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“These were the men of yesteryear,
The men we knew so well,
Who blazed the trail with head held high,
To fame, international.
These were the men who played the game,
To victory, or defeat.
Were classified by their competitors,
Incomparable, elite.
These were the men, whose horns lie mute,
And now have faltered in step;
Whose drums have beaten their last tattoo,
And to whom we are in debt.”
– Arthur “Scotty” Chappelle
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“Sitting in his old reclining chair, George Bonfiglio watched that old 1936 movie, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, pondering what the future would bring for his desire to resurrect his recently deceased drum corps.
At that moment, Bongiflio knew his fledgling drum corps — with no home, no equipment and no money — had finally acquired a name: the 27th Lancers.” …
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“Formed in 1946 along the banks of the Susquehanna River in Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania, the corps was originally named the Longshoremen and represented VFW Post 1462 on the west shore of the river, across from Harrisburg.” …
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“The origin of the Knights actually goes back to a Boy Scout corps formed in the 1930s in Kewanee, Illinois. The American Legion Post took over sponsorship and the corps became a Sons of the American Legion junior corps, competing through 1942 when World War II took most of its members.”
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“One of the many corps founded after WWII, the Crusaders were actually started as the Hilton, NY Fire Department Drum and Bugle Corps in 1947.” …
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“The Norwood Park Drum and Bugle Corps was formed in 1928 by William Widmayer, who was their director and first instructor.” …
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“While the history of the Hutchinson, Kansas Sky Ryders begins in 1955, the story really began 32 years earlier when the local American Legion post started a senior drum and bugle corps.”
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“In Pittsburgh during early 1947, 12 men from Homewood American Legion Post 351 organized the senior corps that was to become the Pittsburgh Rockets.” …
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“The Vanguard was originally formed in 1935 as a community group of the International Order of the Svithiod.”
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“In March 1946 John Simpson, just discharged from Gen. Patton’s U.S. Army tank corps, assembled a group of former junior drum and bugle corps members at the Riverside American Legion Post.”
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