By the early 1950s the Kilties, sometimes known as "The Mad Plaid," had become one of the best in the Midwest as they competed against such corps as the Austin Grenadiers, Madison Scouts, and Norwood Park. By the end of that decade they were VFW finalists.

In 1964 the Kilties began the season way down from the other top Midwest corps. However, they made the first of many late season surges and won their first VFW National Championship, their only win of the season. Their drum major, Scotty Paulson, was a seasoned thirteen-year-old for this championship.

The Kilts continued to place in Finals through 1970. They won again in 1968 and 1969, the first repeat winners since the 1963 Cavaliers. They won high brass in both of those years, and took high drums in 1968.

1971 was a down year. Although the corps early on did beat the potential American Legion National Champions, the Argonne Rebels, they didn't go outside the Midwest to compete on the national level. As a result, the Kilties were not part of the original 13 DCI corps when that organization was formed in the fall. They came out in 1972 with a different musical style and won the World Open. Their placement was eighth at the first DCI world championships and second at VFW Nationals.

The uniform style changed in 1974 and the Kilties again placed in DCI Finals, as well as in 1975. 1976 was the corps' lowest placement ever at DCI as they missed Finals. This year, in fact, marked the largest standings drop out of finals of any corps in DCI history, from seventh to 28th. They came back in 1977 with a strong show, however, and once again made Finals. 1977 was also the first time since the early 60s that the signature "Auld Lang Syne" wasn't part of the show. They changed uniforms again in 1978 and made DCI Finals for the last time.

The corps fell on hard times after that, finally competing in Class A in 1982 and folding after the season. The Kilt tradition has been continued since 1997 by the senior Kilties.

Among the championships won by the junior Kilties are these:

VFW National Champions, 1964, 1968, 1969
U.S. Open National Champions, 1969
Shriners International Champions, 1969, 1970
World Open Champions, 1972
Wisconsin Spectacle of Music Champions, 1972, 1973
DCI Finalist, 1972-1975, 1977-1978