NORWOOD PARK IMPERIALS

THE CADET ALUMNI SALUTE THE NORWOOD PARK IMPERIALS

Norwood Park 1958 at Ebbetts Field VFW National New York

The Cadet Alumni use this page to salute friends from the past...corps that we respected and admired over our 74 year history for a variety of reasons. Some came to our aid when help was needed. Some were strong competitors whose values we shared. Some we came to know more personally because we were housed in their homes or vice versa, or shared housing sites. Some were friends made through prolonged contact during tours. Many times our corps became friends with another corps because individual friendships developed and spread to an unusual degree, often triggering personal visits during the off-season.

The Norwood Park Imperials are not a corps with whom we had extensive contact, but when we did the maroon co-mingled extensively. We liked and respected Norwood Park during our period of most regular interaction, the 1950s and early 1960s, in great part because during our occasional visits to the Midwest they always went out of their way to make us feel extremely welcome. Of course, wearing a maroon and white uniform is always a sure way to connect with the Cadets.

So this salute to Norwood Park is our thank you for those many times you went out of your way to say hello, and to shake our hands, and to offer praise and compliments that made us feel as though we were truly welcome in your world. You were always a more than worthy competitor on the field, and ambassadors of good will off the field. Your corps, though sadly no longer active in competition, is still remembered, respected, and admired by the Cadet Alumni fortunate enough to have shared the field of competition with you.

A good friend of The Cadets and Norwood Park Alumnus was kind enough to provide us with a history of this outstanding midwest competitor from the Chicago area. Our thanks to Dave Borck for the time and effort he spent in assembling this material for us.

NORWOOD PARK "IMPERIALS" by Dave Borck The Beginning

Norwood Park snare drummers at a local appearance in 1943. Wayne Mounsey (member 1938-51), still a very active alum, is shown at left.

The Norwood Park Drum and Bugle Corps began in a small way in 1927 when a group of neighborhood boys wanted to learn how to play drums. Their neighbor, William (Willie) Widmayer, agreed to teach them at his home. Others joined and soon they had a small drum and bugle corps, so some interested parents decided to form a parent support group for the corps. The Norwood Park Drum and Bugle Corps was officially formed. Original sponsors were the Parents Group and the Norwood Park American Legion Post. The Norwood Park Drum and Bugle Corps started just a few years before the Holy Name Cadets. But, the Cadets entered field competition before we did. The Cadets were competitively successful early on in their history, whereas Norwood Park's progress could be better characterized as measured and steady! Both of our corps quickly established shared traditions of spirit, pride and excellence; which gave many of us in Norwood Park a special affinity for the Cadets based on shared values! Sharing uniform colors seemed to further reinforce those feelings. The 1930s and 40s: From Local to National During the late 30s, the Norwood Corps marched with about 100 members. They placed well in local American Legion sponsored parade contests from 1936 - 1945. The Corps remained a community-based parade corps, focused on local appearances and community activities, until 1945, when field competition beckoned. Fred Specht (from the National Champion Senior Corps, the Commonwealth Edison "Knights of Light") was appointed the first military (marching) instructor to teach the members a field drill, which included wheels and various other complicated maneuvers. In 1947, Emmett Sarig, a music and band teacher at Maine High School, joined the Corps as music instructor. The Corps' sound (and scores) improved dramatically, bringing them their first State Championship. They repeated in 1948 and 1949. In the 1949 season, Norwood went to their first National Competition in Philadelphia. Competing against 40 corps, they placed 6th! Norwood's founder, Willie Widmayer also started corps in other Chicago area communities, 14 in all, but Norwood Park is the only one that survived into the 1950s. He remained active with the Corps for many years after his retirement. Alumnus Jack Bornhoeft reminds us: "Being a widower and having no children of his own, Willie's joy was his extended family of young people in the Corps. During WWII, Willie made a special effort to stay in touch with all of 'his boys' who were in the service. He also made a special point of contacting them when they returned home from overseas. We sure could use more people like him today - an extraordinary man and a great friend." Norwood started to compete against the Cadets in 1948; saw them in many Nationals, and later Midwest regional competitions from that date forward. We didn't beat them as often as we would have liked, but we were never embarrassed to lose to them either. A win against the Cadets, however few and far between, was something to be remembered. Shared on-the-field experiences seemed to further increase our mutual respect. The 1950s: The Corps Makes an Impression Continuing with the same personnel in 1950, the Corps captured first place 7 times and won the State Championship for the 4th consecutive year. In 1951, the Corps attended the National Competition in Miami, placing 4th. Wayne Mounsey (snare drum, 1939 to 1951) writes about this period: "1950 was one of the peak years for the Corps, as they won almost every one of the contests they entered. Their fiercest competitor was the Austin Grenadiers. The State championships in 1950 brought about an unusual occurrence, as there were two ties for the top spots: Norwood Park and the Austin Grenadiers for the American Legion title and Logan Square and Gladstone Park for the Sons of the American Legion title. All four corps had to repeat their entire 15-minute drills. The tension was unbelievable. But Norwood and Logan Square were victorious." Norwood Park continued national contention during the 50s and adopted the name "Imperials" in 1955. During this time, they introduced some innovations to drum corps, such as the Star/ Circle burst (1958), the use of dance moves (Cha-Cha, 1959), and the use of "working" flags in the drill. Our members were especially impressed by the efforts the (now GARFIELD, not Holy Name) Cadets made to defend their AL title in Chicago (1958) .. on their own! Seeing them take the field that day was awe-inspiring! A great demonstration of pride and determination: to get "emergency" uniforms, borrow equipment, get to Chicago and defend their title .. only to lose by a few tenths! Here is a comment from NP alum, Dave Borck (a drummer): The Cadets were really great. While the music was great and the brass was excellent (marching was also solid), MY favorite element of the corps was the drum line! Their drums had a GREAT sound, due to good tuning. The style of their arrangements (use of snares and tenors, etc) was very different from the midwestern style. It was also somewhat different from other eastern corps, such as BS and St. Vinnies. The Cadet drum line also achieved a higher level of rudimental drumming performance than most corps at that time." 1959 brought us to Minneapolis for Legion Nationals. Norwood had a strong showing there, and a GREAT showing in an evening contest later in Stillwater, MN. We competed at Legion Nationals just ahead of the Cadets. As they lined up behind us, we noticed they had different uniforms. No longer the "Scout House" type shorts, but not their traditional "West Point" uniforms either. As it turns out, it was just an interim step .. as was their "rebuilding year". At VFW in Detroit (1960), we saw the Cadets storm the field with their traditional uniforms, and an expanded and very energetic corps! Some contest results for this period: 1950 - Illinois State American Legion Champion 1951 - 4th at American Legion Nationals, Miami, score 86.61 1952 - 11th at American Legion Nationals, New York, score 84.00 1953 - 12th at American Legion Nationals, St. Louis, score 76.25 1954 - 14th at American Legion Nationals, Washington, score 73.48 1955 - Illinois State American Legion Champion,          7th at AL Nationals, Miami, score 86.98 1956 - Illinois State American Legion Champion,          2nd at VFW Nationals, Dallas, score 92.65 1957 - 6th at VFW Nationals, Miami, score 90.40          (4th at prelims, score 91.85) 1958 - 7th at VFW Nationals, New York, score 84.05          (tied with Boston Crusaders)          (6th at prelims, score 87.10);          7th at AL Nationals, Chicago, score 87.56 1959 - 6th at American Legion Nationals, Minneapolis, score 79.44

