The Scottish Highlanders

In 1936 Colonel George Dailey at the State University of Iowa envisioned a bagpipe band to accompany their Military Corps.  William L. (Bill) Adamson, of Boston, was recruited by Col. Dailey to lead the group at Iowa, which at that time was under the R.O.T.C. department. This was the birth of the State University of Iowa Scottish Highlanders.  From 1937 – 1943 the Scottish Highlanders were an all-male bagpipe band, but when the men were called to duty for war the decision was made to convert the entire group to all-female – making it the largest female bagpipe band in the world.  It was an honor to be selected into the Scottish Highlanders as Adamson had very high standards for the girls he admitted and hundreds of girls auditioned with only 60 or so spots available.  Over the next few decades the group toured Europe every 4 summers, toured the White House and interviewed with President Nixon, and made appearances on shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.  The Scottish Highlanders also played an important part in the War Bond effort in the 1950’s. They served as “living symbols” of the slogan “Thrift for Security Savings Bond Drive”.  They performed in nearly every county in Iowa, helping to earn $24,500,000 in E and H Savings Bonds for the Treasury Department.

In 1965 Director Bill Adamson passed at the age of 58 due to complications from Rheumatoid Arthritis.  After his death the group continued under the direction of graduate students but the program began to decline without full-time attention.  In 1981 the University of Iowa withdrew the funding of the Scottish Highlanders.  The group attempted to get financial support from various organizations and businesses but was not able to support itself and became and student organization under the UI Office of Student Life and their performances at UI Football games were ended.