "Emerald Buccaneers" (Golden Bucaneers & Emerald Cadets) that lasted a season or two, and several senior corps namely the Conn Hurricanes, Stratford Conn Yankees Torrington Vagabonds, and Bridgeport Troopers.

I apologize for any (most likely MANY) that I missed, and just can't think of at the moment.

I'm sure Andy Lisko, when he sees this can add to the number....

Elphaba

WWW

Edited by elphaba01
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"Connecticut Corps":

Throughout the late 1950's all through the 1960's there were INDEED "Many".

Fairfield County had:

St Raphaels Buccaneers, Musketeers & Marionettes.

Bridgeport PAL Cadets

St Anne's Loyalaires

Connecticut Royal Lancers

BFD Scarlet Knights

St Peters

St Stephens

Notre Dame All Girls

Colonades

"Right Up the Road":

Trumbull Troubadors

Trumbull Cadets

Milford Police Cadets/Shoreliners

Emerald Cadets (New Haven)

Conn Classics (New Haven)

Conn Grenidiers (New Britian)

Silver Falcons (Stamford)

Surfers (New London)

Fireettes (Norwich)

Oxford Explorers

Derby Cyclones

There were the "Merger" corps such as the "Emerald Buccaneers" (Golden Bucaneers & Emerald Cadets) that lasted a season or two, and several senior corps namely the Conn Hurricanes, Stratford Conn Yankees and Bridgeport Troopers.

I apologize for any (most likely MANY) that I missed, and just can't think of at the moment.

I'm sure Andy Lisko, when he sees this can add to the number....

Elphaba

WWW

Elphy ... I couldn't even due justice to naming a comprehensive list of the Jr and Sr corps of CT in the 50's, 60's and 70's ... several "lists" abound on the Internet ... I feel luck to have been a part of two of the best for their time: St. Raphael's Bucs and the Bpt. PAL ... mixed it up with the best of them in the 60's ... both corps also contributed greatly to the Hurricanes success through the years ...

:-)

Edited by ajlisko
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Greece Cadets' last year on the field was 1981. They merged with Rochester Patriots in '82 to form Fusion, and in '83 Greece's organization merged with the Gauchos to form the

Cadets of Upstate New York, which was only on the field in '83.

Sundowners (there were two of them, one in Eau Claire, WI, the other was an all-girl corps from Dumont, NJ). The WI corps was on the field through the '84 season, went inactive, then came back for their last two seasons

in '87 and '88. The NJ corps was on the field through '81.

Regiment Militaire was only known by that name in '74. They came back as Bleu Raeders for the 75, 76, 78, 79 & 80 seasons. In 81 they merged with Stardusters to form the Southernaires, who were active in 81 and 82.

Southernaires (see above).

Emerald Cadets were on the field under that name through the 75 season. (They had absorbed the Trumbull Cadets in 73.) In 76 they merged with the Golden Buccaneers to form the Emerald Buccaneers, who lasted

just that 76 season.

Emerald Knights (once again, there were more than one by that name. The IA corps was on the field under that name through the 90 season. In 91 they merged with the Knights organization. They came back as Nite Express

for the 91-96 seasons. The NY corps by the Emerald Knights name was on the field through 74. The Ontario corps by the EK name was on the field through 2002.

Silver Sabres (I presume you mean the KS corps.) They were initially on the field through the 78 season. They came back for one final time on the field in 2004.

Surfers' last year by that name was 76. (They absorbed the Willimantic Ambassadors in 71.) They became Sword Excalibur for the 77 through 80 seasons.

The Grenadiers were active under that name through 77. In 78 they merged with Mark Twain Cadets to form Empire State Express. They went back to using the Grenadiers name in 79, and returned to Empire State Express

in 80 & 82. In 83 they teamed up with Mello-Dears for a short time as New York Express. They were part of several other mergers in the seasons that followed.

Tri Town Cadets lasted under that name through the 74 season. They merged into the American Patrol in 75, and that corps was around through 77.

Buckeyes were active through 75. In 76 they merged with the Cleveland Caballaros (that is how this corps spelled its name), to form the Buckeyes Caballaros, which lasted through 84.

Des Plaines was on the field through 73, took 74 off, came back for the 75, 76 & 77 seasons. Of course they later became a senior corps.

