In their own words: Stories of the Cyclone Football 'Varsity' Marching Band

For alumni of the Iowa State University Cyclone Football ‘Varsity’ Marching Band, the essence of their experience transcends the notes on the page. For a few thrilling minutes before the game, during timeouts, or at halftime, the band commands the stadium’s attention. Fans rise to their feet, clapping to the Iowa State fight song and tapping in rhythm with the drumline. The music and choreography play out in shared moments and pride, transforming the music into the sound of Cyclone spirit.

The heartbeat of the band is in the stories of connection, belonging, and school spirit. The Cyclone Marching Band Oral History Project captures these narratives, preserving a vibrant legacy for future generations.

The Power of a Story

Oral history projects provide vital information from firsthand accounts of lived experiences. By documenting the voices of marching band alumni and former directors across decades – from mid-1940s to the present – the project creates an array of personal and collective memories.

These stories provide researchers, historians, and fans with a front-row seat to the band’s traditions, performances, and how the band culture has evolved at Iowa State University. “The marching band has served as an integral part of student life at Iowa State for over a century,” said Rebecca Wells, student life archivist. “The main goal of this project was to gather the shared and varied experiences of band members throughout time especially how societal change and campus culture impacted those experiences.”

Each interview serves as a time capsule that captures the spirit of the person and of the band and its role in fostering community, pride, and identity.

Through carefully crafted questions, interviewers were able to spark recollections, that prompted these alumni to share detailed accounts of rehearsals, road trips, and performances. These narratives include personal backgrounds, hometowns, family ties, and even rivalries, like Cyclone fans raised in Hawkeye territory. 

Jay Chapman, a band member from 1986-1992, shared his personal story as well as facilitated conversations as an interviewer. Chapman played the trumpet and served twice as drum major. “Listening to the stories from band members from a variety of years not only gave me a great perspective on how things have changed for the band over the decades, but it also made me happy to hear that so many of the band traditions continue to live on,” Chapman said.

He interviewed past band directors, including his own and appreciated learning what it was like for them to address the logistics of managing such a large group. A total of six volunteers and employees of Special Collections and University Archives teamed up to process and record 24 oral histories over the span of three years. The collection includes more than 22 hours of recordings.

Female Flair

Lorna Livingston, a member from 1944-1948, recalled a memorable act of fearless audacity in her oral history.

During World War II, women filled the band’s ranks, but when the boys returned home, Alvin Edgar, the director at the time, dismissed all but two women – Livingston and Helen Wesley, who played the glockenspiel, a sound that stands out with the musician highlighting bright melodies. One morning during rehearsal a voice came over the loudspeaker to introduce the “1945 one-hundred-twenty-piece all-male marching band.” 

The band in all black tipped their policeman-style caps. In that moment, Lorna said to Helen, “Let’s skip the bobby pins this afternoon.” Later that day, when the introduction came during the game, their long, dark hair spilled out of their caps to their shoulders, with no pins to keep it in place.

“Mr. Edgar was not very happy,” said Livingston. “We had to turn in our uniforms. And he was going to get two men to play glockenspiel.” Edgar tried to replace them, but according to Livingston, there was no music written. “We had to play the b-flat cornet music,” said Livingston. “Which meant we had to transpose it. And we could both sightread and transpose simultaneously.”

Since they couldn’t do both, play and carry the music, they memorized it. Unable to replace Livingston and Wesley, Edgar called them back and let them stay in the band if they would wear drum major uniforms and march behind the twirlers, which they did.

Livingston was born in 1926 in Des Moines and lived in Ames. She marched in the alumni band until a few years before she died in 2024. Livingston recorded her oral history in 2022. Her glockenspiel, mallets, holster, and band jacket were donated to the Music Department.

Band Built Bonds

Dean Brand shared in his oral history that when he joined the Iowa State Marching Band as a sousaphone player, he didn’t realize how it would add to his college experience.

Brand said he didn’t socialize that much, but with the band came friendships, laughter, and memories that he wouldn’t trade for anything. He had the chance to play at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, and the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., when, according to Brand, the flag line was introduced, and the sousaphone section joined them for the “Can-Can”.

When Brand joined as a freshman in 1967, the band had recently increased from 96 to about 120 members (all men save for the twirler), and in 2025, according to Director of Bands Michael Golemo, over 600 students auditioned for the 350-member band.

Brand was in the band from 1967-1969 and 1971-1972. He trained in the military fall of 1970 and wasn't in school. Brand graduated at the end of winter quarter 1973 having majored in agricultural education. Brand recorded his oral history in 2023, and he served as an interviewer for other project participants.

Lifting Spirits

Some members joined the band to keep playing music or to meet people. Shawn Blaesing played the clarinet in the marching band from 1992-1996 and continues her ties to Iowa State as a lecturer in urban planning and development. She recalled in her oral history having a lot of fun even when the football team didn’t experience much winning.

According to Blaesing, the marching band “created an environment of friends that eventually became friends like family who I still keep in touch with and get together with to this day.” Blaesing would advise current band members to build relationships.

“Because these will be people you depend on and friendships you will have for the rest of your life.” Blaesing graduated in 1997 with an earth science degree and recorded her oral history in 2024.

Connecting Generations

Many of the former band members who recorded their stories for this project comment on joining the alumni band and the importance of continuing the legacy.

Anyone who was part of the ISU band program as a student is welcomed in The Society of the ISU Alumni Band, and participants don’t need to have graduated to be eligible. Ages range from recent grads in their 20s to those musicians who play into their 90s, like Lorna Livingston did. Blaesing acknowledges that periodically marching with fellow alumni is meaningful.

“Staying in the alumni band now that I am back in Iowa helps my brain health. I only play not even a dozen times a year,” she said. “But I love dusting off my horn and brain cells and coming together with a great group of people a few times a year to do something bigger than myself.”

A Legacy Preserved

The Cyclone Marching Band Oral History Project is a living archive, capturing the essence of what it means to be part of a community where music and spirit connect.

At its core, an oral history requires only an interviewee, an interviewer, and a recording device according to Wells. “But to make these interviews lasting resources, a lot more goes into the process,” she said.

“Our staff are involved in every step of this process, and student employees played a big role in transcription and editing,” said Wells.

In addition to the marching band, University Archives has gathered other oral histories in many topic areas: Agriculture and Environment, Arts, Community and Culture, Government, Military Service, and Science, and many from or about individuals important in Iowa State history, like former Vice President Henry A. Wallace and Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug.

Preserved in these oral history projects are stories of triumph, challenges, and traditions. They offer more than nostalgia. They enrich historical understanding by filling in gaps in written records and reflect voices across ethnicities and economic backgrounds. Special Collections and University Archives ensures the stories are preserved and accessible in this increasingly digital age. They will serve as a window into the cultural and historical fabric of Iowa State University for generations.