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Revision as of 03:39, 31 October 2017 editJim1138 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers297,704 edits copied two USS Argonne from USS Argonne← Previous edit Revision as of 23:29, 16 December 2021 edit undoArgonne73 (talk | contribs)77 editsm ARGONNE - THE DRUM CORPSTag: RevertedNext edit →
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'''Argonne''' may refer to: '''Argonne''' does refer to:

*The ], France
'''ARGONNE'''
*], a U.S. D.O.E. National Laboratory near Chicago, Illinois

*], also called the Battle of Argonne Forest, a World War I battle
*], a ghost town in the United States
*], a town, US
*], an unincorporated community, US
* {{USS|Argonne|1918}}, built in 1916 at Kobe, Japan, by the Kawasaki Dockyards.
* {{USS|Argonne|AS-10}}, originally designated AP-4 and commissioned 8 November 1921.
*], a short-lived U.S. car company
*], a Division I drum and bugle corps from Great Bend, Kansas *], a Division I drum and bugle corps from Great Bend, Kansas

*], a historic hotel in downtown Lima, Ohio, United States
== Argonne Rebels Drum and Bugle Corps ==
{{disambiguation}}
{{Infobox drums corps
| name=Argonne Rebels
| logo=
| location=]
| division=Open Class
| founded=1947
| folded=1984
| titles = American Legion Nationals Champion <br />1971-72 in competition<br />1973 by proclamation
| director=
| uniform=
}}
]


The '''Argonne Rebels Drum and Bugle Corps''' (also known as "Argonne" or "The Rebels") were an Open Class (a distinction now known as World Class) competitive junior ]. Based in ] and ], the Rebels were one of the thirteen founding member corps of ], taking fifth place in 1972.<ref name="Hist">A History of Drum & Bugle Corps, Vol. 2; Steve Vickers, ed.; ''Drum Corps World'', pub.; 2003</ref>

In August 1947, musician John Taff and the Rev. Joseph Tockert of the St. Rose ] Church started a drum and bugle corps for the ] and ] of the St. Rose ] to operate under the sponsorship of the ]. The corps had its first public performance on November 26, 1947. When ] Argonne Post 180 took over the corps' sponsorship in 1949, membership was opened to all area youth, and the name was changed in recognition of the Legion Post, which had been named after the ], the site of major ] during ]. In 1955, Bill and Mary Lou Fryberger became the corps directors for several years. Shortly after the Frybergers left, Glenn Opie became the corps director, a post he would hold through 1973. In 1974, Jenny and Bob Allford were co-directors of Argonne. H.Gene Specht became the director in 1975 and 1976. Jerry and Jan Becker became corps directors in 1977 and would continue until Argonne folded in 1988.<ref name="Hist"/><ref name="AR">{{cite web|url=http://members.cox.net/argonne_rebels/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603231120/http://members.cox.net/argonne_rebels/|title=Argonne Rebels Drum And Bugle Corps, Great Bend Kansas|archivedate=June 3, 2011|publisher=|accessdate=December 29, 2014}}</ref><ref name="reps">{{cite web | title=History for Argonne Rebels | url=http://corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpshist&corps=5&corpstype=Junior | accessdate=December 29, 2014}}</ref>

Argonne competed with others in the Great Plains area in the 1950s and 1960s. They also competed in numerous ] and American Legion, championships, and, in 1955, the Rebels won the first of thirteen Kansas State American Legion championships. From the mid-1950s, Argonne was also a major corps on the national scene. They were a finalist in the American Legion Nationals in 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963 (when they finished in tenth place after being attacked by a group of ] in ], on their way to Miami because the corps had African-American members), 1965, 1971, and 1972; a finalist at VFW Nationals each year from 1968 through 1972; and were Legion National Champions in 1971, 1972, and 1973.<ref name="Hist"/><ref name="AR"/><ref name="reps"/> (The 1973 Legion national convention was held in Hawaii; since few if any drum corps were willing to travel there for the Nationals, they were not held that year, and the Argonne Rebels were awarded the championship by proclamation.){{cn|date=November 2021}}

In 1971, two organizations were started with the intent of giving drum corps more control over their activity, which was then largely governed by the veterans organizations. The Midwest Combine was made up of the ], ], ], ], and the ]; and the United Organization of Junior Corps (also known as the "Alliance"), was formed by the ], ], ], Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, and Blue Rock. In 1972, the ten corps from the Midwest Combine and the Alliance were joined by the ], the De La Salle Oaklands, and the Argonne Rebels as founding members of Drum Corps International (DCI), which remains as the sanctioning body for junior corps in North America. At the first DCI World Championships, held in ] on August 17 and 18, 1972, the Argonne Rebels finished in fifth place. The brass was instructed by Sandra Opie and was considered to be the premier brass section in drum corps; on several occasions, they received a perfect score of 5.0 for Content Analysis.<ref name="Hist"/><ref name="AR"/> Both Glenn Opie and Sandra Opie are in the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame.