Parade in 1964 .. Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Rick Maass (Left) Corps director

The 1960s: Norwood Stays Competitive In the early 1960s there was a new surge for the Corps. Stronger management and better planning were introduced by Corps Manager Bob Briske, (who would later go on to significant work with Drum Corps International-DCI) and Business Manager Don Dennstaedt. Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Rick Maass followed as Corps director from 1964 to 1967. Instruction staff included Rick Maass, Dick Brown, Brian Pennington, Gary Czapinski and Bill Strauts. The Cadets also visited the midwest as they made their way to Denver for AL Nationals in 1961. A Norwood alumnus recently voiced his remembrance of that event: "One nice memory I have of the Cadets is when they came to Chicago to compete in a couple of contests here. That was considered a very big event, especially a top eastern corps like the Garfield Cadets. It added that much more to it. They were invited to the Cavalier show at Maine East High School and also to the contest in Woodstock. I remember there was a lot of anticipation on my part of seeing them up close on the field and competing against them locally. It was great to be part of that. That period was still part of when the Eastern Corps had a DIFFERENT image, like being in two different worlds." In 1963, the Corps decided to forego national competition and instead attend the prestigious National Dream Invitational contest in Bayonne, New Jersey. They competed in a contest in Selden, Long Island, New York the day before, then at the Dream contest on August 18, 1963. Dave Borck adds: "It was a great thrill to be included in the Dream Contest, along with the St. Kevin's Emerald Knights (Boston), the Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights (Newark, New Jersey) and the Garfield Cadets (Garfield, New Jersey). It was great fun to watch them and then to perform before the 26,000 fans in the stadium. They were really great drum corps fans too! They gave us a great reception. But the tension was probably too much for us, and our show was really 'off' due to nerves. Too bad that we were so new to this level of corps activity!" Unfortunately, because of the distance that separated us, we had few opportunities for many significant social interactions and personal relationships with Cadet members. But, this did happen in 1961 and 1963 to some degree. Some very close friendships developed between Cadets and NP Imperials, some of which continue to this very day.

