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| WELCOME TO THE SKOKIE INDIANS DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS SECTION. HERE YOU WILL FIND THE HISTORY OF THE SKOKIE INDIANS, OF AMERICAN LEGION POST 320, THAT I WROTE FOR DRUM CORPS WORLD'S BOOK "THE HISTORY OF DRUM CORPS - VOLUME #2". STEVE VICKERS, PUBLISHER OF THIS BOOK, ASKED ME TO WRITE THIS HISTORY BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE STEPPED FORWARD TO DO SO. THIS BOOK, "THE HISTORY OF DRUM CORPS - VOLUME #2", FEATURES HISTORIES OF THE MOST FAMOUS, INFLUENTIAL AND SUCCESSFUL DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS. STEVE VICKERS DIDN'T WANT TO PUBLISH THIS BOOK WITHOUT INCLUDING A HISTORY OF THE SKOKIE INDIANS DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS. NOT EVER BEING A MEMBER OF THAT CORPS, IT CERTAINLY WAS CHALLENGING FOR ME TO WRITE THEIR HISTORY BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE THAT I HAD. THE INFORMATION THAT I USED TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF THE SKOKIE INDIANS DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS WAS GATHERED MOSTLY FROM DRUM CORPS PUBLICATIONS OF THEIR ERA. COPYRIGHT 2007. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. |
The History of the Skokie Indians Drum & Bugle Corps
By George Fennell
Copyright 2007
The Skokie, Illinois, American Legion Post #320 Indians drum and bugle corps was organized in 1947 and was
manned almost entirely by World War I veterans. Some of the original members were former members of the old
Evanston, Illinois, American Legion Post #42 drum and bugle corps. World War II veterans began appearing at
rehearsals in 1949.
Their original uniforms consisted of blue coats, white breeches, black puttees and white Sam Browne belts.
In 1948 the Skokie Indians competed at their first American Legion National Championship in Miami, Florida, and
came in 29th place. They did not, however, compete at any of the next three American Legion Nationals which were
held in Philadelphia in 1949, in Los Angeles in 1950 and in Miami in 1951.
Actually, the Skokie Indians left the competitive ranks after the 1948 season and carried on as a concert and parade
corps until the 1952 season.
In 1952, the Skokie Indians were outfitted in new uniforms which consisted of black trousers with white side stripes,
white jackets trimmed with red and black, wide red shoulder and waist sashes along with long red side sashes. Their
shakos were black with white trim and topped with brilliant red plumes.
The Skokie Indians also had white satin blouses that they wore in parades.
After a winter of hard work the Skokie Indians re-entered competition in 1952 with a corps consisting of 24 buglers,
4 field drums, 2 cymbals, 2 bass drums and a color guard of 9 men. Arthur Rippel was the Musical Director which is
probably why the Skokie Indians were also called “Rip’s Raiders”. Also, Leonard Piekarski was in charge of the drill,
Arvin Bartlett Jr. was the drum major and Bill Tornow was Color Guard Sgt.
In 1952 at the American Legion National Championship in New York the Skokie Indians finished in 7th place after
placing 8th in prelims. Earlier that summer they unseated Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison American Legion Post
#118 Knights of Light as Illinois American Legion state champions after an 18 year reign.
The Skokie Indians then went on an 8 year run of their own by winning every Illinois American Legion State
Championship from 1952 thru 1960.
On 8-01-53 the Skokie Indians sponsored their first “Music In Motion” drum and bugle corps competition and what a
competition it was! This outstanding local contest was won by Archer-Epler, followed by the second place St.
Vincent Cadets. Third went to the Chicago Grenadiers, fourth to the Chicago Cavaliers, Mel Tierney took fifth
followed by the Boys of 76 in sixth and the Evanston , Ill., Lancers in seventh. Archer-Epler and St. Vincent Cadets
were in the Midwest on their way to the VFW Nationals in Milwaukee.
In St. Louis at the 1953 American Legion National Championship the Skokie Indians continued their rise to
prominence by placing 9th in prelims and 6th in finals. In St. Louis the Skokie Indians again fielded 24 bugles, four
snare drums, two bass drums and two cymbals.
