The Oregon State Defense Force Pipe Band
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The following history of the band was compiled by Don MacIsaac. Don is the senior member of the band and has been actively piping for over 35 years.

In 1971, Lt.Col. George J. Roe received permission from BG Snow, the Commander General of the Oregon National Guard Reserve, to form a military highland bagpipe band. The band was called the Oregon National Guard Reserve Pipe Band and was made up of members of the Albany Scottish Pipe Band of Albany, Oregon. Green US Army jackets were tailored to accommodate wearing with the MacLennan tartan kilts worn by the Albany Scottish band.

In late 1980 the band received an invitation to participate in President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 Inaugural Parade in Washington DC. The band represented the eleven western states. For this occasion the band recruited additional pipers and drummers for other Oregon pipe bands to form a larger band. The trip to Washington was made with 20 pipers and additional drummers.

Due to the publicity the band received from the Inaugural Parade, and an increased awareness of the part of the military personnel in Oregon, the Pipe Band began receiving many requests to perform. The schedule rapidly increased to include parades in Salem, The Dalles, Klamath Falls, Myrtle Creek, Athena, Lebanon, Sheridan, Lincoln City, Seaside, Eugene, Tillamook, Redmond, Woodburn, Fort Vancouver and Longview, Washington.

In the spring of 1981, WO William Edmiston became Pipe Major. Col. Roe continued with the band as a piper and the band director. Then in 1983 the band competed in the San Francisco Caledonia Society Highland games at Santa Rosa, California. In 1984 the first Military Tattoo was held in Salem, at the Armory Auditorium. That fall the band made a trip to Estes Park, Colorado.

One of the other bands taking part in the Estes Park games was the Aberdeen Ladies Pipe Band, from Aberdeen Scotland. A friendship with Margaret Davis, the Pipe Major of the Aberdeen Ladies, was established during this time. With Margaret’s help an invitation was received to participate in the Aberdeen Highland games. The funds to make this trip were raised, and in June 1986 the band went to Scotland.

The band spent a week in the Aberdeen area, preparing for the competition. They also took part in a massed pipe band parade through downtown Aberdeen on the Friday prior to the games. A second week was spent touring Scotland.

In 1985 the position of Pipe Major was passed to WO James Wallace. Under Wallace, the band continued participating in local and statewide events and to travel outside of Oregon. There was a second trip to Estes Park and to Scotland. The band visited Antigonish, Nova Scotia for highland games.

In 1994 WO Ronald Baker became Pipe Major. The band’s schedule for 1996 included a trip to Stone Mt. Georgia to honor the Chief of Clan MacLennan whose tartan the band wears. The band also toured Disney World. At the completion of the 1996 season, Baker, who after years of dedication to the band as piping instructor, Pipe Sergeant and then Pipe Major decided to stand down for a period. David Ferguson assumed the position of Pipe Major in 1996. David Ferguson resigned from the band in July 1997 and Sfc. Alex Maich became Pipe Major. Maich was later promoted to WO. He served as PM until 2005 when WO Baker returned to the PM position. Baker stepped down in September 2008 at which time Sgt. Richard Johnston became the band’s current Pipe Major.

The pipers and drummers of today’s OSDF band honor our men and women of the armed forces by playing for veterans’ groups and at ceremonies. Our youth program nurtures champion pipers and drummers who have competed and won honors throughout the Pacific Northwest.