RACINE ELKS YOUTH
BAND HISTORY
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Racine Elks Youth Band – A 34 Year History
The “father” of the Racine Elks Youth Band, one of the most successful musical youth organizations in Racine history, was the brainchild of
Joseph A Marck, a Racine policeman and chairman of the Racine Elks Youth Activities Committee in 1946.
In 1946 Marck put together a band of 35 boys ranging in age from 12 to 18 for the Racine Elks Club. They participated in the Wisconsin
American Legion State Convention parade held in Racine on Sunday afternoon, August 4, 1946, and the Racine Elks Club trustees commented
in their minutes that “they were coming along in fine shape and will be playing soon at lodge functions.”
During the late 1940s selective service and volunteering for the Korean War decimated the ranks of the band so a decision was made to
permit girls of the same age group to join the band.
Around 1949, Marck had his sights on a bigger and better band for the Racine Elks Club. With his expansion plans approved by the Racine
Elks Youth Activities Committee, Marck went out and captured the interest of Racine’s Franklin Junior High School Band Director Ralph Houghton
and Racine Elks Club Trustee Chairman and benefactor William H. Wadewitz.
Marck went to music teachers in all of the Racine junior and senior public and parochial high schools to obtain the best musicians they could
find. The cooperation of the teachers was excellent according to Marck. Houghton auditioned all of the prospective band members and 72 were
selected with 20 more placed on a waiting list.
“We are seeking to establish the band’s reputation as the best youth band in the state,” Marck explained at the time. “We hope to carry on
the fine tradition established by the city’s drum and bugle corps.”
And they did! The Racine Elks Youth Band went on to capture so many trophies in competition to boggle the mind. After the Racine Elks
Youth Band was reorganized in 1950 they traveled all across the country from New York to Los Angeles for the next thirty years, with new youths
taking the place of others as older students went on to college or other activities of their choice. In many cases younger brothers and sisters
followed their seniors into the band with parents serving as chaperones and members of the Band Parents Club for a score or more years.
The first reorganized Racine Elks Youth Band in 1950 wasn’t too impressive as far as their uniforms went. Houghton outfitted the band in
“White” – white shirts, white pants, white shoes and white hats. They quickly were nicknamed the “Ice Cream Band.”
The Racine Elks Youth Band’s first trophy came in competition at the Southeastern Wisconsin Music Festival during the summer of 1951.
The competition was held at Racine’s Horlick Athletic Field on August 15, 1951. It was a cold, cold night. This event was sponsored as a
community service by the Racine AMVETS Jack Jerstad Post No. 24 and had an audience of 3,000. During the summer of 1951 the band also
participated in the “Wisconsin Spectacle of Music” parade in South Milwaukee and in the Chicagoland Music Festival in Chicago’s Soldier Field.
The band held its first concert in Racine’s Memorial Hall on February 2, 1952 with 62 musicians. It was a big success even in their white “ice
cream” uniforms. Tex Reynolds, Racine Journal-Times columnist was the narrator.
The concert so impressed everyone that a drive was put on to raise money for new uniforms. Behind the drive was William H. Wadewitz who
raised over $4,000 from Elks businessmen. The new uniforms were purple and white – the Elks official colors – in French styling with loose
blouses, raglan sleeves, purple trousers with white shoes and spats, purple buttons, and white berets with the Elks emblem. It wasn’t long before
the band was being called the “Purple Machine.”
With a year of experience and new uniforms the Racine Elks Youth Band was underway to becoming a major musical organization. They
made their first public appearance in their new “purple” uniforms in a Lions Club State Convention parade in Milwaukee. During the summer of
1952 the Racine Elks Youth Band also appeared at the Wisconsin Dells, Racine’s Fourth of July Goodwill parade, West Allis 50th Anniversary,
Edgerton, WI, Music Festival, Fond du Lac’s Centennial Parade, Elkhorn’s V-J Day, the Franksville, WI, Kraut Festival and the Wisconsin
Spectacle of Music in South Milwaukee, WI.
It became a rigorous schedule for the band members and a year round activity. During the school year they practiced once a week and put
on an annual concert. During the summer they rehearsed three times a week. They made out-of-town appearances practically every weekend
from May through Labor Day and also appeared in many local affairs. They appeared in contests, festivals, parades, and fairs and appeared on
national television. They traveled in rented busses plus their own equipment van for hauling their instruments and uniforms and escorted by
chosen volunteer chaperones.