Two days after the 1953 American Legion Nationals in St. Louis there was a big contest in Cape Girardeau, MO,
sponsored by the Golden Troopers. This contest featured a line-up that included many top Eastern corps which
was a very rare treat for Midwestern drum corps fans. Three Junior corps competed with St. Joseph’s Cadets
taking first; St. Vincent’s Cadets in second and the Chicago Cavaliers in third. The Senior corps competition
finished with the Hawthorne Caballeros in first; New York Skyliners in second; Connecticut Yankees in third and the
Skokie Indians in fourth place. The Skokie Indians marched with ten holes due to members that had to return to
Chicago right after the American Legion Nationals which hurt their performance.
Following the 1953 American Legion Nationals there was talk all over Chicagoland that the Skokie Indians’ 24-man
horn line was never going to take the corps any farther than the Skokie Indians did in St. Louis.
Fortunately, right before Christmas of 1953 about a dozen ex-Mel Tierney Vanguard drum corps veterans joined
the Skokie Indians which increased their horn line to 33 men.
At the 1954 American Legion Nationals in Washington, D.C., the Skokie Indians jumped from their 8th place finish in
prelims to 2nd place in finals.
For 1955 the Skokie Indians added three tenor drums to their drum line which made all the difference in the world
for them. Then, after placing fifth in prelims at the 1955 American Legion Nationals in Miami, the Skokie Indians
came back in finals to win the American Legion National Championship.
At the Illinois American Legion State Championship, snare drummer Larry LaVita passed out just as he was
crossing the finish line. When he fell, he landed on the leg guard of his snare drum and fractured two ribs. Larry
LaVita didn’t return to competition until prelims at the 1956 American Legion Nationals in Los Angeles. The Skokie
Indians took first place in prelims and in finals, thus winning their second American Legion National Championship in
a row.
During 1956 the Skokie Indians were undefeated in 12 contests including both the prelims and finals of the
American Legion Nationals in Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, the Skokie Indians’ only defeat in the last two years
was in the prelims of the 1955 American Legion Nationals in Miami.
During the fifties, two of the bigger annual Midwest senior corps contests each year were in La Porte, Indiana,
sponsored by the La Porte Lancers and in Bellefontaine, Ohio, sponsored by the Bellefontaine Satan’s Angels.
While the La Porte, Ind., contest brought together top Midwest Senior and Junior corps to compete against each
other, the Bellefontaine, Ohio, contest was somewhat unique in that it managed to annually bring together top
Senior corps from both the Midwest and the East for competition.
For example, in 1956 at Bellefontaine, Ohio, the Skokie Indians topped a slate of competing corps that included the
second place Reilly Raiders, followed in order of finish by the Chicago Cavaliers, Pittsburgh Rockets, Geneva
Appleknockers, Portland Comets, Detroit’s Edison Lamplighters and in 8th place the Marion Cavaliers. The Skokie
Indians also won this contest in 1958 after not attending it in 1957.
The Skokie Indians also won the La Porte, Indiana, contest for six consecutive years, from 1953 thru 1958.
At the 1957 Illinois American Legion State Championship eight Junior corps managed to perform before the rains
came and forced the remaining Junior corps along with all of the Senior corps to finish the contest inside the
Northwest Armory in Chicago. This armory, 171 feet by 103 feet, was the only place to finish the contest. So all the
remaining corps, including the Skokie Indians, had to perform their field show in the confines of this very small
Armory.
In 1957 the Skokie Indians went into a recording studio to make a record. Epic Records pressed the stereo album
called “Skokie Indians Drum and Bugle Corps” and it was released in September of 1957. Both record shops and
the Skokie Indians sold the records. It was reported that sales were “going well” in the September, 1957, issue of
Drum Corps World magazine.
At the 1957 American Legion Nationals in Atlantic City, N.J., the Skokie Indians won the National Championship for
the third year in a row after placing fifth in prelims.
During the 1958 season the Skokie Indians took the field with a ten man color guard, 9 drums and 39 horns. Their
repertoire included “Stars and Stripes”, “Stranger in Paradise”’ “Because”’ Jealousy”, and a concert of “Rhapsody in
Blue” and “Slaughter on 10th Avenue”. At the 1958 American Legion Nationals in Chicago the Skokie Indians won
the preliminary contest, however, they slipped to third place in finals.
