In 1924 the Charles Henry Schaeffer Drum and Bugle Corps was formed by the American Legion Post 191 in Emmaus. Catherine Rorhbach, mother of one of the Alumni corps members, recalled that her brothers were in the corps during the late 1930s before they left for WWII, and she, herself, was Drum Major in 1937. Another mother of current members, Aldine Sittler Gehman, was in the honor guard in 1942. Both of these ladies are taking an active part in the revival of the corps and have graciously donated photographs.

In the mid 1950s the corps was renamed the Emmaus Sentinels and preformed as a street corps marching in such events as Halloween and Memorial Day Parades in the local area. It was at this time the Sentinels adopted their signature green and gold uniforms.

In the 1960s the Sentinels increased their activities to include performing as a competition field corps in events largely sponsored by American Legion Posts throughout the Northeast United States, plus competed in the annual Pennsylvania American Legion Championship competitions. Also during this time period, the Sentinels hosted contests in the local area bringing in well known drum and bugle corps such as the Skyliners and the Sunrisers both from New York City. (The 1967 Third Annual Round-Up of Champions Program). In 1968 the Sentinels joined the newly formed Red Carpet Association (RCA) and participated in summer competitions as far west as Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania, and as far east as New England. Scores for the RCA contests are available at DrumCorpWiki.

In the 1970s the Sentinels continued to improve their field performances and ultimately scored as high as third place in the 1972 RCA Championship held in Erie, Pennsylvania. However with declining membership, by 1975 the Sentinels could no longer retain nor recruit sufficient players to field a viable corps and therefore disbanded.

• Additional scores for shows in which the Sentinels performed are available at corpsreps.com
  
  
• Downloadable recordings of Sentinels shows from the 1960s and 70s are available for purchase at Preserve Our Corps Memories

Click on the following links to hear.

• Announcing the Sentinels
• El Cid, 1973
• Mark Time Mark
• Pop Goes The Weasel, 1965
• The Cardinal, 1970
• Torero, 1969
• MacArthur Park, 1974 (for Bruce)

You can roll the mouse to the upper right side of each photo to advance through the entire group.

• Photo 1 from the 1940s
• Photo 2 from the 1940s
• Photo 3 from the 1940s
• Photo 4 from the 1940s
• Photo 1 from the 1970s
• Photo 2 from the 1970s
• Photo 3 from the 1970s
• Photo 4 from the 1970s
• Photo 5 from the 1970s
• Photo 6 from the 1970s
• Photo 7 from the 1970s

This is just a bit of the early history known of the corps. If you have memorable anecdotes of the Emmaus Sentinels, please share them with us. Contact us with your stories, or email us your photographs, and/or scrapbook articles. We will include your memories on this page and give you recognition for sharing the information. Thank you!