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Kilties


Other Names:YMCA Kilties, Kilts

Racine, WI United States
Founded: 1935

Inactive Junior
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Results from final championship competition of the year
  • Position: 9
  • Score: 79.450
Repertoire for 1960
Scotland the Brave by Traditional Celtic Twilight 2 - Hearts of Space HS11106-2
Blue Bells of Scotland by Burt Cutler Virtuoso Trombone / Christian Lindberg, Roland Pöntinen - Bis (Swe) - #258 ASIN: B0000016B1
Tuxedo Junction by Erskine Hawkins | Bill Johnson | Julian Dash Glenn Miller Moonlight Serenade
Like Young by André Previn | Paul Francis Webster
Stormy Weather (from Stormy Weather) by Harold Arlen | Ted Koehler Stormy Weather - Movie Soundtrack - 20th Century Fox 11007
America The Beautiful by Samuel A. Ward | Katharine Lee Bates Americas Greatest Hits - Platinum Distribution - #3660 ASIN: B000000BMS
All the Blue Bonnets Are Over the Border by Traditional
Auld Lang Syne by Traditional | Robert Burns 40 Scottish Melodies - Madacy Records; ASIN: B000000K9B
The Kilties, founded in 1936 at a YMCA summer camp, was a junior marching and maneuvering corps based in Racine, Wisconsin. They were sponsored by the American Legion Post 310 and Anderson Murphy VFW Post 2823. Their name is based, naturally enough, on their uniform's Anderson tartan kilts.

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

[Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle Corps, 1966; DCW, 6/8/90, p.27; Gary Cuzzocrea, RAMD, 3/9/99, inter alia]

Members (25)

Member Name Section Years Involved
Beatty, Colin Soprano Bugle 1979
Bertermann, Dan Tenors 2003 to 2004
Davidson, Jerry Baritone 1971 to 1972
Fennell, George French Horn 1967 to 1971
Fisher, Mark Rifle Line 1976 to 1978
Hansen, Rob Snare 1970
Hinen, Dennis Guard, Cymbals, snare 1957 to 1962
Hinen, Dennis guard, percussion 1957 to 1962
Hyatt, Anna pit percussion 2001
Jensen, Mike French Horn, Soprano 1975 to 1977
Krug, Kristopher Low Brass (lead baritone) 1981
Letourneau, Glen Baritone 1964
Marsh, Jody sop/mello 1981 to 1982
Mielke, Dave Baritone 1978
Myers, Tim Baritone 1978 to 1979
Nelson, Dennis Mellophone 1973 to 1975
Pagliaro, Todd contra 1981 to 1982
Rasmussen, Jeff rifle / guard captain 1969 to 1972
Riebesehl, Dale 1st baritone 1982
Schehr, Jim percussion 1973 to 1974
Selinsky, Gayle Color Guard 1978
Shatto, James Hornline / Euphonium 2006
Shaw, Allen French Horn 1979
turkowski, tom Color Guard 1982
VanCaster, Scott Soprano 1981

CORPS 63 items

Kilties

Kilties Bumper Sticker from the Bill Ives Collection
Kilties

Kilties from the Bill Ives Collection
Kilties

Kilties from the Bill Ives Collection
Kilties

Kilties 2 from the Bill Ives Collection
Kilties

Kilties 3 from the Bill Ives Collection
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,LP1-WeaWinnea(RE-1.5)AA_NU_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Richard Elmquist
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,LP2-YellowFlag(DST-0.875x0.875)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Donn Stroh
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,LP3-WeaWinnea(DST-1.0)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Donn Stroh
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,LP4-wTartan(RE-1.0)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Richard Elmquist
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,Patch1-Crest(RE-3.5x2.25)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Richard Elmquist
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,Patch2-Drummer(RE-5.625x3.0)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Richard Elmquist
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,Patch3-SwordWithCrest(Site)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by UNKNOWN
Kilties

Kilties(AA),Racine,WI,Patch4-2009-75thAnn(Site)AA_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by UNKNOWN
Kilties

Kilties,Racine,WI,LP1-YMCA(RE-0.75)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Richard Elmquist
Kilties

1969 Racine Kilties Drum and Bugle Corps @ VFW Prelims, Philadelphia from the Roy Perez Collection
Kilties

1969 Kilties Drum and Bugle Corps “Yes, Indeed" from the Roy Perez Collection
Kilties

1959 YMCA Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps-Judges Tape- from the Roy Perez Collection
Kilties
PDF Document

278-283, Kilties from the Steve Vickers Collection
Kilties

Kilties Open House Poster from the Steve Vickers Collection
Kilties

We Winna Be Dauntit! by Gorge D. Fennell from the Steve Vickers Collection

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