Western Oregon Corps
Corps are relationally grouped (if applicable)
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Portland Hawks – Portland, OR 1, 5
Established: March 1959 as the Hawthorne Boosters of Portland
1960: Name change to Hawthorne Hawks All-Boy Drum Corps
Director: 1959 – 1963 Bruce Plumb
1964 – 1967 Clete Smith
Manager: Phil York (1964)
1963: Now known as the Hawks of Oregon
1966 & 1968: NWDCA B-Division Champions
1966: Went co-ed 49
1971: NWDCA A-Division Champions
1974: Last Field Show
1975: Merged with the Portland Royal Lancers to form the Third Regiment
Home Show: “Sound off”
Sponsored by:
1959 – Portland’s Hawthorne District Businessmen’s Association. Hence – Hawthorne Hawks
1961 – Hawks Parents Club and The Portland Police VFW Post #2807 D&BC and the Portland Leathernecks Sr. D&BC American Legion Post #1691
Royal Lancers – Portland, OR 1, 5
Established: September 9, 1963, as the Royal Legion Lancers
Founded by: Tom & Bob Chenoweth, Chuck Waples, Bruce Plumb
All founders were former Hawthorn Hawks.
Director: Bruce Plumb
Manager: John Bettger (1964)
1965: Early. Name change to Royal Lancers 2
1965: March 21st – Merged with the Optimist Flamingos
to form the Flamingo-Lancers20
1974: Last Field Show
1975: Merged with the Portland Hawks to form the Third Regiment
Home show: “Big Sound”
Photo: 1972
Third Regiment – Portland, OR 5
Established: 1975,
Merger of the Portland Hawks and the Portland Royal Lancers
Last Documentation: 1978
Disbanded: unknown
The Flamingos – Salem, OR 1
Established: April 1959 as The Sons of the American Legion
AKA: The Sons of the American Legion Squadron 136
Sponsored by the American Legion Post #136 of Salem
All boy corps.
Manager: Ron Terry & Joseph Morecraft (1964)
1962 (April): Name change to The Optimist Flamingos.
Now sponsored by the Optimist Club of Salem
1962: Went co-ed. Added all girl color guard.
1964: First year of the very successful “Opti-rama” winter show.
1965: Merged with the Portland Royal Legion Lancers to form the Flamingo-Lancers20
1966: Name changed to The Flamingos
1975: Now known as the Argonauts
Home Show: “Opti-rama”
Last Field Show: 1974
Flamingo-Lancers – Portland, OR
Established: March 21, 1965
Director: Bruce Plumb (Royal Lancers Director)
Manager: Courtney Jones (Flamingos Director)
“Un-merged”: End of 1965
The purpose of the 1965 merger of the Portland Royal Lancers and the Salem
Flamingos was to create a larger corps to participate in the American Legion
National Championships held in Portland Oregon on August 21-22, 1965
Escadrille – Salem, OR
Established: 1972
Feeder corps to the Flamingos
May 5, 1971 Statesman Journal article “The Flamingo Chicks”
Last Documentation: 1973
Disbanded: Unknown
Photo: 1973
Argonauts – Salem, OR
Established: 1975
Rebranded/reformulated Flamingos Drum Corps
1978 & 1979: Did not field a corps
Last Documentation: 1987
Disbanded: Multiple times. The last in 1996.
Highest DCI ranking:
1977 Open Class Prelims, 22nd
1985 Open Class Semi-Finals, 22nd
Mariners – Astoria, OR 48
Established: 1960.
Manager: George Bingham
Drill Instructor: Bill Perkins (see the Sunsetters, The Who?, and the Marauders)
1961 Oregon State VFW Junior Champions
1962 Oregon State American Legion Jr Champions
1962 Oregon State Eagles Jr Champions
Last Documentation: 1965 Salem Optirama
Disbanded: 1965
Photo: December 18, 1963 – Drum Corps News
The Mariners folded in 1965 and the Sunsetters were established in 1966 with some
of the same instructional staff. There must be story here someplace.
Contact the webmaster if you have the nitty-gritty.
Sunsetters – Astoria, OR 5
Established: July 1966
Manager: Bill Perkins (see the Mariners, The Who?, and the Marauders)
First Field Show: 1969
1970: NWDCA C-Division Champions
Last Field Show: 1972 NWDCA Championships,
1974 The Big Sound (verification needed).
Last Documentation: 1973 Optirama, saber duet & quartet
Disbanded: 1973 & 1974
Future uniforms for “The WHO?” in Longview, WA 32
Challengers – Sheridan, OR
Established: 1972
Director: Tom Holland, WA Andrews
Coordinator: Jim Massey
Horn Instructor: Larry Plumb
Last Documentation: 1973 13
Disbanded: Early 1974 (verification needed)
Photo: 1972?
Imperial Cadets – Portland, OR
Established: October 1964
Last Field Show: 1972
1973: Merged with the Oregon Crusaders to form the Dickinson’s Imperial Crusaders
Home Show: “Chrome Circus”
Disbanded: End of season 1973
Photo: 1969
Oregon Crusaders – Oregon City, OR 5, 21
Established: 1971
AKA: Oregon 1st Militia Crusaders
Founders: Brothers Ron & David Jones
1971: Inaugural year. No field show. Color guard competitions only.
1972: Name change to Dickinson’s Oregon Crusaders 21
1973: Merged with the Imperial Cadets to form the Dickinson’s Imperial Crusaders
1974: Name change from Dickinson’s Imperial Crusaders
back to the Oregon Crusaders 12, 5
1976: Did not field a corps. 14 members joined the Vancouver Spartans 44
1977: Back on the field again.
Last Documentation of original corps: 1977
Oregon Crusaders – 1999 and Beyond
1999: A new corps – the Southern Oregon Crusaders were created in Medford Oregon.
This corps is distinct from the original Oregon Crusaders established by the Jones brothers in 1971.
Dickinson’s Imperial Crusaders – West Linn, OR
Merger of the Dickinson’s Oregon Crusaders & the Imperial Cadets
Established: 1973
1973: Only season to field a corps
Knights of Pythias – Roseburg, OR
Established: 1941 – 1946 as the “Pepsi-Cola Girls“
Re-established: 1947 Sponsored by the Knights of Pythias Lodge
Sponsor: Knights of Pythias Alpha Lodge No. 47 of Roseburg OR
Director: Bill Black
All-girl corps
Last Documentation: 1968 Oregon Parade
Disbanded: Sometime after 1968
Colors: Blue & White
MacLaren Boys School – Woodburn, OR
Established: May 28, 1958
Director: Hal Beyers. Music director at North Marion HS
Last Documentation: June 29, 1968
Colors: Yellow & black
This is/was a reform school for boys in Woodburn Oregon. It is now called a “Youth Correctional Facility”.