If you have participated in the drum and bugle corps activity, no explanation is necessary. If not, no explanation is possible. Drum and bugle corps truly is an American art form. It’s music in motion and a combination of art and sport. In fact, many refer to it as the “sport of the arts.” Drum Corps International calls itself “Marching Music’s Major Leagues” and it is an accurate description. DCI attracts the best and brightest of the music world. These kids spend 12 weeks each summer practicing, traveling, performing and competing across the nation, with the final test taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The level of performance truly is a multisensory spectacle unlike anything you have ever experienced.
A rich drum and bugle corps history
As the troops came home from World War I, patriotism was at a fever pitch, and the returning troops still were in the spirit. The Kankakee American Legion, Post 85, started a drum and bugle corps comprised of returning veterans. In the old Kankakee post, there was a picture of a Kankakee Army unit marching through the Arc de Triomphe in victory at the end of the war, 100 years ago, in 1918. In 1927, many of the same Kankakee veterans returned to Paris with the Kankakee Post 85 American Legion drum and bugle corps, known as the Black Knights, to compete in the American Legion National Championship. They did so to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the war.
The Post 85 marching musical unit was formed in 1922 and began a continuum of drum corps activity until 1975. In 1979, local residents, Tom Billadeau and Marty Benoit, founded the Royal Grenadiers Drum & Bugles Corps of Kankakee County. The Royal Grenadiers continued operation through 1985. There has not been a local drum and bugle corps since.
The list of Kankakee area corps is long and distinguished, beginning with the Black Knights in 1922 through the Royal Grenadiers in 1985. Along the way, there were the Blackhawks, Sr. and Jr. corps, the Kankakee Challengers, the Legion Lancers and Momence White Tornados. These corps took kids off the street, gave them a sense of belonging and purpose, while molding their lives in a profound and positive way. When speaking to alumni of any of these corps, they often will tell you their participation in the drum corps activity were the best and most important years of their lives. I met my wife through this activity in 1973, and we know dozens of drum and bugle corps couples.
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Will you join us? Contact me at gary@garywmoore.com.