On July 18, 1959, the Skokie Indians finally lost a local contest at La Porte, Indiana, where they took fourth place.
But in all fairness, the Skokie Indians lost to three of the Midwest best Junior corps, the first place Chicago Cavaliers
followed by the Norwood Park Imperials, second, and the third place Skokie Vanguard.
It’s quite possible that this could be the Skokie Indians first loss in a local Midwestern contest since sometime prior to
the 1955 season. That’s how dominant the Skokie Indians were in the Midwest during this era.
At the 1959 American Legion Nationals in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, the Skokie Indians took third place in both the
prelims and finals.
On July 3rd, 1960, the Racine Boy’s of 76 held their annual contest which for the first time was a senior corps
contest which featured a real nice line-up of Midwestern senior corps. First place went to the Skokie Indians
followed in order by the Bellefontaine Satan’s Angels, Detroit Lamplighters, Spirit of St. Louis and the Kewanee
Black Knight.
Later that summer, on July 31st of 1960, the annual V-J Day contest in Woodstock, Ill., featured both a Senior and
Junior corps contest of four corps each. In the interesting Senior corps contest, first place went to the Racine Boys
of 76 followed in order by the Toronto Jolly Jesters, Skokie Indians and Beau Geste Brigade.
On August 27th, 1960, the Skokie Indians went to the great East - Midwest meeting ground, the Summer Serenade
in Bellefontaine which also was Ohio’s biggest contest of 1960. Winners of this contest twice before, the Skokie
Indians this time placed second to the Pittsburgh Rockets followed by the third place Racine Boys of 76 and the
fourth place Kewanee Back Knights.
In 1960 at the American Legion Nationals in Miami Beach, Fla., the Skokie Indians finished in third place in finals for
the third year in a row. This would be the last time that the Skokie Indians competed at an American Legion
Nationals.
The Skokie Indians were only a parade corps in 1961 and had every intent to field a competitive Senior corps again
in 1962.
The Skokie Indians did, in fact, return to the competition field in 1962, but they were not as dominating of a Senior
corps as they had been in the fifties. For example, at one of the biggest senior corps contests in the Midwest in
1962, the Senior Invitational on 9-01-62 in Racine, Wis., the results were: Spirit of St. Louis in first place followed in
order by the Hamm’s Indians, Skokie Indians, Winfield-Scott Rebels, Kewanee Black Knights and the Kenosha
Kingsmen.
Just a week earlier on 8-25-62 at the Concourse Of Champions contest in Kenosha, WI, the Racine Boys of 76 won
over the second place Skokie Indians and the Winfield-Scott Rebels finished in third.
At the 1963 Illinois VFW State Championship 6-29-63 in Peoria the Skokie Indians came in third place behind the
first place Winfield-Scott Rebels and the second place Kewanee Black Knights.
At the 1963 Illinois American Legion State Championship, 8-03-63 in Chicago, the Skokie Indians came in second
place behind the winning Winfield-Scott Rebels. The Kewanee Black Knights came in third place.
However, later that summer on 8-24-63, the Skokie Indians won over the Boys of 76 and Kewanee Black Knights in
the Senior corps contest at the Concourse of Champions sponsored by the Kenosha Kingsmen.
In September of 1963, some say in February of 1964, the Skokie Indians and the McHenry Red Devils merged and
became the Men of Brass.
In 1964 the Men of Brass won both the Illinois VFW and American Legion State Championships in addition to
winning numerous local Senior corps competitions.
1965 was not as successful of a year as 1964 was for the Men of Brass. The Men of Brass were a small corps for
1965 sporting a 26 man horn line with only a few drummers and color guard. Their repertoire included: “Basin
Street Blues”, “Floatin’ Down to Cotton Town”, “St. James Infirmary Blues”, and their exit of “Soon”.
In 1965 the Men of Brass had a very entertaining show which featured two excellent soprano soloists. In fact, my
dad, Don Fennell, after seeing the Men of Brass at the Midwest Dream in Milwaukee, liked them so much that he
ordered the record from that contest. The Midwest Dream Vol. #2 was the only drum corps record that he ever
bought.
