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Supposedly, the merger between the QCK and EK was only supposed to last 1 season, as there were logistical and creative problems from the start. I remember talking to an EK staffer on the phone about it at the time, and he wasn't particularly complimentary about the IL contribution. The show that resulted was MOR anyway.

The corps was "The Knights" until 1988 when we moved base of operations from the town of Geneseo to Bettendorf, IA, which was one of the Quad Cities, hence the name change. 88 was the last year we made Top 25. Bringing the corps onto and then off the field for that Semifinals show was one of the proudest moments of my life. We made up over 40 points that summer. We hasd the longest continuous Associate streak in DCI that decade, 1981 thru 88.

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Adding to the confusion, the Emerald Knights were formed from a merger of the Cedar Rapids Bees (feeder corps to the CR Cadets/Grenadiers) and the Scarlet Angels drill team.

BTW, CR is only ~80 miles from the Quads.

Thanks for those updates. It has been quite a few years since we have been to Cedar Rapids, I thought it was much further away than that from the Quads.

So there have been at least 4 corps(or continuations of corps) in the Quad Cities, and 5 different corps(or continuations) in Cedar Rapids? Did any of these corps merge into the Colts? I seem to recall in the mid 90s, after making finals a couple of times, the Colts really seemed to jump into another level. Or maybe a lot of these kids filtered into the Colts after the mergers/separations? It seems like Iowa had a lot more drum corps action than I remember. I remember also another corps from Iowa that had kids that looked like they were probably 6-8 years old and probably a little below the level of the Colt Cadets. For some reason I am thinking they were called the Kilties(not to be confused with the corps from Wisconsin-unless there was some affiliation?)

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Thank you. I originally had 1991 and then started to doubt my info, so I changed it. I've changed it back.

Why didn't the merger work out? I don't remember ever hearing that.

It wasn't any one thing but a lot things that doomed this relationship.The biggest was problems between the staff members. There were other things that could have been overcome with time.

This was really just a trial to see merging would work but also a way for both organizations to survive a bit longer. Both corps had membership challenges. EK had a big percussion section but were short on brass. QCK had brass but could not get enough percussion players. It was agreed to try it for a year and if it went well continuing would be discussed at the end of the year. It didn't go well so we separated again.

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Thanks for those updates. It has been quite a few years since we have been to Cedar Rapids, I thought it was much further away than that from the Quads.

So there have been at least 4 corps(or continuations of corps) in the Quad Cities, and 5 different corps(or continuations) in Cedar Rapids? Did any of these corps merge into the Colts? I seem to recall in the mid 90s, after making finals a couple of times, the Colts really seemed to jump into another level. Or maybe a lot of these kids filtered into the Colts after the mergers/separations? It seems like Iowa had a lot more drum corps action than I remember. I remember also another corps from Iowa that had kids that looked like they were probably 6-8 years old and probably a little below the level of the Colt Cadets. For some reason I am thinking they were called the Kilties(not to be confused with the corps from Wisconsin-unless there was some affiliation?)

Probably the Dechorah Kilties

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Probably the Dechorah Kilties

It was the Decorah Kilties, and I was in a parking lot with them and noticed the same thing MisterA noted about the average age of the members. I don't believe it was as extreme as he noted, but it was substantially younger than a typical corps.

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It was the Decorah Kilties, and I was in a parking lot with them and noticed the same thing MisterA noted about the average age of the members. I don't believe it was as extreme as he noted, but it was substantially younger than a typical corps.

I'm sorry, I think may have stated it wrong. I think there were a few kids in the corps, who from the stands looked like they were under the age of ten. One girl in the guard looked to be 6 or 7 from the stands. And one of the boys in the drumline didn't look any older than the age of 8. And there were only a few kids in the corps that looked to be in their teens. I always thought it was kind of cool they were out there competing, giving it the best of their abilities. I am guessing a corps like that was probably almost all fairly local kids, and I would almost guess they could be in the competition for the youngest average age of any corps ever. I thought it was sad, given their ages, that they didn't receive a bigger crowd response at the end of their show. I think my wife and I may have been the only ones in the crowd that night to give them a standing ovation.

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MisterA: CorpReps has scores for Decorah Kilties for 1991 and 1996 through 2002, and repertoires for them from 1997 through 2002. I remember seeing them in Whitewater well before that, like in the very early 1980s. Drum Corps Wiki states they were formed in 1932. Drum Corps World has an interview with Colts' director Greg Orwoll that informs us Greg grew up across the street from where the corps rehearsed in Decorah. He mentions in this article that he "aged out of the Kilties at age 14," and became an instructor and music arranger for the corps. Later, after marching with Precisionnaires up through their last season in 1976, he became director of the corps his senior year in high school.

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The Knights first started in Kewaunee, a small town in western Illinois, as the Black Knights, but changed their name because there was another Black Knights in Belleville, IL, down by St. Louis. They then moved to Geneseo and became the Geneseo Knights, then eventually just The Knights. What you're thinking of is the 1991 merger with Emerald Knights of Cedar Rapids, IA, to form the Quad City Knights. The corps was as high as 15th in 1982 and 16th in 1983 and appeared for some time to have a lock on making DCI World Finals after placing 9th at DCI Midwest Prelims with a 68.85, outscoring eventual World finalists Freelancers, Cavaliers, Sky Ryders and Bridgemen. The next day in Rockford, they scored a 59.90 and despite hitting a 70.50 five days later, never really recovered and 14 days later, scored a 73.90 at the DCI World Semifinals, finishing in 16th behind Crossmen, Alliance and Troopers; Crossmen and Troopers placing under them at that DCI Midwest Prelims show.

Mr. Boo, with much much much much MUCCCCCHHHHHH due respect. I'm fairly certain that both the "Quad City Knights" and the Emerald Knights both existed separately in 1988. Both under those very names but separate. It was my understanding that it was a simple name change by the Geneseo Knights. In fact, I have the 1988 Original VHS Tape and it has a highlight performance from the Emerald Knights (who were one of the top Class A corps for that year).

Check your info, my very smart and knowlesgable friend. :-)

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Mr. Boo, with much much much much MUCCCCCHHHHHH due respect. I'm fairly certain that both the "Quad City Knights" and the Emerald Knights both existed separately in 1988. Both under those very names but separate. It was my understanding that it was a simple name change by the Geneseo Knights. In fact, I have the 1988 Original VHS Tape and it has a highlight performance from the Emerald Knights (who were one of the top Class A corps for that year).

Check your info, my very smart and knowlesgable friend. :-)

So it looks like both corps, Emerald Knights and Quad City Knights, competed in 1988 and 1989. In 1990 I see scores for Emerald Knights and something called "Knight Command". From 1991 to 1993, there are scores for only the "Knights", no Emerald Knights. In 1994 there are scores for the Quad City Knights again. Of course, I found this info in fromthepressbox and it could be incorrect.

Edited by DAvery
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