Killmen

The Killmen Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1965, began as a junior parade corps based in Wynantskill, New York. The founding director was William (Bill) O'Conner, who had been a member of the Interstatesmen senior corps and the Troy Boys Club Skyliners. The new corps was sponsored by the Wynantskill Fire Department and the Wynantskill Kiwanis Club. Their first performance was a standstill concert at the end of 1965 at the local fair grounds.

The Killmen began field competition in 1966 when they joined the Yankee Circuit as a Class B contest corps. A bigger staff (Ron Ghetti, Art Nelson, Rocky Teta, and Billy Jones) was added, along with a drill team and an all-girl guard. The corps competed in about six field shows around the Northeast in 1966, and placed first in one of them.

The Killmen added more members who became available when another area corps folded in 1967, and a more difficult musical book was put together.

The musical book continued to be upgraded to a more current type of drum corps sound in 1968. Billy Teta became the brass instructor, and the corps’ membership increased. The corps also acquired new cadet-style uniforms for a more contemporary look.

1969 was the year that the corps gained a new musical arranger (Brad Londo) and attempted different types of music. The “Totem Pole March” and selections from “Porgy and Bess” enhanced the repertoire. The corps also joined the Penn York Circuit, which opened competition opportunities in both western New York and Pennsylvania. 1969 also saw the introduction of horizontal basses in the battery section, predecessor to modern quads and quints.

The Killmen reverted to being a parade corps in 1970 because of a decline in membership. At the end the year, however, a new interest in the field corps developed, and a recruiting program was established.

The corps returned to the field, but the enthusiasm and work ethic that had been so much of the corps’ history was no longer there. The Wynantskill Killmen folded at the end of 1971.

This fine organization had not only provided a place for young people to learn, work, and socialize, but it also had been a breeding ground for talent that succeeded with other groups in the drum corps world. Members of the Killmen have been involved with the Boston Crusaders, 27th Lancers, Anaheim Kingsmen, Cadets of Bergen County, Purple Lancers, Hawthorn Caballeros, Sun Risers, Avant Guard, Spiegalairs, and New York Skyliners.

[Jay McBride]