Racine Boy Scouts
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Corps History
The
Racine Scouts, formed in 1927, is a junior marching and maneuvering corps based
in Racine, Wisconsin.
For their
first few months of existence, before funds could be raised through newspaper
recycling, the drum line was forced to practice on the sandbox of their sponsor,
the Atonement Lutheran Church.
Until at least
1936, the corps bore the unwieldy name of The Boy Scouts of Troop 15 of the
Church of Atonement. Also known as the Racine Explorer Scouts, they have been
sponsored by their parents’ organization, the Racine County Council of the Boy
Scouts of America, and the VFW Post 1391.
True to their
Scout origins, the corps required every member to be at least a First Class
scout until the late 1950s.
In 1959 the
Scouts undertook a power tour, making 32 performances through Minnesota,
Michigan, and Wisconsin in just five days.
The Racine
Scouts claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating junior
drum corps in the United States. They gained Drum Corps Midwest membership in
1998 and celebrated their 75th anniversary in 2002.