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… ” The first germ of an idea that grew into DCI came about when Jim Jones of the Troopers and Don Warren of the Cavaliers — two icons of the Drum Corps activity — happened to be standing next to each other in the men’s restroom at a Delavan, WI show.” …
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“The merger that became the world-famous Crossmen came about when two established corps decided they wanted to shoot for stardom.” …
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“The history of junior drum corps has been full of corps created by mergers. Most of these corps have been successes in the short term, but were unable to succeed in the long term. The exceptions that managed to to survive the first few years, however, have generally been notable successes.
Such a corps was North Star from North Shore, MA.” …
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“Throughout the closing years of the Century, DCA continued to grow and prosper. Overall, corps got larger and better.” …
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“One of the oldest and most successful circuits in the drum corps arena is Drum Corps Associates. Prior to the establishment of DCA, senior corps competed in loosely knit geographic areas dominated by strong contest sponsors and the only thing close to an “establishment” was the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.” …
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“In January 1959, American Legion Post No. 199 in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and the Hawthorne Caballeros joined forces to start the Muchachos. Ralph Silverbrand, drum major of the Caballeros, and Marge Moore, wife of the former post commander, were the two main forces behind the humble beginnings.” …
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“The year was 1969. Two senior drum & bugles corps, the Holy Rosary Caballeros and the Skylarks from Providence, Rhode Island, merged. Rick Harrington was instrumental in getting the corps started by calling members from the disbanded Holy Rosary Caballeros and getting them to join.
He called Gil Silva and Silva told him he would be here for three weeks – and ended up staying for 30 years.” …
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“One of the oldest church-sponsored drum corps in the East was St. Lucy’s Cadets from Newark, NJ.
Organized in 1924 as a fife, drum and bugle corps, St. Lucy’s appeared in numerous parades and concerts,
both locally and nationally, and won several national titles in standstill competitions.”…
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“One of the great themes of history or literature is of the outsider who comes out of nowhere, reaches the top and then fades away.
In Drum Corps Associates, there is no better example of the obscure unit that rises, burns brightly and then collapses, than the Steel City Ambassadors of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania”…
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“Blue Rock was founded in 1958 in Wilmington, Delaware and Penns Grove, New Jersey. Oddly enough, Blue Rock’s origins were as a senior corps. But with the other well-established seniors such as the Archer-Epler Musketeers and Reilly Raiders in Philadelphia, and the Yankee Rebels in Baltimore, the new corps from Delaware was unable to establish a foothold.
So in 1960 Blue Rock was reformed as a junior corps.”…