In 1973, the expectations for Argonne were extremely high; not only had the corps finished in fifth place at DCI, but most of the members would be returning for the new season. When the expected new musical arrangements were not received from the arranger, the corps turned to Frank Minear, lead trumpeter for the ] band, who had offered to write charts for the corps. Minear's arrangements of "Fanfare For The New" and "]" were transcriptions straight from the Kenton band's arrangements. When combined with Ken Norman's arrangement of "]", the 1973 Argonne Rebels had what was almost unquestionably the most technically complex musical program that had ever been performed by a drum and bugle corps up to that time. Unfortunately, although things were changing under the new Drum Corps International, technical difficulty was not yet taken into consideration in judging a corps' performance. Additionally, the arrangements made getting the sounds to the fans in the stands in proper synchronization difficult at best, so that the field show was redesigned in mid-season by Drum Corps Hall of Fame ] designer Vince Bruni. Although Argonne would finish in eleventh place at DCI World Championships at Whitewater, the season was a disappointment for the members whose early expectations had been so high. Although future DCI Hall of Fame members ], Bernard Baggs, and Don Angelica addressed the corps immediately after the show and attempted to console the members, the corps would never recover from the blow.<ref name="Hist"/><ref name="AR"/>

With the Opies' departure from the corps and Sandra Opie's move from instructor to judge, the corps' brass would never again approach its excellence of the early 1970s. In 1974, Argonne would drop to thirty-third at DCI. The corps would recover somewhat, finishing twentieth in 1975 and eighteenth in 1976, but it would fall to the lower levels of Open Class in 1977, '78, and '79 and would cease operations following the 1979 season. The Argonne Rebels would return as a Class A corps in 1983 but would leave the field for good following the 1984 season.<ref name="Hist"/><ref name="AR"/><ref name="reps"/> Although the Argonne Rebels have not been in field competition since 1984, its organization still exists to serve the alumni, since more than 3,000 youth from Great Bend and Barton County marched in the corps during its more than forty years of competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://getruralkansas.org/Great-Bend/50Explore/565.shtml|title=Rural Kansas Tourism - Great Bend Exploration|publisher=|accessdate=December 29, 2014}}</ref>

During the Summer of 2015, a special exhibit remembering the Argonne Rebels was presented at the Great Bend Public Library. It was created under the auspices of the ]'s “Museum on Main Street” program and is sponsored by the ]. Additionally, a reunion of Argonne Rebels alumni was held on July 11, and on the 14th, the annual ] show "Drums Across Kansas" moved from ] to Great Bend and renamed the "March of Champions" to honor the two-time American Legion champion corps and its alumni.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kansashumanities.org/2015/02/rebels-with-a-corps/ |title=Rebels with a Corps |publisher=Kansas Humanities Council |date=February 23, 2015 |accessdate=July 8, 2017 }}</ref>

Revision as of 23:29, 16 December 2021

Argonne does refer to:

ARGONNE

  • Argonne Rebels, a Division I drum and bugle corps from Great Bend, Kansas

Argonne Rebels Drum and Bugle Corps

Argonne Rebels
LocationGreat Bend, Kansas
DivisionOpen Class
Founded1947
Folded1984
Championship titlesAmerican Legion Nationals Champion
1971-72 in competition
1973 by proclamation
File:74 Argonne parade.jpg


The Argonne Rebels Drum and Bugle Corps (also known as "Argonne" or "The Rebels") were an Open Class (a distinction now known as World Class) competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Great Bend and Barton County, Kansas, the Rebels were one of the thirteen founding member corps of Drum Corps International, taking fifth place in 1972.

In August 1947, musician John Taff and the Rev. Joseph Tockert of the St. Rose Catholic Church started a drum and bugle corps for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the St. Rose Parish to operate under the sponsorship of the Knights of Columbus. The corps had its first public performance on November 26, 1947. When American Legion Argonne Post 180 took over the corps' sponsorship in 1949, membership was opened to all area youth, and the name was changed in recognition of the Legion Post, which had been named after the Argonne Forest, the site of major U.S. military action during World War I. In 1955, Bill and Mary Lou Fryberger became the corps directors for several years. Shortly after the Frybergers left, Glenn Opie became the corps director, a post he would hold through 1973. In 1974, Jenny and Bob Allford were co-directors of Argonne. H.Gene Specht became the director in 1975 and 1976. Jerry and Jan Becker became corps directors in 1977 and would continue until Argonne folded in 1988.

