Emerald Knights

The Emerald Knights drum and bugle corps was formed on July 12^th, 1965, when the Cedar Rapids Cadets “B” separated, one group moving up to the Cadets “A” corps while the other half met at Robins Lake in Cedar Rapids to form an independent “All-Boys” corps, the Emerald Knights, under the original direction of William P. (Bill) Matus.

They began performing in the fall of 1965 and throughout the 1966 season before entering the field of competition the following year, placing 6^th in the 1967 Iowa American Legion (AL) state contest and repeating their 6^th place finish the next year. In 1969, with the integration of girls in the corps, they continued t0 participate in the state convention, ranking 7^th in 1970.

From 1971 to 1975, “EK” began regional competition, appearing in the 1971 US Open “Class A” preliminary round, finishing in 12^th position, the 1972 AL Nationals, placing 37^th in the prelims, the 1974 Mid-American circuit, ranking 4^th in the finals, the 1975 AL Nationals, missing out of the finals by a mere 3/10ths of a point & DCI Midwest, placing 13^th in the preliminaries. In 1974, the corps began running a regular Bingo as a major revenue stream.

From 1976 to 1978, the corps participated in the DCI championships, qualifying for the “Class A” finals in 1976 with preliminary results of 29^th & 39th in the “Open Class” division in 1977 & 1978. They also competed in several regional contests including the finals in the 1976 American International Open (AIO) “Class A”, placing 6^th & Iowa State Legion champions, the 1977 DCI Midwest regionals, finishing 10^th in the “Open Class”, the 1977 AL Nationals & VFW Nationals, finishing in 5^th & 7^th respectively, the 1978 Drum Corps Midwest (DCM), placing 10^th.  In 1979, the corps went on hiatus due to financial restraints.

The next two decades could be best described in 3 stages, the first between 1980 to 1984 when the corps returned to the field of competition in the DCI “Class A” championships, finishing 14th (1980 - prelims), 20^th (1981- prelims) & qualified as a 1984 finalist, finishing in 7^th position. The Emerald Knights also participated in the DCI “Open Class” division, where they placed 44^th in 1983 & earned a “Quarterfinal” position, finishing in 23^rd in 1983 & 21^st in 1984. They also competed in the DCM circuit during this same time, securing a finalist position in 1983 (9^th) & 1984 (6^th) along with prelim appearances in the 1980 DCI Midwest, the 1982 AIO (13^th), DCI North (19^th) & DCI Canada (20^th).

The corps went inactive for a year when financial expenditures once again caught up to them, resurfacing in 1986 in the “Class A/60” division, part of their 2^nd stage that would last until 1990. After a rebuilding year, placing 19th in the DCI preliminaries, the 1987 edition incredibly jumped to bridesmaid in the 1987 DCI “Class A/60” finals, earning a 22^nd place finish in the “Quarterfinals” and was crowned the DCM “A/60” champions.

Vowing to win the following season, the corps, having retained most of its members, unfortunately fell short in the 1988 DCI “Class A/60” battle, finishing 2^nd but did manage to defend their DCM title. It was a heartbreaking defeat for the up and coming corps, as 1989 was another rebuilding year, placing barely out of both DCM and DCI finals. In 1990, with even smaller numbers (12 brass), EK placed out of DCM but managed to take the final 7^th spot in the DCI “Class A/60” finals.

In 1991, new corps director Matthew, Daugherty brought a new laidback philosophy both in show design and work ethic and in the early inter of 1991, an agreement to merge with the Knight Command of Bettendorf was reached that helped to solve membership problems and ease financial burden for both organizations.

In breaking off the merger in 1992, Matt Daugherty and John Wooten took the laidback style to its logical conclusion, forging a new identity for the Cedar Rapids corps known as Nite Express. Only a handful of Emerald Knights continued, mostly in the drumline, therefore the new name was in many respects, a new corps. Dean Bassett, a man who had marched tympani in the Emerald Knights in the late 1970's and had remained with the corps as equipment manager until his death in 1994. He was highly respected in the organization, and the Emerald Knights equipment trailer in emerald and white with its very loud sound system was the envy of many corps.

As per their tradition, the Cedar Rapids unit, in their 3^rd stage, pursued DCI championship competition with appearances in the 1992 “Division III” prelims (11^th), moving up to the “Division II” class, placing 6^th in 1993, bridesmaid in 1994 finals, a 7^th position in 1995 & 3^rd place in the 1996 finals. They also competed in the 1994 & 1996 DCI “Quarterfinals” along with finals performances in the 1994 US Open, the 1995 DCI North & the 1996 North American Open, the US Coast Guard Open & the Canadian Open.

The Express contested in the DCM circuit during this period as well, winning the 1993 “Division II” title. The Emerald Knights, re-assuming that historic name in 1998, was inactive from 1997 through 2000. EK briefly returned to the field and last competed in DCI “Division III” prelims in 2001, finishing 20^th and 7^th in the DCM circuit. Some of their sponsors over the years included the Cedar Rapids YMCA, the Hanford AL Post 5 the Cedar Rapids VFW Post 788 and the jovially named Hawkeye Hoo-Hoo Club.

They disbanded in 2002.

www.geocities.com/st_lawson/history.htm; A History of Drum & Bugle Corps, 2002; DCW, 8/6/04, p.3;
Drum Corps World, June 24, 2002, p. 5; rec.arts.marching.drumcorps; Dave Huntley, 4/12/98; Paul Legault (DCX) 

Members (32)