They carried home trophies and earned many coveted titles. Band contests were held all over the United States with trophies given to the
winners and the runner-ups. The Racine Elks Lodge filled up with them. Some of the many titles won by the Racine Elks Youth Band were:
Elks Grand Lodge Junior Band National Championship: 1953
Wisconsin V.F.W. State Junior Band Championship: 1960, 1966
V.F.W. Junior Band National Championship: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968 and 1969.
Wisconsin American Legion State Junior Band Championship: 1955, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967.
American Legion Junior Band National Championship: 1959
Supporting the band was a devoted army of parents, the Racine Elks Youth Committee, drivers, chaperones, a drill master, librarian,
seamstresses and a business manager. The parents organized their own Parents Club with Mrs. Gordon Martin as the first president.
The year 1953 was the first really big year for the band. They traveled almost every week from June to October and had their first major
competition when they competed in the Elks Grand Lodge Band Championships in St. Louis. Here at this convention the Racine Elks Youth
Band won the national championship in the junior division. When they returned from that triumphant tour on July 7, 1953, they snake danced
through the downtown area of Racine after they arrived at 11:30 P.M.
In addition to the St. Louis tour the Racine Elks Youth Band performed during 1953 at cities throughout Wisconsin: Cedarburg, Fontana,
Waterford, South Milwaukee, Mendota, Elkhorn, Franksville, La Crosse, Janesville, Racine and Wisconsin Rapids. They ended the season on
October 4 by performing during halftime at the Racine Raiders semi-pro football game at Racine Horlick Athletic Field.
The band also included more than musicians. There also were girls in the color guard, four at first which increased to as many as fourteen
in later years. The color guard would make appearances separate from the band on occasions at Elks functions and other ceremonies. All of
them also played in the band.
In 1954 the band went to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. They gave a concert on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and took second place in
the junior band division at the V.F.W. National Band Championships in Philadelphia.
In 1955 the band traveled some 3,000 miles and appeared before an estimated 300,000 people. It became one of the best public relations
spokesman for the City of Racine. Wherever they went their activities were reported in local newspapers, often with photos.
One of the big years was 1958 when the band went to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Disneyland. They marched a half-mile through
Disneyland as the only marching band with 50 floats and an audience of 90,000 to 100,000.
The band continued to march across the United States from year to year: Minneapolis in 1959 where they took first place in the junior band
division at the American Legion National Championships. They also competed at the V.F.W. National Junior Band Championships in Detroit
(1960), Miami Beach (1961), Minneapolis (1962), Seattle (1963) and Cleveland (1964). After taking second at Detroit in 1960, the Racine Elks
Youth Band reeled off four straight V.F.W. National Junior Band titles from 1961-1964.
The Racine Elks Youth Band continued its dominance of the Junior Band Division at the V.F.W. National Championships during the 1960s
by winning two more titles in Detroit (1968) and Philadelphia (1969).
In 1980 when the Racine Elks Club sold their lodge building on Lake Avenue, the Racine Elks Youth Band and their Cadet Band were
disbanded. All equipment was sold and the trophies were distributed to band members. It was a very sad day for the band. But hundreds of
them and their parents carry with them fond memories of the band appearances. To many, their band days were among the happiest of their
lives.
On January 12, 1984, the parents Club donated $22,000 to the Sesqueuincennial Committee of Racine and the band closed its books. The
Racine Elks Youth and Cadet Band era had ended.
Elks Youth Band Directors:
1946-51 Joseph Kay
1951-56 Ralph Houghton
1956-59 Roland Olson
1959-62 Tom Ronsvoog
1962-63 Roger Svoboda
1963-72 Alan Gaulke
1972-73 Norm Lanning
1973 John Henkes (summer)
1973-76 Bill Chandler
1976-77 Harry Abromowitz
1977-78 Doug Johnson
1978-80 Frank Germinardo
Band managers, appointed by the Racine Elks Club, were important individuals to the functions of the band. The first was Julius Kovach in
1952.
