Golden Knights

The Golden Knights drum and bugle corps started in a very small way in 1964 when George Schwenterly and Fred Espenscheid, who ran the Boy Scout troop in the St. Therese church, decided to add bugles that resulted in the formation of the St. Therese Boy Scout Troop 50 drum corps of Southgate.

The Knights’ first public appearance was on Memorial Day 1964, as they grew over the 1965 season performing in parades and exhibitions as the renamed Golden Knights. The corps entered the field of competition with a 2^nd place finish in the 1966 Kentucky VFW state contest and would go on to win the VFW state titles in 1967, 1969 & 1970. The Southgate unit also participated in the 1968 VFW Nationals parade and participated in the 1970 US Open “Class A” finals, placing 5^th & the 1971 Canadian Open championships, placing 13^th  in the “Class A” preliminaries.

After a busy season of summer contests in 1972, the corps reverted to parade status the following year and returned to limited competition in 1974. They became members of the Mid-American circuit, placing 5^th in the 1975 finals and over the next two years traveled extensively in regional championships that included the prelims in the  DCI North “Open Class” (17^th - 1976 & 16^th - 1977), the Key to the Sea “Class A” (1976 - 11^th), the “Open Class” in the US Open (31^st - 1976 & 16^th - 1977) and the American International Open (AIO), where they ranked 7^th as a finalist. Dan Acheson, former DCI Executive Director, was part of the instructional staff.

The 1978 season was a rebuilding year for the corps as they competed regionally, returning to the 1979 US Open “Class A” contest, where they placed 4^th in the finals and participated in their first DCI “Class A” championships, missing out by one spot in the finals, placing 6^th. In their final season of field competition, the Golden Knights finished 9^th in the 1980 Key to the Sea “Class A” finals along with 10^th and 12^th positions in the “Class A” prelims of the US Open and AIO regionals, respectively, culminating with a 9^th place finish in the DCI “Class A” preliminary round. The group remained active in 1981.

They disbanded in 1982.

From the May 1970 Issue of Drum Corps Digest; Paul Legault (DCX)

Members (14)