What a fantastic experience.

Larry Kalck - we talked about you and how much you would have enjoyed this. You were with us in spirit. Maggie Koenig took a lot of pictures. I am sure Will will send you some.

My wife, Bobbi Dorhn - NP color guard 1965 - 1970, and I walked from the NP Historical Society to the Fieldhouse where we met the Royal Airs and soooooo many alum. What a nice melancholy walk! We were waiting to run into the Hoeferts, or the Granas, or the Maggios riding their bikes to practice at the fieldhouse.

I will probably miss some, but we saw Mr. & Mrs Kramer and Jan, Mr and Mrs Gill with Colleen (Gill) Schlenker, Warren Dulski, Mark Tryba, Ted and Amy (Lutz) Duber, Denny Bialas, Mike Maggio, John Tomaszek, Steve Pawela, George Henning Andros, Diane Uliveri, Terri Golden Dietrich, Denny Kulick, Ed Stojack, Dave and Ruth Borck, Roman and Sue Blenski, Bob Briske, the great Mickey Graeber and more but my memory fails me. Plus the Norwood Park / Royal Air members - Ken Fligelman, Lenny Szulc, Don Kosmal, Jeff Helgeson, Keith Normandin, Will Koenig, Larry Nelson, Ray Holtz, Bill Blomquist, Larry Schlenker, Connel Griffen, Rich Tessitore and I probably missed a few.

Enjoyed talking with Wayne Mounsey. What a great gentleman. There was a bevy of beauties from the forties and fifties sitting at one table. Ronny and Rich Biver's sister was there. They were talking about a wild trip to Miami.

Standing in the party room at Dino's, looking at all the drum corps people chatting and having a great time, is something I will never forget.

Truly a great night. Thanks to Wayne and Dave Borck and everyone else who put this together. I urge all of you to stop by the NPHS and see the Norwood Park display.

t

What did you do in the Corps? soprano

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-68

Tom is certainly right .. it was fantastic!
It actually brought chills to my spine to see a real live drum corps marching down the street in Norwood Park!

Thanks to all the NP alums and Royal Air friends who played and made this possible!!


It was also great to see SOOOOO many alums, parents and friends there too. We even had Jack Bornhofft, a member from 1928, in attendance with us!

We will be writing a report, with pictures, to add to the website. A report will also go to DCW.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer 1958-63, assistant instructor 1964-71, quartermaster 1964-66

It was definitely a great time. Nice turnout as well!! I kept looking at everyone who came out for the presentation.. trying to spot a familiar face.

I had the opportunity to talk to Doris Ruchalski for the first time in (*cough*) years. She remembered me and my father!! We had a great little conversation about the late 70's era. It was fun dropping a bunch of names of prominent members from the "later" years.

Tom Walter did a great job organizing the Royal Air performance. Thanks Tom!!! It fun doing it!

I also thought Dave and Wayne did a fantastic job with the presentation itself.

If you were planning on attending this celebration...and didn't...you missed out on a great evening. It'll be one I'll never forget.

What did you do in the Corps? Sop

What years were you a Corps member? 1979

The Norwood Park Imperials presented an exhibit of Imperials Corps history and memorabilia to the Norwood Park Historical Society on Wednesday, April 28, 2004. This exhibit was coordinated by the Corps History Team, and led by Wayne Mounsey (drummer 1938-49).

A significant addition to the ceremony was an exciting performance of "traditional" drum corps music by the Royal Airs Alumni Exhibition Corps. Their appearance was coordinated by NP alum Tom Walter, now a member of the Royal Airs. The corps made a big difference in the event and in the emotions of the audience. They showed the audience what a traditional drum corps was like. The Royal Airs showed true class and great friendship by appearing at the event.

Many of those playing were former members of the Imperials and it was great to see our alums playing again!

Prior to appearing at the Historical Society, the corps met at the Norwood Park Fieldhouse, where the Norwood Park corps practiced for many years. Tom Walter reported that he and his wife Bobbi (Bobbi Dorhn - NP color guard 1965 – 1970)
walked from the NP Historical Society to the Fieldhouse where they met the Royal Airs and soooooo many alums. "What a nice melancholy walk! We were waiting to run into the Hofferts, or the Granas, or the Maggios riding their bikes to practice at the fieldhouse."

The corps warmed up and then marched to the home of a local RA alum to play in honor of his ailing mother. His mother was a typical "corps mom" for the Royal Airs, but is also a classical pianist and used to help arrange drum corps charts.

Then, the corps marched up the street to the NP Historical Society. They were followed by children, like the Pied Piper, to the site. The electricity and excitement was evident when the audience at the Historical Society heard the drums coming down the street. It actually brought chills to the spine to see a real live drum corps marching down the street in Norwood Park again!