Elks Youth Band Managers:
1952-53 Julius Kovach
1953-54 Joseph Marck
1954-55 Julius Kovach
1955-56 Wilber Tangerstrom
Lewis Ripley
1956-65 Lewis Ripley
1965-67 Everett Sather
1967-71 Arnold Hildenberger
1971-72 Lewis Showalter
1972-77 Stan Odell
1977-78 James Krucus
1978-80 Bob Westrich
Ken Mahaffy
Elks Youth Band Drill Masters:
1952-56 Al Harris
1956-63 Ray Smith
1963-65 Alex Sabo
1965-68 John DeHartich
1968-71 Allen Gaulke
1972-75 Ken Beauchamp
1975-80 Earl Vander Weilen
Band Parents Club Backbone of Band
The Elks Youth Band could not have existed without the backing of the parents of the band members. This was the support organization for the
band. The parents organized as the Band Mothers Club in 1952 and changed its name to the Band Parents Club in 1954. Annually it elected
officers and carried out an extensive program of fund raising, training of chaperones, maintaining the uniforms, and promoting the band in every
possible way.
In 1953 they issued a newsletter called Elks Band News. Marge Paulsen was the first editor with Maggie Hawkins as her assistant.
The known presidents of the Parents Club were:
1952 Joseph Marck
1953 Dorothy Martin
1954 Omar Junker
1955 Robert Sorensen
1956 Rudolph Wosilait
1957-58 Lowell Klees
1960 Les Blank
1963 Ken Lee
1965 Everett Sather
1966 Roman Szepanki
1975-76 Don Mitchel
Fund Raising Helped Finance Band Trips
Financing the Elks Youth and Cadet Bands was an arduous undertaking by everyone involved in the Elks Band operation. While the Racine
Elks Club outfitted the band members, supplied the rooms for practice, purchased instruments and financially helped with trips and other needs,
there were always more needs to be met.
To meet these needs, the band members and parent organization continuously sponsored pot luck and box suppers, family fish fries, card
parties, bingo games, bake sales, theater parties, and rummage sales. They made and sold pizzas (15,000 of them), conducted paper drives,
sold hosiery and Christmas cards.
The band members held candy sales, sold “Booster Club” tags, checked coats and hats and cars at the Golden lantern and sold hot dogs,
drinks and snacks at the Fourth of July tent at Washington Park.
One of the biggest fund raisers was the sale of fruit. Members sold two to three truck loads a year.
Profit from the fund drives helped pay for the out-of-town trips. Band members and their parents paid some of the cost and those who
couldn’t afford trips earned money through a “credit system” on sales developed by Business Manager Stan Odell. Racine VFW Post 1391
shared some of the traveling expenses by being a co-sponsor to the VFW competitions. John Batikis, Youth Chairman for the VFW, arranged
for the State VFW travel grants to the state and national contests. The VFW also donated flags to both the Elks Youth and Cadet Bands.
Elks Junior and Cadet Bands
In 1955 it was decided to form a junior band of boys and girls from the sixth to eighth grades of the public and parochial schools. This group
would perform as a regular band unit and as members became eligible they would become members of the Elks Youth Band.
Al Harris was named the first director of the Junior Band and also served as their first drill master. In 1957-58 Eugene Nechuta directed the
Junior Band and Jim Koeting was its director for the next two years.
In 1960 the Junior Band was disbanded due to the scarcity of musicians in this young age group.
By 1966, however, the Racine Elks Club reestablished the junior band and named them the Elks Cadets. Father Russell Jacobus directed the
new band with Ray Smith as Drill Master.
The Elks Cadet band gradually expanded and eventually had 80 musicians performing. They also had an active schedule of performances,
largely in the State of Wisconsin.
Elks Junior Band Directors:
1955-57 Al Harris
1957-58 Eugene Nechuta
1959-60 Jim Koeting
Elks Cadet Band Directors:
1966-68 Russell Jacobus
1968-72 William Chandler
1972-75 James Mertins
1975-76 Robert Hyatt
1976-77 Harlow Klema
1977-80 Jim Schiebenes
Junior and Cadet Band Business Managers:
1955-60 Lewis Ripley
1966-72 Joseph Burks
1972-77 Lewis Schowalter
1977-80 James Krucus
Junior and Cadet Band Drill Masters:
1955-58 Al Harris
1958-60 Ray Smith
1966-72 Ray Smith
1972-75 Donald Fresen
1975-80 Edward Wosilatt