This isn't a BIG surprise to anyone who ever marched in the Cadets, but have you noticed how often they were using equipment previously used by the Imperials?

I have seen ...

1. Satin shirts used by the Imperials in the 1960- 62
period appeared on the Cadets.

2. Drums used by the Imperials from 1957- 65 were used
by the Cadets later. (Actually a BAD idea because
they were too big and heavy for young bodies ...
this should never have been done!) How dumb was our
management?

3. FLAGS .. Gold flags with crowns. White flags with
maroon ... many of these came from the Imperials.

4. There must of been a TON of bugles too!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

We always got the hand me downs. I noticed it when Jim sent in the pictures. The crown flags especially. The berets and guard equipment where handed down also.

I don't recollect hand me down uniforms when I was in the Cadets. But the drums and bugles were.

When I first joined the corps in 1959 most of us had brass horns that weren't lacquered so we had to polish them. The next year we go some refinished horns that were lacquered. The only new horn I remember seeing was one that Paul Tomaszek got from Glenn Smith. He had a problem with his horn at a contest and it fell apart when Glenn Smith tried to do a quick fix. He reached into his display and gave Paul a horn.

I also don't remember uniforms being handed down. When I joined in 1970 the Cadets were wearing very old and faded yellow shirts with maroon cuffs. For 1971, the Mothers made new white satin shirts and gold waist sashes, and we re-died the pants. We also changed the tassles on the hats (the overseas ones) from gold to white, and the guard wore new knitted tams. It really spruced up our appearance.

As for the drums, Dave's right - they WERE too big for us. I remember trying to survive long parades with that big Ludwig snare when I was only 10 years old. But most Cadet corps did that, mainly for financial reasons. The Cavalier Cadets used the old Rogers drums from the A corps, and they were easily twice as heavy as the Ludwigs! But that's what happened in those days. The drums still sounded fine, so why buy sets for two corps when you can hand down? I'm sure all you younger siblings out there understand - and hate - that philosophy!

My Dad still has a crown flag hanging in the den!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

those weren't "hand-me-downs", they were previously used uniforms!

And, John is right ... many times the Cadets had their own distinctive uniforms.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 1963

Giving those heavy drums to a 10 year old made as much sense as having a corps member CARRY (and march with) a very heavy and large tympani.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 1963

My first Cadet Uniform was a golf shirt with the Imperial crest on it (iron on type decal), the overseas hat, and a pair of purple cotten pants with a gold stripe sowed on it by the mothers.

The golf shirt was later replaced by a mustard (gold) long sleeved dress shirt. The most expensive part of the uniform was probably the overseas hat that was wool and had some lettering and maybe a tassel.

When I moved to the Imperials in 1962 the satin shirt and shakos were a big deal but I only wore the satin shirt for a few parades and one contest as we got the first set of battle jackets. I really don't want to know what those tailored uniforms would cost today. At that time I think the bill was about $6000 which as a corps expense was only topped by the new set of chrome horns the corps bought after the 1964 season--a little less than $10000.

OOP's I wasn't clear enough. Only the horn and drum equipment,tam's and guard stuff where handed down.

John,

I'm afraid to ask what year you got the mustard shirts, because they're probably the same ones we were still wearing in 1970! Did they have maroon cuffs (or, at least at one time they must have been maroon)?

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

There are two pictures (1st and 3rd photos) in the Cadet photos that show the shirts. It didn't have maroon trim. The year was 1961. Those cotten dress shirts would not have lasted that more than one or at most two seasons. I think they were shirts one could buy at Wiebolts or Wolke and Cutler (in Jefferson Park). Expect that as styles changed the corps had a hard time getting the same product.

(Wieblolts adn Wolke and Cutler--one was a major chain of department stores that was bought out by another and somehow I think they are all Macy's now. Wolke and Cutler was a local one location department store that disappeared sometime in the late 70s.)

Jon, my mother worked at Wolkie and Cutler...I'm guessing that's where the shirts came from

Tom,

Another Grana connection. Recollect that both you and Marie were in the Cadets at that time. I also recollect (actually the 1960 and 1961 photos show the change so it isn't my memory) that the color guard started wearing white satin blouses the year before we started wearing the long sleeve dress shirts. I think our mothers actually made those blouses.

Don't know why I thought of Wolkie and Cutler but it's probably because my parents tended to shop there and Wiebolt's for clothes. No malls until Harlem and Irving and Old Orchard came along. Jefferson Park, Six Corners, Evanston and Oak Park were the retail centers.

Now most of the stores are either out of business or were purchase by major national retail conglomerates. I noted about a year an a half ago that even Marshall Field's is now Macy's.

John, just like in nature .. the big fish eat the little fish!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I waiting for Wall-Mart to buy up everything (including Nordstrom's).