St. Croix Rivermen

"Corps is founded in 1978 out of the remains of the Mounties D&B Corps of Stillwater MN.
The Rivermen became a "bona fide" drum corps in 1979 when the members of the St. Paul Scouts joined ranks with the "old Mounties" to grow the corps ranks to the (then maximum) 128 members. The corps was loud & very rough around the edges, but it was finally a big corps and ready to compete with the nation.
In 1980 the Rivermen earned their place in the DCI national tour, taking two long trips with the "top 12" corps to Texas and then to Alabama for nationals. The corps reached a critical milestone by breaking into the DCI top-25 corps at the national championships in Birmingham, Alabama. The corps took 22nd place, narrowly missing out on getting onto Ken Kobald's famed vinyl records. Nevertheless, the members were ecstatic! They could not wait until they made their way to the fabled DCI Top-12 in years to come.
In 1981 the corps again maintained their DCI Associate Membership with a placement of 23rd place at the DCI Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Prior to the DCI championships, the corps had climbed through the ranks of the Associate corps, scoring very high marks, particularly in the brass section. Just a week before nationals, the horn line scored 18.9 out of 20. This all came to a halt at nationals when the corps' scores plummeted in relationship to their peer competitors. This was in the face of a great prelims performance. Sadly, the unexpected placement of 23rd was devastating to many of the members, who chose not to return in the 1982 season.
In 1982 the corps stayed on the DCI national tour, travelling with the future DCI champion Garfield Cadets. Due to the decreased size of the corps and younger age of its members, the Rivermen struggled to compete with bigger and more-experienced corps. In a twist of irony, the 1982 Rivermen show was the single most popular in corps history! The corps had crowds on their feet at every competition! In Revere, Massachusetts, the corps ended its third number to such a huge ovation that the announcer became confused and thought the show was over. In a strange way, it almost was...
At the 1982 DCI National Championships the Rivermen slipped out of the top-25 and began their slide into obscurity. It was only a few years later that the corps folded."

[From drumcorpswiki]
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"The 1980 Edition of the Rivermen will feature a contemporary sound and style with the emphasis being on entertaining the fan in the stand. The Rivermen consist of 128 young adults from the St. Croix Valley - Twin City areas and the average age of the corps is 16 years old. The corporate head-quarters is Stillwater, Minnesota.
The Rivermen are Minnesota's finest contribution to competitive Drum Corps. The corps was formalized in January of 1978 and the 1980 season will mark its third year of summertime competition. The Rivermen are the 1978-79 State American Legion Champions of Minnesota. In 1979, the Rivermen placed 4th at the American Legion National competition in Houston, Texas and 5th at the VFW National competition in New Orleans, Louisiana."

[From the 1980 DCM Championship Souvenir Program]

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