If you attended Kennewick High School in the 60's or 70's, you may know that the
Kennewick High Music Department is in possession of one of the largest drums in the world!
Mr. Hampton Wines, the band director at Kennewick High School from 1954 to 1961,
got the idea for a big drum from the Dodge City High School Marching Band who had a big drum in Dodge City, Kansas. The Purdue University Marching Band was one of the first organizations to have a 'big' drum and were followed by the Texas Longhorn Marching Band.
The big drum, which measures 7 feet in diameter, was purchased on May 9, 1961, for
$2,500.00. With shipping and insurance the total cost was $2,675.00. Click here for a view of the original purchase receipt from the Evans drum company of Dodge City, Kansas which has been kept safe these
38 years by Mr. and Mrs. Wines. Needless to say, that was a lot of money back in 1961; in fact you could purchase a new car
for roughly the same amount! The KHS Marching Band and 'Stage Band', (made up of members of the marching band), called the
'Klassics', raised the money. The 'Klassics' were paid for playing at school proms all over the Southeastern Washington area.
They and the rest of the band members sold 10,000 cans of Almond Roca for 50 cents each. The combined money from these two
projects financed the big drum.
Under Mr. Wine's direction, the drum was ordered through the Tri-City Music Center
in Downtown Kennewick, owned by Mr. Chauncey Seeley. Evans Drum Company in Dodge City, Kansas, made the drum and the drum
heads had to be made from plastic because there weren't any cattle big enough to provide skins for such big drumheads.
Kennewick High School first used the 7 foot drum in the Lilac Festival Parade in May
of 1961 in Spokane. Senior drummers auditioned for the chance to play the big drum. Two other drummers had the privilege of
pushing the special cart that the big drum sat on. To the right is one of two pictures we have of the 1961 Lilac Parade. Click
it to see a larger view. Click here to see the 2nd picture.
The second public appearance of the big drum was in June of 1961 at the Rose Festival
Parade in Portland, Oregon. Here, Lorne Greene of the Bonanza TV series, poses in front of the KHS 'Big Drum' before the parade.
Lorne Greene was the Grand Marshal of the 1961 Portland Rose Parade, and was well known as 'Pa' (Ben Cartwright) to millions
of 'Bonanza' viewers across the nation. Eleanore Burke, the girl's P.E. teacher at KHS, also remembers posing with Lorne Green
in front of the 'Big Drum' in Portland.
Here is Mr. Hampton Wines and 2 KHS students just before the Rose Parade commenced.
Minta Hutchens [right], a former clarinet player in the band, recalls selling lots of Almond Roca in order to help purchase
the 'Big Drum'. A number of local businesses and contributors also donated to the 'Drum Fund'. Linda Kay Beall, class of '61,
is standing next to Mr. Wines
The original Lion was painted by John Williams, class of '61, and Don Gerards, who
painted the 'Kennewick Lions Marching Band' lettering. John writes, Don Gerards and I had the near impossible task of decorating
the drum virtually overnight. He did the fine lettering and I painted the lion. The paints we used were totally unfamiliar
and the colors didn't mix well.
Don Gerards was a Clarinet player in the indoor band, and a snare drum player for the
marching band. Don recalls, I got a lot of help on layout and painting from John Williams, the best artist in our class of
'61. John drew all the wonderful cartoon lions in the 1961 'Keewaydin,' the 'Literary Lion' publication, and numerous posters
seen around the halls for three years. John was a delight to work with. Don went on to the University of Washington to major
in architecture. He was involved in the redesign of the Sea-Tac and many other airports. Don (far right) is pictured in this
old newspaper clipping. Click the picture on the left to see the entire newspaper photo; notice that the color 'registration'
is off, typical of older color newspaper photos.
The drum was dedicated to Mr. H.R. Wines, and a plaque was presented to him, which
he still has. Without his help, this drum would not have been possible. For a number of years the drum was displayed at games,
in parades and special events. The picture on the front cover of this 1962 Annual depicts the KHS Marching Band with 'Big
Drum', click on the picture to see a larger view.
Over the course of years from approximately the mid 60's to mid 70's, the big drum
went through a lot. In the mid 60's, only a few years after it's purchase, the drum was vandalized and the heads were slashed.
The heads were replaced and a new design was painted on the drum. The new design lasted for a number of years.
A former KHS alumnus noted that the 'Big Drum' was a powerful symbol of unity and school
pride. At one time, during football games, several of the marching band members would form a human blockade around the drum
to protect it from rival school vandals who may want to damaged it.
In the mid to late 70's the 'Big Drum' was put away and pretty much forgotten. Later,
the drum was discovered in storage, and almost sold. Protests from several individuals prevented the sale and the drum was
put back in storage. In Kennewick, when the KHS Lion Marching Band marched, you could usually hear a few in the crowd shout,
"Where's the big drum?"
Restoration Project:
In 1982, the forgotten KHS 'Big Drum' was brought out of storage. The drum had suffered
by abuse and inattention for a number of years, and was even a bit structurally weak. Then it was up to a 'crack team' of
former KHS graduates, to restore the drum so it could again be used as a symbol of Lion Pride. Their names now appear inside
the 'Big Drum' as a reminder of their efforts. By class year they are Ed Alden - '62, Den Hardtke - '62, Jim Bateman - '66,
John Moreno - '66, Pat Mokler - '70 and Art Spooner - '72.
It was no easy job. First they added interior wooden braces, attaching them to the
drum body firmly. Then a web of spokes was designed to attach to the new wooden braces. This system was adjusted to ensure
that the drum was perfectly circular, and would continue to maintain perfect continuity of shape. An additional pair of wooden
braces were installed inside the drum to strengthen the points at which the 'Big Drum' rests on its rolling drum stand. The
outside drum body was then covered with a striking silver finish and all of the silver plated hardware was re-attached to
the drum. As the final touch, a regal new lion head was painted on the drum heads by John Moreno.
Re-discovered:
In 1999 the 'Big Drum' was re-discovered by a percussion student, stuck away above
the stage in Fuller Auditorium at the high school. This development got several people interested in the old drum, and catalyzed
another restoration project. Over the next months the old silver exterior of the drum was removed leaving a thick layer of
contact cement. The old cement was scraped off and the underlying surface was cleaned, stipped, and finally repainted just
in time for the KHS All-Class Reunion in July, 2000. In 1999, 2 new 7 foot drum heads were ordered and were specially manufactured
and shipped from Remo Drum Company. Each of these new drum heads cost $600 and replaced the existing damaged heads that had
been painted by Alumnus John Moreno. 
One of the Moreno heads is now displayed in the Benton County Historical Museum, behind the Kennewick City Hall building.
During the 1999 school year, a KeHS Art Class was asked to paint the new drum heads with a brand new lion. A design was drawn
up and accepted by the KeHS music staff, but after the first head was painted, the final result looked so lousy that it could
not be shown in public. It was painted over with the giant 'K' you see in the picture on the right.
A last minute paint job was thrown onto the remaining head in order to get it ready
for the drum's appearance at KHS Band Camp, on August 17th. Again suffering with a slightly amateurish paint job, this is
the current state of the 'KHS Big Drum'. What the heck, at least the 'Big Drum' is back! Maybe some Alumni will finance a
new set of heads in the future and we can get John Moreno to work his magic once again?!
The KHS Big Boom is a item of Pride. It will always be the symbol of our great
tradition of exellence.