In 1965 the biggest Midwest Senior corps contest was the first annual Midwest Senior Drum and Bugle Corps
Association Championship was held in Racine, WI, on 9-05-65. First place was taken by the Maumee Demons
followed in order by the Kenosha Kingsmen, Racine Boys of 76, Hamm’s Indians, Men of Brass, Spirit of St. Louis
and the St. Clair Shores, Mich., Vanguard.
The Men of Brass did not compete at the American Legion Nationals in either 1964 or in 1965.
The Men of Brass believed that the coming 1966 season was going to be a good one for them. They completely
changed their by-Laws to now operate in the same manner as a typical Junior Corps of that era did. They also
completely changed their Corps Management. The March, 1966 issue of Drum Corps Digest listed the staff as
follows: John Opager, Sr. as Corps Director; Truman Crawford as Musical Director and arranger; Larry Kaczmarek
as Drill Instructor and John Thieron as Drum Instructor. John Opager, Jr. was listed as the drum major and Dick
Schoff was to be the color guard captain. Jim Angorola, new corps director of the Chicago Royal Airs, was listed as
the soloist for the Men of Brass for 1966.
The Men of Brass practically changed their entire repertoire for the 1966 season. Off the line was to be "Those
Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines", color presentation of "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor", going into concert
with "Mambo" from the West Side Story and concert pieces also from West Side Story of "Somewhere" and "I Feel
Pretty". Out of concert was to be "In the still of the Night" and off the field with "The Song Is You".
For more convenience to the present members and in the hopes of recruiting new members, the Men of Brass
moved their practices into the Chicago area at Royal Air Hall.
Winter rehearsals were stated to be going rather well for the horn line with about 27 buglers showing up for
rehearsals. However, the corps was really short on drummers and color guard members.
Although the corps had high hopes for the 1966 season, the Men of Brass never hit the field for competition again.
It is my understanding that the corps continued on for a number of years as a parade corps only before ceasing
operations completely sometime around 1970.
The August, 1967 issue of Drum Corps Digest magazine reported that the Board of Directors of the International
Drum Corps Hall of Fame chose to induct the Skokie Indians into the International Drum Corps Hall of Fame.
In the Senior category both the Racine Boys of 76 and the Skokie Indians tied point-wise and it was decided to enter
both winners into the Hall of Fame. This brought the International Drum Corps Hall of Fame up to eleven corps, six
Seniors, five Juniors and six individuals. The only four Seniors inducted ahead of the Skokie Indians were the
Hawthorne Caballeros, Reilly Raiders, Archer-Epler Musketeers and Lt. Norman Prince.
Mr. Larry Grabowski, President of the International Drum Corps Hall of Fame, intended to present Skokie’s American
Legion Post #320 with their plaque that fall.
By George Fennell
Copyright 2007
The Skokie, Illinois, American Legion Post #320 Indians drum and bugle corps was organized in 1947 and was
manned almost entirely by World War I veterans. Some of the original members were former members of the old
Evanston, Illinois, American Legion Post #42 drum and bugle corps. World War II veterans began appearing at
rehearsals in 1949.
Their original uniforms consisted of blue coats, white breeches, black puttees and white Sam Browne belts.
In 1948 the Skokie Indians competed at their first American Legion National Championship in Miami, Florida, and
came in 29th place. They did not, however, compete at any of the next three American Legion Nationals which were
held in Philadelphia in 1949, in Los Angeles in 1950 and in Miami in 1951.
Actually, the Skokie Indians left the competitive ranks after the 1948 season and carried on as a concert and parade
corps until the 1952 season.
In 1952, the Skokie Indians were outfitted in new uniforms which consisted of black trousers with white side stripes,
white jackets trimmed with red and black, wide red shoulder and waist sashes along with long red side sashes. Their
shakos were black with white trim and topped with brilliant red plumes.
The Skokie Indians also had white satin blouses that they wore in parades.
After a winter of hard work the Skokie Indians re-entered competition in 1952 with a corps consisting of 24 buglers,
4 field drums, 2 cymbals, 2 bass drums and a color guard of 9 men. Arthur Rippel was the Musical Director which is
probably why the Skokie Indians were also called “Rip’s Raiders”. Also, Leonard Piekarski was in charge of the drill,
Arvin Bartlett Jr. was the drum major and Bill Tornow was Color Guard Sgt.
