Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps
Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps' new logo
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| Location | Racine, Wisconsin |
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| Division | Open Class |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Director | Randall Chaffee |
| Uniform | Blue jacket has white collar & epaulets w/red stripes, white baldric w/red pinstripes & Explorer Scout logo, and white cuff stripe w/red pinstripes White bibbers White gloves for horns White shoes & socks Chrome-plated brass helmet with a red fox-tail plume |
The Racine Scouts (formally the Racine Explorer Scouts) Drum and Bugle Corps is an Open Class (formerly Divisions II & III) competitive junior Drum and bugle corps. Based in Racine, Wisconsin, the corps competes in Drum Corps International and MACBDA sanctioned shows. The Racine Scouts, nicknamed the "Chrome Domes", is the oldest continuously active junior drum and bugle corps in North America.
The Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps was begun as an activity of Boy Scout Troop 15 of Racine's Lutheran Church of the Atonement in October 1927 by Scoutmaster Elof Erickson who enlisted Earl Ray as drum instructor and William L. Peterson as bugle instructor and director. Initially, the corps had no instruments--- the drummers drummed on any available surface, and the buglers sang, hummed, or whistled the music. By 1928, they had become a valid drum and bugle corps, marching in Racine's 4th of July parade for the first time, and Norbert "Shorty" Zinnen had become an additional instructor. On October 5, 1929, the corps traveled to Madison, Wisconsin for Boy Scout Day at the University of Wisconsin, where they led the parade preceding the football game between Wisconsin and Colgate at Camp Randall Stadium, where all Boy Scouts were admitted free with their valid membership card.
In 1931, sponsorship of the corps was transferred from Troop 15 to the Racine County Council of the Boy Scouts. Although the corps membership now included Scouts from at least fourteen troops, Peterson, Ray, and Zinnen continued as the groups' leaders and instructors. During the 1930s, the corps was designated as the official musical unit of Boy Scout National Region Seven. It also became the oldest continuously operating corps in Scouting, as many corps came and rapidly passed from the scene. From 1935 through 1940, the Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps was undefeated in competition. In June and July 1937, the corps attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington, D.C. where they performed in concert before more than 25,000 Boy Scouts and led a parade of Scouts to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, where they performed another concert during a pouring rain. Also in 1937, they were a part of the first appearance of drum corps at the Wisconsin American Legion State Convention, where they won the $25 first prize as best Scout drum and bugle corps in the parade and were first heard in a radio broadcast. In 1938, a group of Madison businessmen were inspired to start a local Boy Scout corps, and they asked for Racine's help with staff, music, and support for their start-up of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. That same year, the corps performed on NBC's "Worldwide Round Up" national radio broadcast. Also in 1938, the corps performed at the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago where their buglers first performed on single piston bugles. 1939 saw the Racine Scouts playing the national anthems of the U.S. and Demnmark during the visit of the Danish Crown Prince to Racine and their first VFW appearance, when, although not competing in the field show, they led a section of the parade at the Wisconsin State VFW convention in Racine. In 1941, the Racine Scouts made their first appearance at a national competition, finishing seventh in the "Junior" competition at the American Legion National Championship held at Municipal Stadium in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin; the corps would not return to any "National" competition until 1954.
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