AL Spam Post #570

A fascinating story from the marching-industrial complex is that of the Hormel Girls. After World War II, in 1947, the Hormel Meat Packing Co. of Austin, Minnesota, decided to form a women’s drum and bugle corps, made up of female war veterans, to perform and to represent the company that first made Spam (the edible kind) famous. Seventy-four women were picked for the corps and became employees of Hormel.

After spending a month of basic competition training at the Eastern Military Academy in Stamford, Connecticut, the Hormel Girls took the field to represent the American Legion Spam Post 570 in American Legion Finals, the first all-woman corps to take part in AL competition.

In 1947 the Hormel Girls finished 13th out of 45 corps at the Legion Nationals, a position they improved to ninth in 1948 with a score of 89.336.

When not competing or rehearsing, marching in parades or giving exhibitions, corps members handed out free Hormel products at supermarkets and door to door.

By about 1950, the Hormel Girls had gradually evolved into an orchestra and even had their own radio program and television show. They traveled the country in their own fleet of 35 white Chevys. The group lasted until 1953.

[Reminiscence Magazine and Bernie Gaffney; DCW, 9/02, p.22]

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