In 1952 at the American Legion National Championship in New York the Skokie Indians finished in 7th place after
placing 8th in prelims. Earlier that summer they unseated Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison American Legion Post
#118 Knights of Light as Illinois American Legion state champions after an 18 year reign.
The Skokie Indians then went on an 8 year run of their own by winning every Illinois American Legion State
Championship from 1952 thru 1960.
On 8-01-53 the Skokie Indians sponsored their first “Music In Motion” drum and bugle corps competition and what a
competition it was! This outstanding local contest was won by Archer-Epler, followed by the second place St.
Vincent Cadets. Third went to the Chicago Grenadiers, fourth to the Chicago Cavaliers, Mel Tierney took fifth
followed by the Boys of 76 in sixth and the Evanston , Ill., Lancers in seventh. Archer-Epler and St. Vincent Cadets
were in the Midwest on their way to the VFW Nationals in Milwaukee.
In St. Louis at the 1953 American Legion National Championship the Skokie Indians continued their rise to
prominence by placing 9th in prelims and 6th in finals. In St. Louis the Skokie Indians again fielded 24 bugles, four
snare drums, two bass drums and two cymbals.
Two days after the 1953 American Legion Nationals in St. Louis there was a big contest in Cape Girardeau, MO,
sponsored by the Golden Troopers. This contest featured a line-up that included many top Eastern corps which
was a very rare treat for Midwestern drum corps fans. Three Junior corps competed with St. Joseph’s Cadets
taking first; St. Vincent’s Cadets in second and the Chicago Cavaliers in third. The Senior corps competition
finished with the Hawthorne Caballeros in first; New York Skyliners in second; Connecticut Yankees in third and the
Skokie Indians in fourth place. The Skokie Indians marched with ten holes due to members that had to return to
Chicago right after the American Legion Nationals which hurt their performance.
Following the 1953 American Legion Nationals there was talk all over Chicagoland that the Skokie Indians’ 24-man
horn line was never going to take the corps any farther than the Skokie Indians did in St. Louis.
Fortunately, right before Christmas of 1953 about a dozen ex-Mel Tierney Vanguard drum corps veterans joined
the Skokie Indians which increased their horn line to 33 men.
At the 1954 American Legion Nationals in Washington, D.C., the Skokie Indians jumped from their 8th place finish in
prelims to 2nd place in finals.
For 1955 the Skokie Indians added three tenor drums to their drum line which made all the difference in the world
for them. Then, after placing fifth in prelims at the 1955 American Legion Nationals in Miami, the Skokie Indians
came back in finals to win the American Legion National Championship.
At the Illinois American Legion State Championship, snare drummer Larry LaVita passed out just as he was
crossing the finish line. When he fell, he landed on the leg guard of his snare drum and fractured two ribs. Larry
LaVita didn’t return to competition until prelims at the 1956 American Legion Nationals in Los Angeles. The Skokie
Indians took first place in prelims and in finals, thus winning their second American Legion National Championship in
a row.
During 1956 the Skokie Indians were undefeated in 12 contests including both the prelims and finals of the
American Legion Nationals in Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, the Skokie Indians’ only defeat in the last two years
was in the prelims of the 1955 American Legion Nationals in Miami.
During the fifties, two of the bigger annual Midwest senior corps contests each year were in La Porte, Indiana,
sponsored by the La Porte Lancers and in Bellefontaine, Ohio, sponsored by the Bellefontaine Satan’s Angels.
While the La Porte, Ind., contest brought together top Midwest Senior and Junior corps to compete against each
other, the Bellefontaine, Ohio, contest was somewhat unique in that it managed to annually bring together top
Senior corps from both the Midwest and the East for competition.
For example, in 1956 at Bellefontaine, Ohio, the Skokie Indians topped a slate of competing corps that included the
second place Reilly Raiders, followed in order of finish by the Chicago Cavaliers, Pittsburgh Rockets, Geneva
Appleknockers, Portland Comets, Detroit’s Edison Lamplighters and in 8th place the Marion Cavaliers. The Skokie
Indians also won this contest in 1958 after not attending it in 1957.