The corps formed up in front of the site and played "Ave Maria", "Chicago Fanfare" and "BallyHoo March". They added "Taps" as a tribute to former corps alumni who have passed on ahead of us! The appearance of the alumni corps brought our corps exhibit dedication "to life" by showing what we DID as youth in the Corps.






Following the corps presentation, Wayne Mounsey and Dave Borck made the official presentation of the Corps Exhibit to the Historical Society Director, Susan Kroll.
The Corps History Book was dedicated by grateful Corps alumni to:

. WILLIE WIDMEYER, who started the corps with vision and love,
. ALL THE CORPS PARENTS AND SUPPORTERS, who nurtured and
supported the Corps as it grew, and
. THE CORPS PRESIDENTS, MANAGERS and INSTRUCTORS who guided
the Corps and the members,

thus making it possible for us to enjoy a life changing experience, marching in the Corps!

Special thanks were given to BRUCE BORCK, who spent many hours preparing this excellent book! Bruce was a baritone bugler in the Corps, 1962-66, and an active member of the Corps History team. After his sudden death in March, 2004, his wife Joanne and daughter Alissa, completed the printing of the book.

It was also great to see SOOOOO many alums, parents and friends there too. To give you a feeling of the history and friendship represented at this meeting, here is a list of people we saw: Jack Bornhoeft, a drummer from the 1934 Corps who played at the Chicago Worlds Fair; Mr. & Mrs. Kramer and Jan; Mr. and Mrs. Gill with Colleen (Gill) Schlenker; Jerrie Biver Squire; Jeannette Olsen Paster; Warren Dulski; Mark Tryba; Ted and Amy (Lutz) Duber; Denny Bialas; Mike Maggio; John Tomaszek; Steve Pawela; George Henning Andros; Diane Uliveri; Terri (Golden) Dietrich; Denny Kulick; Ed Stojack; Dave and Ruth Borck; Roman and Sue Blenski; former Corps manager Bob Briske; Mickey Graeber; Tom Cushing; Adam Szlagowski; Joanne Borck (wife of Bruce) and daughter Alissa, son Colin; Bob and Sue Turner; Maureen (Shannon) Schmitz; Pat Grien; Sharon (Maulding) Wagner; Mr. & Mrs. Ruchalski; Donna (Larsen) Gatlin; Joe Genovese; Jeanette (Hoffert) Dragland and husband Bill; George Robert; Richard Olson; Pat Schuessler Haase; Ron Ewald. How many did I miss?

Plus the Norwood Park alums who are now Royal Air members: Ken Fligelman, Lenny Szulc, Don Kosmal, Jeff Helgeson, Keith Normandin, Will Koenig, Larry Nelson, Ray Holtz, Bill Blomquist, Larry Schlenker, Connell Griffen, Rich Tessitore and others we may have missed.

As chance would have it, the drum major of the 1934 Corps, Richard Enger, just happened to come to the Historical Society the Saturday prior to the dedication. He came in from El Paso, TX and donated some pictures for the exhibit. He would have stayed for our presentation, but had to return home.


Following the ceremony, alumni and friends gathered at a local pizza place for talk, food and fun. We saw NP alums from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's. Of course, many of the RA's stayed to meet and have fun too. We saw a bevy of NP beauties from the forties and fifties sitting at one table. Ronny and Rich Biver's sister (Jerrie) was there among them. They were talking about a wild trip to Miami.

Dave Borck presented a "Certificate of Appreciation" to the Royal Airs from the Norwood Park Alums thanking them for their participation, support and friendship. Mickey Graeber (snare drummer from 1953-57) received an award granting her the title of "Honorary Drum Sergeant" for her many contributions!

Standing in the party room looking at all the drum corps people chatting and having a great time is something we will never forget. It was truly a great night.

Thanks to Wayne and the Corps History Team, who put this event together. Added thanks to Tom Walter, who arranged the appearance of the Royal Airs Alumni Corps. We urge all of you to stop by the NPHS (open Saturdays) and see the Norwood Park Corps display.

Background: Norwood Park is a neighborhood in Chicago, located on the far northwest side. Until the early 1900's it was a separate town. Willie Widmeyer started the Norwood Park Imperials in 1928. Until it's demise, the Corps was the oldest drum corps in the US. The majority of it's members came from Norwood Park, and the two surrounding communities of Jefferson Park and Edison Park. Every year on Memorial Day, a parade was held through Norwood Park, ending at a cemetery close to the park that is known as Norwood Park. Thousands of people would line Raven Avenue to see the hometown Corps march. Now, a permanent display from those years has been dedicated.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer: later: Quartermaster, assistant drum instructor

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63