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Scottville Clown Band, at the Ludington Area Jaycees Freedom Festival Parade, July 4, 2023. Photo by Brad Reed.
SCOTTVILLE — The Scottville Clown Band has announced the recipients of its 2025 Raymond Schulte Memorial Scholarships. This year, the band has awarded 50 scholarships, totaling $18,000 to middle school and high school students attending summer performing arts programs, the highest amount in its history.
Funds for the scholarships were provided through the Clown Band’s George F. Wilson Memorial Endowment Fund and also through donations to the organization.
One of the primary missions of the Clown Band is to encourage youth to pursue the arts. Since its first scholarship recipient, Marty Erickson of Scottville, in 1966, the Clown Band has awarded over $570,000 in scholarships to youth. Erickson attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Following graduation from Mason County Central Erickson enrolled at Michigan State University. There, he won an audition for the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C. He served the Navy as the principal tuba player and became the auditions supervisor for the Navy band, was head of the brass section, chief-in-charge of the Navy Concert Band Division, and led the U.S. Navy Band Brass Quintet and Tuba-Euphonium Quartet. He recently retired as instructor of tuba and euphonium at Lawrence University in Wisconsin.
The majority of this year’s scholarship recipients will be attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in northern Muskegon County; the band has awarded $11,660 in scholarships to students attending Blue Lake this coming summer. The camp’s history has a close relationship with the Clown Band as it was co-founded by former Mason County Central band director Gilbert Stansel I.
The Scottville Clown Band was founded as the Merchants’ Band in 1903, a community band that performed, in humorous costumes, in the Scottville area. The band’s popularity grew and by the 1930s it was unofficially known as the Scottville clown band, its center-point performances being the Scottville Home Harvest Festival and the Ludington Independence Day parade. During World War II the band, along with the Scottville festival, were suspended. In 1947, the Scottville festival returned as the Scottville Harvest Festival and downtown merchant, Raymond Schulte — a second generation member of the band — re-formed the band calling it officially the Scottville Clown Band.
Today, the scholarship program honors Schulte who passed away in 2007.
In addition to the Schulte scholarships, the Clown Band awards $1,000 annually to a West Shore Community College performing arts student through its Robert F. Pinkerton, Jr. Scholarship, named after Scottville merchant and pharmacist Bobby Pinkerton, who served as the Clown Band treasurer for over 50 years. Pinkerton passed away in 2019.
The Clown Band also annually awards grants to public school music programs in Mason, Lake, Oceana and Manistee counties.
The George F. Wilson Endowment is named in memory of “Big George” Wilson who served as the street leader and master of ceremonies of the Clown Band from 1947 (when he was 15 years old) until his death in 2012. Wilson also served as the band’s secretary for several decades. The endowment fund is entrusted to the Community Foundation of Mason County. To make a donation, checks may be sent directly to the foundation, 119 S Rath Ave, Ludington, MI 49431.
Those wishing to make a donation directly to the Clown Band, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, checks may be sent to Scottville Clown Band, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454.
visit www.scottvilleclownband.com for more information about the band and its 2025 performance schedule.
Local recipients of the 2025 Raymond Schulte Memorial Scholarships include:
- Elyssa Wright, Hesperia High School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Adelyn Brown, Manistee Middle School, Interlochen Contemporary Dance Intensive
- Mariah Elkins, Manistee High School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Avah DeBoni, Manistee Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Sloane Alway, Mason County Central Upper Elementary School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Avoca Alway, Mason County Central Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Ava Losinski, Mason County Central Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- James Vronko, Ludington O.J. DeJonge Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Mina Harley, Ludington O.J. DeJonge Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Calvin Hodges, Ludington O.J. DeJonge Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Adison Merteb, Pentwater High School, Accelerate Dance Intensive, Grand Valley State University
- Abigail Field, Pentwater High School, Eisenhower New Dance Fest
- Christopher Jeruzal, Pentwater Middle School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Mary Winterhalter, Shelby High School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Kasey Oberlin, Shelby High School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
- Cael Omness, Shelby High School, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
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