Nee Hi's were on the field through 82.

Argonne was on the field through 79, went inactive, came back for the 83 & 84 seasons.

There was another Emerald Cadets out of Rochester NY which competed in the Penn/York circuit in the 60's....attached is their history from corpreps.....

The Emerald Cadets of Point Pleasant Incorporated

Irondequoit, (Rochester) New York

The Point Pleasant Fire Department of Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, New York, sponsored a fire tournament team, marching band, color guard and parade drum & bugle corps in one form or another from 1899 to 1958. These groups collectively were known as the “Point Pleasant Pea Pickers” at least from 1946 to 1958, incorporating the nick-name used by the fire department. By the mid and late 1950’s many fire departments were no longer capable of sponsoring drum & bugle corps since corps were getting larger and more expensive to maintain and were disbanding at a quick rate.

The Point Pleasant parade corps and color guard was led by Kenneth VanWuyckhyuse, who was their Drum Major and Corps Director. At a weekly rehearsal Mr.VanWuyckhyuse announced that the Fire Department was no longer financially capable of sponsoring the corps and that they were considering folding. William A. McGrath Sr. had just brought his three oldest children to join the Point Pleasant corps from another unit across town, known as the Chili Crimson Cadets who had just experienced a similar fate.

Rather than see the Point Pleasant corps fold, Mr. Van Wuyckhyuse asked Mr. McGrath, who had earlier drum corps experience, to manage the corps. Mr. McGrath had been the Drum Major and Acting Commander of the 344th Cadet-Training Squadron Army Air Corps Drum & Bugle Corps of Oklahoma City in 1944 and later Director of the Barnard Fire Department Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps of Greece (Rochester) New York from 1949 to 1961.

Mr. McGrath reorganized the unit as an independent group, remaining with the Point Pleasant Fire Department as a parade corps, also continuing on as a field competition corps. The name was changed to the Point Pleasant Cadets. The corps went on to become the Monroe County and Western New York Parade Champions from 1959 to 1961.

The Point Pleasant Cadets grew in size and scope and Mr. McGrath felt that the name of the unit needed to be changed to reflect competition status. He held a staff meeting to get some ideas as to what to name the corps. Several good ideas came up! The one that stuck was from his daughter Karen. Since the majority of the membership of the corps had two favorite corps, the Garfield Cadet and the St. Kevin’s Emerald Knights, it was her suggestion to take the first name of each corps and combine them into the Emerald Cadets. Mr. McGrath liked the idea, as it also fit in with his Army Air-Corps training days where the training unit that he was in was known as the “Air-Cadets”. The corps, still affiliated with the Point Pleasant Fire Department, officially became the Emerald Cadets of Point Pleasant Incorporated, better known as the Emerald Cadets.

In 1961 Mr. McGrath along with his wife Irene, who worked in the capacity of publicity director, had aspirations of changing from a parade corps to a competitive field marching and maneuvering corps. Irene wrote a monthly article for the old Drum Corps World informing drum corps enthusiasts of the latest developments of the Emerald Cadets and what was happening in Western New York. From 1961 to 1965, the horn line was instructed by Armand Bruni (no relation to Vince) and Ed Cozzolino. The business manager was Phil Smith. The marching instructor was Fred O’Connor. The drum-line was instructed by Guy Iannello, Larry Saxman and John Russi. The quartermaster was Ray Cody Sr. The Drum Majors were Kenneth VanWuyckhyuse and Richard (Dick) Jarvis. Color Guard Captain was Carol Fox. The corps Chaplin was Ray Hafner and the corps mascot was Shirley McGrath.

In order to maintain operations and meet the objective of being a field competition unit the corps maintained its parade schedule, operated a bingo game and held an annual indoor winter standstill competition known as “Sound Off”. The idea for the name “Sound Off” came from Mr. McGrath’s Army days in which a “Sound Off” segment is contained in a “Pass In Review” ceremony. The Emerald Cadets sponsored the “Sound Off” shows from 1960 to 1969, making it the main fund-raiser for the corps.

