Irving Crown Imperials

Welcome to the Carpentersville Memories Crown Imperials Page. Our goal is to bring back some fun memories of growing up in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

We bring back Memories you didn’t know you had

Support the site - Make a Donation

Were you a member of the Crown Imperials?

Irving Crown Imperials Marching Band

The Dundee Scots and the Crown Imperials were rivals. However, they shared Spain Field for football games. Therefore, both would perform for their respective home teams. They also moved to a football field at their respective school.

The Imperials practiced at the high school in an area known as “The Bowl”. Before that was created, the band practiced in the student parking lot. Just like the Scots, they could be heard by neighboring residents. The drums were heard best; followed by the brass section. When the games were held at the high school, the neighbors could definitely hear the band perform. When the games were at Spain field, just like the Scots, old town area of Carpentersville and some Dundee (East and West) residents could hear the band on game nights.

The Irving Crown Imperials High School marching band was formed in the fall of 1973, when Kenneth Miller, a band director from Dakota, Illinois high school, was hired by the school to start a competitive marching band. Until that point, Irving Crown had only a field band that performed at all fall football half-time shows and used the school’s mascot name, the Vikings. Ken Miller had big plans for a competitive band that would compete against the cross-town rival band, the Dundee Scots from Dundee Community High School. And in a few short years, the Imperials were winning first place trophies and making a name for themselves, not only locally but nationally as well.

The national notoriety of the Imperials started from the beginning, as Mr. Miller got the band involved in summer tours every year starting in the summer of 1974. These tours took the band to both east and west coasts. They competed and won in field and parade competitions in places like Kentucky, New York, Minnesota, and California. The Imperials saw their peak winning seasons in the late 1970s, winning numerous first place awards, building character and amazing memories for the students who were a part of this wonderful organization. Back in the early days of the ‘new’ marching band, males were allowed to be a part of the rifle and flag sections.

The ‘new’ band became a force to recon with. They even beat the Scots a few times. Of their notable events, the Imperials marched at the 1977 inauguration of Jim Thompson where they won the Governor’s Trophy as the best competing band in the parade, and at Soldier’s Field in Chicago for a Bears game in 1979, to name a couple.

The Imperials did not have a signature fundraiser. They sold a lot of different items over the years. The items sold included holiday candles (luminaries), Halloween candy, pizza, tropical fruit (grapefruit and oranges), eggs, and geraniums. It felt, to students, like the band was selling something every month.