The Skokie Indians also won the La Porte, Indiana, contest for six consecutive years, from 1953 thru 1958.
At the 1957 Illinois American Legion State Championship eight Junior corps managed to perform before the rains
came and forced the remaining Junior corps along with all of the Senior corps to finish the contest inside the
Northwest Armory in Chicago. This armory, 171 feet by 103 feet, was the only place to finish the contest. So all the
remaining corps, including the Skokie Indians, had to perform their field show in the confines of this very small
Armory.
In 1957 the Skokie Indians went into a recording studio to make a record. Epic Records pressed the stereo album
called “Skokie Indians Drum and Bugle Corps” and it was released in September of 1957. Both record shops and
the Skokie Indians sold the records. It was reported that sales were “going well” in the September, 1957, issue of
Drum Corps World magazine.
At the 1957 American Legion Nationals in Atlantic City, N.J., the Skokie Indians won the National Championship for
the third year in a row after placing fifth in prelims.
During the 1958 season the Skokie Indians took the field with a ten man color guard, 9 drums and 39 horns. Their
repertoire included “Stars and Stripes”, “Stranger in Paradise”’ “Because”’ Jealousy”, and a concert of “Rhapsody in
Blue” and “Slaughter on 10th Avenue”. At the 1958 American Legion Nationals in Chicago the Skokie Indians won
the preliminary contest, however, they slipped to third place in finals.
On July 18, 1959, the Skokie Indians finally lost a local contest at La Porte, Indiana, where they took fourth place.
But in all fairness, the Skokie Indians lost to three of the Midwest best Junior corps, the first place Chicago Cavaliers
followed by the Norwood Park Imperials, second, and the third place Skokie Vanguard.
It’s quite possible that this could be the Skokie Indians first loss in a local Midwestern contest since sometime prior to
the 1955 season. That’s how dominant the Skokie Indians were in the Midwest during this era.
At the 1959 American Legion Nationals in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, the Skokie Indians took third place in both the
prelims and finals.
On July 3rd, 1960, the Racine Boy’s of 76 held their annual contest which for the first time was a senior corps
contest which featured a real nice line-up of Midwestern senior corps. First place went to the Skokie Indians
followed in order by the Bellefontaine Satan’s Angels, Detroit Lamplighters, Spirit of St. Louis and the Kewanee
Black Knight.
Later that summer, on July 31st of 1960, the annual V-J Day contest in Woodstock, Ill., featured both a Senior and
Junior corps contest of four corps each. In the interesting Senior corps contest, first place went to the Racine Boys
of 76 followed in order by the Toronto Jolly Jesters, Skokie Indians and Beau Geste Brigade.
On August 27th, 1960, the Skokie Indians went to the great East - Midwest meeting ground, the Summer Serenade
in Bellefontaine which also was Ohio’s biggest contest of 1960. Winners of this contest twice before, the Skokie
Indians this time placed second to the Pittsburgh Rockets followed by the third place Racine Boys of 76 and the
fourth place Kewanee Back Knights.
In 1960 at the American Legion Nationals in Miami Beach, Fla., the Skokie Indians finished in third place in finals for
the third year in a row. This would be the last time that the Skokie Indians competed at an American Legion
Nationals.
The Skokie Indians were only a parade corps in 1961 and had every intent to field a competitive Senior corps again
in 1962.
The Skokie Indians did, in fact, return to the competition field in 1962, but they were not as dominating of a Senior
corps as they had been in the fifties. For example, at one of the biggest senior corps contests in the Midwest in
1962, the Senior Invitational on 9-01-62 in Racine, Wis., the results were: Spirit of St. Louis in first place followed in
order by the Hamm’s Indians, Skokie Indians, Winfield-Scott Rebels, Kewanee Black Knights and the Kenosha
Kingsmen.
Just a week earlier on 8-25-62 at the Concourse Of Champions contest in Kenosha, WI, the Racine Boys of 76 won
over the second place Skokie Indians and the Winfield-Scott Rebels finished in third.
At the 1963 Illinois VFW State Championship 6-29-63 in Peoria the Skokie Indians came in third place behind the
first place Winfield-Scott Rebels and the second place Kewanee Black Knights.