These “Sound Off” shows were well-known in drum corps circles as being unique and innovative. The main idea behind the show was to perform an outdoor show scaled down for an inside arena making the corps ready for summer competition. Each unit was informed ahead of time of the restricted floor space available and that they were required to make a marching entry then perform the rest of their field music in a standstill format then make a marching exit. Two separate prizes were awarded, one for the marching performance and one for the music standstill. The itinerary was usually a junior-based competition with a senior exhibition featuring corps from all over the U.S. and Canada.

Better known guests of “Sound Off” were the Garfield Cadets, Boston Crusaders, Blue Rock, St.Mary’s Cardinals, Toronto Optimists, De Lasalle, Phantom Regiment, Selden Cadets, Marion Cadets, Hawthorne Caballeros, Skyliners, Crusaders, Reilly Raiders. Up and coming corps were encouraged to participate to give them opportunity for more exposure on a large scale. We were particularly proud to have the Reilly Raiders in their debut performance back from their 1963 stand-down season. The show was always very well attended and something the fans looked forward to every year!

The Emerald Cadets were members of two competitive circuits, the New York Canadian, and the Penn York. We were occasionally guests of the Hudson Berkshire circuit, and maintained an independent competitive status as well. The corps had the proud distinction of being the Penn York circuit champions from 1963 to 1967 and New York State American Legion Seventh District champions in 1966. They were also winners of the Marion Ohio “Cavalcade of Music” in 1963, placed third in 1964 and won again in 1967.

The drum quartet and competition color guard were both well-known in competitive circles. The drum quartet won the New York Canadian Individual and Ensemble Competition in 1963 and 1964, as well as taking second in the VFW Nationals in Chicago in 1965. Bill Morrison won third place individual snare drum in the Archer Epler American Legion National Individual Competition in 1963, and Bill McGrath Jr. won the New York Canadian individual snare drum title in 1968 just five weeks before his age-out date. The color guard was the Canadian International Champions in 1962 and the Penn York Circuit champion color guard from 1963 to 1967. The competition guard was also members of the International Color Guard Circuit from 1965 to 1969 and placed fourth in the World Open Championships in Boston in 1968.

This corps had the proud distinction of performing as the Emerald Statesmen in 1966 and 67 as a result of a merger between the Emerald Cadets of Irondequoit and the Irondequoit Statesmen. With the Emerald Cadets, having a drum-line and color guard of supreme excellence and the Statesmen, having a great horn line of superior skills, the benefits of merging were quite evident. The Corps was co-directed by Bill McGrath Sr. and Vincent A. Bruni.

By this time the horn line was instructed by Truman W. Crawford and Ray Shahin. The drum-line by Doug Kleinhans and Bill McGrath Jr. The marching instructors were Bill McGrath Sr. and Vincent Bruni. The business managers were Irene McGrath, Joseph Guadagnino Sr. and Bob Davis and Harvey Martin. The Color Guard Captains were Sally Short in 1966, Janet Hafner in 1967. The Drum Majors were Steve Guadagnino, & Ron Bowks. The bingo chairman was Betty Short. The corps secretaries were Sandy Buck and Anne Spencer. The Irondequoit Statesmen who appeared in the finals in the World Open in 1965, placed 10th. The Emerald Statesmen placed 10th in the World Open in that same Boston Mass championship competition in 1966.

At the end of the 67 season the corps went back to their original name of Emerald Cadets and continued competitive endeavors in 1968 placing second in the Penn-York Championships. New instructors that were added to the brass staff for 1968 were Alex Molinich and Jack Bullock. The Color Guard Captain was Mickey Short, the Drum Major was James Gleason and Color Guard Instructor was Karen McGrath.

Thirty-Seven members of the Emerald Cadets / Emerald Statesmen served in the U.S. armed forces between 1965 and 1968. Six of these soldiers served in combat status. All came back except for William Seiler who died in service to our country in Vietnam. Mr. McGrath’s two sons were also military bound, William to the Marine Corps and later Thomas to the Air Force.

At the end of the ‘68 season McGrath Sr. suspended operations of the corps and gave all of the legal documentation to his sons. When McGrath Jr. returned home from the Marine Corps he had the legal authority to re-start “The Emerald Cadets” but chose not to do so until an age-line could be established between Senior & Junior Corps. William Jr. appealed to many of the nations top Senior Corps leaders to establish a permanent age line between Senior and Junior Corps but his pleas were largely ignored. This common sense age-line proposal was never adopted by the Senior Corps community therefore he never restarted the corps!

