Central's nearly 100-year-old Kiltie Drum & Bugle Corps trying to raise $100K for uniforms

The Central High School Kiltie Drum & Bugle Corps has been around for nearly a century. The newest uniforms the group owns are older than the students wearing them.

The sponsor and parents involved in the oldest, all-female, uniformed Scottish Drum & Bugle Corps in the U.S. want to change that.

A campaign has been launched on GoFundMe, an online fundraising platform, to raise $100,000 to replace the existing uniforms — nearly all of which are 20 to 25 years old — and to build up the "repair fund."

Sherri Fidler, a parent, is the main organizer along with sponsor Sunday Wildschuetz.

Fidler, who has a daughter in the corps, said she didn't fully understand the poor condition of the uniforms until a parade this fall.

"There were pieces they had a hard time getting for everybody because some of them weren't in great shape," Fidler recalled. "But at that parade, I noticed a large hole in the front of a kilt."

The students go to great lengths to hide the damage and hold the uniforms together. Fidler asked for permission to take photos of the deteriorating clothes.

"That is something they don't usually do," she said. "It is very important that they present themselves very well and they don't want to show those things but they are in desperate need."

The corps was started in 1926 by R. Ritchie Robertson, a public school music director originally from Scotland known for founding the largest Boy Scout Band in the U.S.

The 40-member corps will mark its 100th anniversary during the 2025-26 year. An event to mark the 90th year of the corps was held and generations of women attended the celebration.

Fidler said the corps has preserved and repaired the kilts over the years but part of the damage was not preventable and cannot be restored.

"Whenever they wear the drums, specifically, those rub up against the kilts and create holes and they are not fixable because it basically wears the fabric away," she said.

The cost to replace an entire uniform is $1,850, with individual pieces ranging from $40 to $500.

"Because they have permission to use the Royal Steward Tartan, there is only one place that they can have them made and repaired unless they want to order from Scotland," she said of the patterned cloth, which resembles a plaid.

"To get anything repaired or replaced, it takes a lot of money and a lot of time to order from the place out of Kansas City."

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The most expensive part of the uniform is the kilt, which runs $500. Other pieces include a sporran (pouch in front of the kilt), tartan sash, socks, hat, sash pins, shirt, and decorative fabric pieces worn over the shoes and around the top of the socks.

Fidler said some parts of the uniform are held together with safety pins and tape. "It is really bad."

"You can imagine 25 years of use and they march a lot. They are just in horrible condition," she said. "They are very expensive to replace, all the pieces are, since they do not receive any funding from the district. All of their money has to be raised."

The corps is a year-round commitment for students, with parades and other appearances planned during and after the school year.

They have performed for presidents and royalty at events including the Orange Bowl Parade, a Presidential Inaugural Parade and the London New Year's Day Parade. In 1974, Missouri's then-governor Christopher "Kit" Bond proclaimed May 3 as the “Central High School Kiltie Drum Corps Recognition Day."

Want to help?

The GoFundMe fundraiser for the Central High School Kiltie Drum & Bugle Corps will go to the Kilties' account with the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools.

Any donations directly to the foundation for the effort need to specify the money is for the Kilties.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Central Kiltie Drum & Bugle Corps to raise $100K for new uniforms