Public art honoring drum and bugle corps to be dedicated Saturday at Illinois Veterans Home

QUINCY — Friends of the Drum and Bugle Corps, led by Dennis Koch and in partnership with Arts Quincy, will dedicate a new public art installation at the Illinois Veterans Home that honors the men and women who participated in the musical tradition of drum and bugle corps at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 21 in the parking area on the east side of the library at the Illinois Veterans Home.

A reception will follow at the American Legion Pavilion by the lake. 

Crafted by Harrison Monuments, the monument consists of a black granite centerpiece measuring 50 feet by 8 feet by 44 feet and weighing 2,000 pounds, alongside a smaller marker commemorating the site of the Illinois Veterans Home Hospital Annex. Both sit on a base measuring 90 feet by 24 feet.

“This monument honors not only our city’s musical legacy but also the community spirit that kept these corps thriving for decades,” Laura Hesseltine, executive director of Arts Quincy, said in a press release. “Arts Quincy is proud to partner with people like Mr. Koch so we can produce outstanding public art that preserves our local stories and uplifts future generations. We’re proud to support projects that bring creativity and history together in powerful, lasting ways.”

From the 1930s to 1980, Quincy was home to a vibrant drum corps scene with groups like the SAL Squadron 37, Trojans, Debutantes and Flying Dutchmen. These corps represented Quincy in national competitions.

The first national drum and bugle corps championship took place in 1921, hosted by the American Legion in Kansas City. Early drum corps were sponsored by the leading veterans’ organizations of the time – the American Legion and VFW or by local organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and churches. These “classic” drum and bugle corps consisted of brass bugles of varying pitches, field drums and a color guard, with marching drills centered on military bearing.

From the early 1930’s until 1980, Quincy was home to several drum and bugle corps who represented the city in competitions throughout the country. The Sons of the American Legion Post 37 (SAL Squadron 37) was the first of these corps in Quincy. Competing from the early 1930s into the mid-1940s, the Squadron competed in American Legion contests from Miami to California, winning the national championship in San Francisco in 1946.

The Squadron was reformed in the 1950s as the Trojans, and an all-girl corps, the Debutantes, was formed. The Trojans were sponsored by the American Legion Post, and the Debutantes were sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post in Quincy. While not as successful as the SAL Squadron, both corps were very competitive in the Midwest.

The two corps disbanded in the early 1960s, leading to a lull in the activity in Quincy, with several attempts to reform a corps. Several drill teams and color guards were formed with the intention of expanding them into a drum and bugle corps. While those efforts didn’t produce a corps, they did create the Columbians Drill Team, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, and the Golden Eagle Color Guard at Quincy Notre Dame High School.

Another effort to form a corps was made in late 1970 after a reunion of old corps members. This effort resulted in the Flying Dutchmen, first as a parade corps in 1971 and then as a competitive drum and bugle corps in 1972. The Flying Dutchmen, the first co-ed corps in Quincy, were sponsored by the American Legion Post 37 in Quincy and the Carthage VFW Post. It competed in the Mid-America Drum and Bugle Corps Circuit.

The Corps was reorganized as the Dutchmen in 1979 to rejuvenate the activity and closed in 1980. Each of these corps had one thing in common – neighborhood kids were accepted and taught to play a bugle, beat a drum, spin a rifle or carry a flag and to march in unison. Prior musical experience was not a requirement, and there was no cost to join.