This corps was and is a tight knit unit with its membership holding occasional reunions, picnics as well as participating in weddings, baptisms, confirmations and other special events. This corps was like a family who stuck together through thick and thin and is still very much involved with each other to this day!

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There was another Emerald Cadets out of Rochester NY which competed in the Penn/York circuit in the 60's....attached is their history from corpreps.....

The Emerald Cadets of Point Pleasant Incorporated

Irondequoit, (Rochester) New York

The Point Pleasant Fire Department of Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, New York, sponsored a fire tournament team, marching band, color guard and parade drum & bugle corps in one form or another from 1899 to 1958. These groups collectively were known as the "Point Pleasant Pea Pickers" at least from 1946 to 1958, incorporating the nick-name used by the fire department. By the mid and late 1950's many fire departments were no longer capable of sponsoring drum & bugle corps since corps were getting larger and more expensive to maintain and were disbanding at a quick rate.

The Point Pleasant parade corps and color guard was led by Kenneth VanWuyckhyuse, who was their Drum Major and Corps Director. At a weekly rehearsal Mr.VanWuyckhyuse announced that the Fire Department was no longer financially capable of sponsoring the corps and that they were considering folding. William A. McGrath Sr. had just brought his three oldest children to join the Point Pleasant corps from another unit across town, known as the Chili Crimson Cadets who had just experienced a similar fate.

Rather than see the Point Pleasant corps fold, Mr. Van Wuyckhyuse asked Mr. McGrath, who had earlier drum corps experience, to manage the corps. Mr. McGrath had been the Drum Major and Acting Commander of the 344th Cadet-Training Squadron Army Air Corps Drum & Bugle Corps of Oklahoma City in 1944 and later Director of the Barnard Fire Department Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps of Greece (Rochester) New York from 1949 to 1961.

Mr. McGrath reorganized the unit as an independent group, remaining with the Point Pleasant Fire Department as a parade corps, also continuing on as a field competition corps. The name was changed to the Point Pleasant Cadets. The corps went on to become the Monroe County and Western New York Parade Champions from 1959 to 1961.

The Point Pleasant Cadets grew in size and scope and Mr. McGrath felt that the name of the unit needed to be changed to reflect competition status. He held a staff meeting to get some ideas as to what to name the corps. Several good ideas came up! The one that stuck was from his daughter Karen. Since the majority of the membership of the corps had two favorite corps, the Garfield Cadet and the St. Kevin's Emerald Knights, it was her suggestion to take the first name of each corps and combine them into the Emerald Cadets. Mr. McGrath liked the idea, as it also fit in with his Army Air-Corps training days where the training unit that he was in was known as the "Air-Cadets". The corps, still affiliated with the Point Pleasant Fire Department, officially became the Emerald Cadets of Point Pleasant Incorporated, better known as the Emerald Cadets.

In 1961 Mr. McGrath along with his wife Irene, who worked in the capacity of publicity director, had aspirations of changing from a parade corps to a competitive field marching and maneuvering corps. Irene wrote a monthly article for the old Drum Corps World informing drum corps enthusiasts of the latest developments of the Emerald Cadets and what was happening in Western New York. From 1961 to 1965, the horn line was instructed by Armand Bruni (no relation to Vince) and Ed Cozzolino. The business manager was Phil Smith. The marching instructor was Fred O'Connor. The drum-line was instructed by Guy Iannello, Larry Saxman and John Russi. The quartermaster was Ray Cody Sr. The Drum Majors were Kenneth VanWuyckhyuse and Richard (Dick) Jarvis. Color Guard Captain was Carol Fox. The corps Chaplin was Ray Hafner and the corps mascot was Shirley McGrath.

In order to maintain operations and meet the objective of being a field competition unit the corps maintained its parade schedule, operated a bingo game and held an annual indoor winter standstill competition known as "Sound Off". The idea for the name "Sound Off" came from Mr. McGrath's Army days in which a "Sound Off" segment is contained in a "Pass In Review" ceremony. The Emerald Cadets sponsored the "Sound Off" shows from 1960 to 1969, making it the main fund-raiser for the corps.