Argonne competed with others in the Great Plains area in the 1950s and 1960s. They also competed in numerous VFW and American Legion, championships, and, in 1955, the Rebels won the first of thirteen Kansas State American Legion championships. From the mid-1950s, Argonne was also a major corps on the national scene. They were a finalist in the American Legion Nationals in 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963 (when they finished in tenth place after being attacked by a group of white supremacists in Birmingham, Alabama, on their way to Miami because the corps had African-American members), 1965, 1971, and 1972; a finalist at VFW Nationals each year from 1968 through 1972; and were Legion National Champions in 1971, 1972, and 1973. (The 1973 Legion national convention was held in Hawaii; since few if any drum corps were willing to travel there for the Nationals, they were not held that year, and the Argonne Rebels were awarded the championship by proclamation.)

In 1971, two organizations were started with the intent of giving drum corps more control over their activity, which was then largely governed by the veterans organizations. The Midwest Combine was made up of the Blue Stars, Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Troopers; and the United Organization of Junior Corps (also known as the "Alliance"), was formed by the 27th Lancers, Garfield Cadets, Boston Crusaders, Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, and Blue Rock. In 1972, the ten corps from the Midwest Combine and the Alliance were joined by the Anaheim Kingsmen, the De La Salle Oaklands, and the Argonne Rebels as founding members of Drum Corps International (DCI), which remains as the sanctioning body for junior corps in North America. At the first DCI World Championships, held in Whitewater, Wisconsin on August 17 and 18, 1972, the Argonne Rebels finished in fifth place. The brass was instructed by Sandra Opie and was considered to be the premier brass section in drum corps; on several occasions, they received a perfect score of 5.0 for Content Analysis. Both Glenn Opie and Sandra Opie are in the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame.

In 1973, the expectations for Argonne were extremely high; not only had the corps finished in fifth place at DCI, but most of the members would be returning for the new season. When the expected new musical arrangements were not received from the arranger, the corps turned to Frank Minear, lead trumpeter for the Stan Kenton band, who had offered to write charts for the corps. Minear's arrangements of "Fanfare For The New" and "Málaga" were transcriptions straight from the Kenton band's arrangements. When combined with Ken Norman's arrangement of "Stars and Stripes Forever", the 1973 Argonne Rebels had what was almost unquestionably the most technically complex musical program that had ever been performed by a drum and bugle corps up to that time. Unfortunately, although things were changing under the new Drum Corps International, technical difficulty was not yet taken into consideration in judging a corps' performance. Additionally, the arrangements made getting the sounds to the fans in the stands in proper synchronization difficult at best, so that the field show was redesigned in mid-season by Drum Corps Hall of Fame senior corps designer Vince Bruni. Although Argonne would finish in eleventh place at DCI World Championships at Whitewater, the season was a disappointment for the members whose early expectations had been so high. Although future DCI Hall of Fame members Truman Crawford, Bernard Baggs, and Don Angelica addressed the corps immediately after the show and attempted to console the members, the corps would never recover from the blow.

With the Opies' departure from the corps and Sandra Opie's move from instructor to judge, the corps' brass would never again approach its excellence of the early 1970s. In 1974, Argonne would drop to thirty-third at DCI. The corps would recover somewhat, finishing twentieth in 1975 and eighteenth in 1976, but it would fall to the lower levels of Open Class in 1977, '78, and '79 and would cease operations following the 1979 season. The Argonne Rebels would return as a Class A corps in 1983 but would leave the field for good following the 1984 season. Although the Argonne Rebels have not been in field competition since 1984, its organization still exists to serve the alumni, since more than 3,000 youth from Great Bend and Barton County marched in the corps during its more than forty years of competition.

During the Summer of 2015, a special exhibit remembering the Argonne Rebels was presented at the Great Bend Public Library. It was created under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution's “Museum on Main Street” program and is sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council. Additionally, a reunion of Argonne Rebels alumni was held on July 11, and on the 14th, the annual Drum Corps International show "Drums Across Kansas" moved from Wichita to Great Bend and renamed the "March of Champions" to honor the two-time American Legion champion corps and its alumni.

  1. ^ A History of Drum & Bugle Corps, Vol. 2; Steve Vickers, ed.; Drum Corps World, pub.; 2003
  2. ^ "Argonne Rebels Drum And Bugle Corps, Great Bend Kansas". Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "History for Argonne Rebels". Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  4. "Rural Kansas Tourism - Great Bend Exploration". Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  5. "Rebels with a Corps". Kansas Humanities Council. February 23, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2017.