From The Land Of Sky Blue Waters
By Jim Ward
DCN August 8, 1962 issue

July has been a busy month for drum corps and for this writer. I managed to attend only one contest and that was Racine on July 3. With work, the Indians, and summer school we even missed a column last issue so we've got some catching up to do.

The big news around the Midwest seems to be the Cavaliers' three straight wins over the Royal-Airs just when it looked as if the Big Blue might have passed the Champs. Also in the news are the St. Paul Scouts with 1.8 spread behind Madison at Dubuque, Iowa on July 7. The Scouts from Minnesota became the first corps to beat their brothers from Madison in horns this year, doing it by a surprising 2 points. Madison's drums which had been failing them in the big shows, were all that kept them ahead of St. Paul that night.

On July 21 the Racine Boys of '76 easily captured the Wisconsin state Legion senior title while the Mercury Thunderbolts from Cedarburg took the junior half, mostly by default.

On July 21 the Chicago Royal-Airs took Norwood Park by seven points, with the Skokie Vanguards, finally starting to move, only 0.5 behind Norwood. The Racine Scouts took fourth, 10 points behind the leaders. While Skokie and the Racine Kilties move up, the Racine Scouts are starting to slip. They perfected their not-too-difficult drill early and as the corps doing more intricate maneuvers reach a certain level of perfection they pass Racine. In mid-June there were only three corps in the Midwest who could top the Scouts, now there are seven or eight.

The Racine Kilties, starting to move upward also, took first place at Kenosha on July 7 and East Troy. They also took top honors at Hales Corners on July 4. It looks as if the Kilts have shaken themselves out of their early season miseries and have now passed their cross town rivals, the Scouts. Right now they appear to be on a par with Norwood and moving up on Bellville and Madison. Watch this corps keep right on improving. They'll be knocking off some of the real big ones before the season ends.

After beating the Royal-Airs in Racine on July 3 the Chicago Cavaliers did it again in Madison on July 14 and the next day in McHenry. The spread was three points in Madison. The Belleville Black Knights took top horns in that show and finished third, followed by St. Matthias and the Phantom Regiment.

The Racine Scouts are the VFW champions of Wisconsin, winning the title in Superior on June 30 in 46 degree weather. St. Matthias took second. Madison and Kilties stayed at home. A note of interest is that the Morton Grove Cougars took top horns at Kenosha and didn't place in the top three. These spots went to the Kilties, Norwood Park, and the Racine Scouts.
MIDWEST JUNIOR RATINGS through July 21, 1962
1. Chicago Cavaliers
2. Chicago Royal-Airs
3. Madison Scouts
4. Belleville Black Knights
5. Norwood Park Imperials
6. Racine Kilties
7. Racine Scouts
8. Skokie Vanguards
9. St. Paul Scouts
10. St. Matthias Cadets
11. Rockford Phantom Regiment
12. Rockford Purple Knights
13. Morton Grove Cougars
14. Aurora Vacqueros
15. Eau Claire Boys

See you all at the VFW Nationals. I am looking forward to meeting many corps types from all over the nation so don't hesitate to look me up if you're in town. I'll be the fellow in the Hamm's jacket and little blue derby with the big Royal-Airs button on the front. If any of you out-of-towners need a helping hand I'd appreciate your giving me a call at (###-####) I won't be there but call anyway.