These "Sound Off" shows were well-known in drum corps circles as being unique and innovative. The main idea behind the show was to perform an outdoor show scaled down for an inside arena making the corps ready for summer competition. Each unit was informed ahead of time of the restricted floor space available and that they were required to make a marching entry then perform the rest of their field music in a standstill format then make a marching exit. Two separate prizes were awarded, one for the marching performance and one for the music standstill. The itinerary was usually a junior-based competition with a senior exhibition featuring corps from all over the U.S. and Canada.

Better known guests of "Sound Off" were the Garfield Cadets, Boston Crusaders, Blue Rock, St.Mary's Cardinals, Toronto Optimists, De Lasalle, Phantom Regiment, Selden Cadets, Marion Cadets, Hawthorne Caballeros, Skyliners, Crusaders, Reilly Raiders. Up and coming corps were encouraged to participate to give them opportunity for more exposure on a large scale. We were particularly proud to have the Reilly Raiders in their debut performance back from their 1963 stand-down season. The show was always very well attended and something the fans looked forward to every year!

The Emerald Cadets were members of two competitive circuits, the New York Canadian, and the Penn York. We were occasionally guests of the Hudson Berkshire circuit, and maintained an independent competitive status as well. The corps had the proud distinction of being the Penn York circuit champions from 1963 to 1967 and New York State American Legion Seventh District champions in 1966. They were also winners of the Marion Ohio "Cavalcade of Music" in 1963, placed third in 1964 and won again in 1967.

The drum quartet and competition color guard were both well-known in competitive circles. The drum quartet won the New York Canadian Individual and Ensemble Competition in 1963 and 1964, as well as taking second in the VFW Nationals in Chicago in 1965. Bill Morrison won third place individual snare drum in the Archer Epler American Legion National Individual Competition in 1963, and Bill McGrath Jr. won the New York Canadian individual snare drum title in 1968 just five weeks before his age-out date. The color guard was the Canadian International Champions in 1962 and the Penn York Circuit champion color guard from 1963 to 1967. The competition guard was also members of the International Color Guard Circuit from 1965 to 1969 and placed fourth in the World Open Championships in Boston in 1968.

This corps had the proud distinction of performing as the Emerald Statesmen in 1966 and 67 as a result of a merger between the Emerald Cadets of Irondequoit and the Irondequoit Statesmen. With the Emerald Cadets, having a drum-line and color guard of supreme excellence and the Statesmen, having a great horn line of superior skills, the benefits of merging were quite evident. The Corps was co-directed by Bill McGrath Sr. and Vincent A. Bruni.

By this time the horn line was instructed by Truman W. Crawford and Ray Shahin. The drum-line by Doug Kleinhans and Bill McGrath Jr. The marching instructors were Bill McGrath Sr. and Vincent Bruni. The business managers were Irene McGrath, Joseph Guadagnino Sr. and Bob Davis and Harvey Martin. The Color Guard Captains were Sally Short in 1966, Janet Hafner in 1967. The Drum Majors were Steve Guadagnino, & Ron Bowks. The bingo chairman was Betty Short. The corps secretaries were Sandy Buck and Anne Spencer. The Irondequoit Statesmen who appeared in the finals in the World Open in 1965, placed 10th. The Emerald Statesmen placed 10th in the World Open in that same Boston Mass championship competition in 1966.

At the end of the 67 season the corps went back to their original name of Emerald Cadets and continued competitive endeavors in 1968 placing second in the Penn-York Championships. New instructors that were added to the brass staff for 1968 were Alex Molinich and Jack Bullock. The Color Guard Captain was Mickey Short, the Drum Major was James Gleason and Color Guard Instructor was Karen McGrath.

Thirty-Seven members of the Emerald Cadets / Emerald Statesmen served in the U.S. armed forces between 1965 and 1968. Six of these soldiers served in combat status. All came back except for William Seiler who died in service to our country in Vietnam. Mr. McGrath's two sons were also military bound, William to the Marine Corps and later Thomas to the Air Force.

At the end of the '68 season McGrath Sr. suspended operations of the corps and gave all of the legal documentation to his sons. When McGrath Jr. returned home from the Marine Corps he had the legal authority to re-start "The Emerald Cadets" but chose not to do so until an age-line could be established between Senior & Junior Corps. William Jr. appealed to many of the nations top Senior Corps leaders to establish a permanent age line between Senior and Junior Corps but his pleas were largely ignored. This common sense age-line proposal was never adopted by the Senior Corps community therefore he never restarted the corps!