Norwood Park on the starting line at Roosevelt Stadium .. The National Dream Invitational contest.

Some contest results from this period: 1960 - 7th at VFW Nationals, Detroit, score 82.15 1961 - 3rd at American Legion Nationals, Denver, score 81.86 1962 - 7th at VFW Nationals, Minneapolis, score 80.95          (5th at prelims, score 85.72) 1963 - did not attend national competition, instead placed 4th at The National Dream Invitational contest, Bayonne, NJ, score 75.80 1964 - 21st at VFW Nationals, Cleveland, score 78.40 1965 - 10th at VFW Nationals, Chicago, score 77.25 1966 - 11th at VFW Nationals, New York, score 79.40          (9th at prelims, score 84.35 1967 - 9th at VFW Nationals, New Orleans, score 75.70 1968 - 12th at VFW Nationals, Detroit, score 73.75 1969 - 21st at VFW Nationals, Philadelphia The 1970s: Membership Declines The Corps continued with its primary focus on community presence throughout its existence. The Imperials never really tried to recruit members from other areas, although some did join. Eventually, Corps membership declined in the 1970s. The Corps lost its state and national competitive presence, moving to competition in the new DCI Division II. While the Corps became smaller, it did not lose its community and family focus. The Corps always was proud of its record and focus on stimulating musical interest, military conduct, good and proper living and sportsmanship in the youth of its community. American Legion sponsorship had changed in 1969 from the Billy Caldwell Post to the Skokie American Legion Post, so the Corps was often called the "Skokie Imperials" in the 1970s. During the 1970s, the Corps often fielded just 45 to 50 members, but remained very musical and competitive for its size. In 1978, membership rose back to 100 for a brief period.

Norwood Park 1965 VFW Nationals in Chicago.

The 1980s: The Finish Line Corps parents and interested supporters remained the primary source for Corps management and direction. But, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Corps fell on hard times. Many Corps presidents, managers and instructors worked hard, in spite of increasing problems, to keep the Corps a valid and functioning unit, but there just were not enough active supporters and volunteers any more. New Corps presidents and managers were generally inexperienced and they often served as last minute fill-ins or replacements for people who burned out in the disputes and overwork which became common. Leadership was no longer continuous, sustained and strong. Financial and volunteer support was uncertain. The Corps had never developed a strong booster organization of parents, alumni and other supporters. Maintaining Corps membership became difficult as the finances dwindled and other corps raided the more experienced members. Finally, the loss of membership, lack of ongoing support and the continuing disputes about management caught up with the Corps. The Imperials became a parade corps again in 1984 and the Cadet Corps was not fielded. In January, 1985 the Corps closed down it's marching program and cancelled all plans. It was over now. But the last Board of Directors had honesty and integrity, putting their heads together to make sure that they sold everything possible to pay off the Corps debts. One of them told us: "Debts were paid, even instructors, some of whom were gracious enough to donate their salary to the corps. We paid some fifty cents on the dollar, but at least they were paid. We sold off equipment, the bus and truck, etc. The day we closed the books in 1987, we all had a clear conscience, we paid off all debts." And so, the Norwood Park Imperials, although dying, went out with class. Thanks to the last Board for sticking it out and finishing it right. The Corps had disbanded after 57 years of continuous operation. Until that time in January 1985, the Norwood Park Imperials was widely known as the oldest drum & bugle corps in continuous existence in the nation. Then, in 1987, the Corps, after exhibiting its pride, honor and championship demeanor once again, crossed the finish line for the last time. Current times The Imperials have not formed an alumni corps, but many Corps alums have marched with the Chicago Royal-Airs alumni corps and, more recently, the reformed Men of Brass. Alums gather periodically for reunions and attend some drum corps shows together. A recent comment from a NP alumnus about the 2007 Cadets: "Garfield was always my favorite corps, and when I see the Cadet uniform today, (exactly the way I remember it from the 60's), I still lose it. It's quite a paradox that a corps that clings to tradition via the uniform, has thrown tradition out the window during performance. That being said, I was at Pasadena this past August for DCI and I saw the Cadets perform twice.. When they aren't talking, the hornline plays MAGNIFICENTLY. Unbelievable talent! " A favorite comment about the Cadets from our webmaster, when adding a link on our website to the Holy Name Cadets alumni silte: "The Holy Name Cadets have also been known as the Garfield Cadets and simply the Cadets, and many Imperials alumni remember them as our friends that looked like us standing on our heads." (You have to see the uniforms to appreciate this!) Sadly, The Norwood Park Imperials now march only in our memories. (If the Imperials WERE still alive today, they would be observing their 80th anniversary this year... 2007!) But, The Cadets live on: proudly displaying their heritage, pride and excellence! We hope to see the maroon team going for many more years to come.

Intro by Dave Shaw text by Dave Borck photos provided by Dave Borck.