At the 1963 Illinois American Legion State Championship, 8-03-63 in Chicago, the Skokie Indians came in second
place behind the winning Winfield-Scott Rebels. The Kewanee Black Knights came in third place.
However, later that summer on 8-24-63, the Skokie Indians won over the Boys of 76 and Kewanee Black Knights in
the Senior corps contest at the Concourse of Champions sponsored by the Kenosha Kingsmen.
In September of 1963, some say in February of 1964, the Skokie Indians and the McHenry Red Devils merged and
became the Men of Brass.
In 1964 the Men of Brass won both the Illinois VFW and American Legion State Championships in addition to
winning numerous local Senior corps competitions.
1965 was not as successful of a year as 1964 was for the Men of Brass. The Men of Brass were a small corps for
1965 sporting a 26 man horn line with only a few drummers and color guard. Their repertoire included: “Basin
Street Blues”, “Floatin’ Down to Cotton Town”, “St. James Infirmary Blues”, and their exit of “Soon”.
In 1965 the Men of Brass had a very entertaining show which featured two excellent soprano soloists. In fact, my
dad, Don Fennell, after seeing the Men of Brass at the Midwest Dream in Milwaukee, liked them so much that he
ordered the record from that contest. The Midwest Dream Vol. #2 was the only drum corps record that he ever
bought.
In 1965 the biggest Midwest Senior corps contest was the first annual Midwest Senior Drum and Bugle Corps
Association Championship was held in Racine, WI, on 9-05-65. First place was taken by the Maumee Demons
followed in order by the Kenosha Kingsmen, Racine Boys of 76, Hamm’s Indians, Men of Brass, Spirit of St. Louis
and the St. Clair Shores, Mich., Vanguard.
The Men of Brass did not compete at the American Legion Nationals in either 1964 or in 1965.
The Men of Brass believed that the coming 1966 season was going to be a good one for them. They completely
changed their by-Laws to now operate in the same manner as a typical Junior Corps of that era did. They also
completely changed their Corps Management. The March, 1966 issue of Drum Corps Digest listed the staff as
follows: John Opager, Sr. as Corps Director; Truman Crawford as Musical Director and arranger; Larry Kaczmarek
as Drill Instructor and John Thieron as Drum Instructor. John Opager, Jr. was listed as the drum major and Dick
Schoff was to be the color guard captain. Jim Angorola, new corps director of the Chicago Royal Airs, was listed as
the soloist for the Men of Brass for 1966.
The Men of Brass practically changed their entire repertoire for the 1966 season. Off the line was to be "Those
Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines", color presentation of "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor", going into concert
with "Mambo" from the West Side Story and concert pieces also from West Side Story of "Somewhere" and "I Feel
Pretty". Out of concert was to be "In the still of the Night" and off the field with "The Song Is You".
For more convenience to the present members and in the hopes of recruiting new members, the Men of Brass
moved their practices into the Chicago area at Royal Air Hall.
Winter rehearsals were stated to be going rather well for the horn line with about 27 buglers showing up for
rehearsals. However, the corps was really short on drummers and color guard members.
Although the corps had high hopes for the 1966 season, the Men of Brass never hit the field for competition again.
It is my understanding that the corps continued on for a number of years as a parade corps only before ceasing
operations completely sometime around 1970.
The August, 1967 issue of Drum Corps Digest magazine reported that the Board of Directors of the International
Drum Corps Hall of Fame chose to induct the Skokie Indians into the International Drum Corps Hall of Fame.
In the Senior category both the Racine Boys of 76 and the Skokie Indians tied point-wise and it was decided to enter
both winners into the Hall of Fame. This brought the International Drum Corps Hall of Fame up to eleven corps, six
Seniors, five Juniors and six individuals. The only four Seniors inducted ahead of the Skokie Indians were the
Hawthorne Caballeros, Reilly Raiders, Archer-Epler Musketeers and Lt. Norman Prince.
Mr. Larry Grabowski, President of the International Drum Corps Hall of Fame, intended to present Skokie’s American
Legion Post #320 with their plaque that fall.
SKOKIE INDIANS