This corps was and is a tight knit unit with its membership holding occasional reunions, picnics as well as participating in weddings, baptisms, confirmations and other special events. This corps was like a family who stuck together through thick and thin and is still very much involved with each other to this day!

Wow there are some GREAT people associated with Emerald Cadets. Thanks for the history, amazing!

Edited by DreaminMello
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Some great corps out of Ontario too

Midlanders

Opti-Knights

Opti Lancers

Precious Blood Cardinals

Flying Dutchmen/Northstars

Durham Girls

Krescendos

How about....

Syracuse marauders

Utica Yankees

76er's

Eagles of Verona

Alpine Girls

Ambassadors (PA)

Simplex Minutemen

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Some great corps out of Ontario too

Midlanders

Opti-Knights

Opti Lancers

Precious Blood Cardinals

Flying Dutchmen/Northstars

Durham Girls

Krescendos

How about....

Syracuse marauders

Utica Yankees

76er's

Eagles of Verona

Alpine Girls

Ambassadors (PA)

Simplex Minutemen

Toronto Optimists

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They, along with Etobicoke/Oakland/DeLasalle Oaklands, Seneca Princemen/Optimists are a given.

Toronto Optimists

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I have got to throw in two other corps from north of the boarder; Les Metropolitans from Montreal and the La Salle Cadets from Ottawa. La Salle Cadets or Cadets La Salle, all the same, were a great crowd pleaser from the 70s and were finalists at the World Open.

Edited by rudidrummer73
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Royal Coachmen, North Tonawanda, NY

Originally called The Aristocrats (early 60's) and sponsored by The Rescue Hose Fire Co. the corps changed name to The Royal Coachmen in the mid 1960's and were a parade corps until 1970. In 1970 the corps went into field competition and were finalists at the 1970 Penn-York Circuit Championships. The corps mainly competed in NY in 1970 and 1971. 1971 saw the great Bill McGrath, Sr. write and teach the drill for the corps and John Hathaway taught the drum line. The horn charts were written by Danny Oldenburg. Hathaway became the director of the corps after the fire dept. fired the corps director. At the conclusion of the 1971 season, the officers of the fire dept. were waiting for the corps as we returned from a parade and took all uniforms and instruments and we were told the corps was NO MORE! Through the efforts of John Hathaway, parents, staff the corps was able to purchase back all equipment. 1972 saw Corky Fabrizio and Steve Cooley write and teach the horn line. Several drum corps greats came out to work with the corps over the years....Dick Hoppe, Dick Lewis, Doug Kleinhans, Bill Dekker, Dick Pronti.

The corps competed at the US Open in 1972 for the first time and, although not finalist, did a respectable job and defeated a few corps from NY that they hadn't beaten before. The winter of 1973 Hathaway formed the NT Open to attract major drum corps to The Tonawandas. 1974 saw the Blue Devils, Toronto Optimists, Argonne rebels, Regimente Militaire, etc. invade the city for a few days.

The winter of 1975 saw Hathaway revamp the instructional staff and hire Ted Key to write and teach the brass line. Doug Kleinhans and Bill Dekker, the same with percussion and Bob Stone wrote and taught the drill. By the end of the season Ron Bowks, Joe Kraft and Frank Michaels were added. The corps won the 1976 NT Open "A" Class Championship by defeating the Peterborough Krescendo and Simplex Minutemen. The next night they competed in the Open Class category and placed 10th (won by Marquis). Prior to leaving for DCI in Philadelphia the corps director and business director resigned due to parents and the corps was force to fend for themselves in Philly. Upon arrival, the corps hotel booking was screwd up and the corps only slept for 2 hours before waking up and preparing for prelims. The corps did not place in the top 10. The management returned to the corps 2 weeks later and things started looking up. The 76 season saw the corps with 36 horns, 7 shares, 4 triples, 4 BD, 4 cymbals, 8 rifles and 18 CG.

1977 was looking good.....May saw the management leaving permanently and in a desperate move the new director merged with a corps called the Frontiersmen and gave in to their demands. The Royal Coachmen were no more! Many members took off for other corps and all we have are memories.

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