- What is/are the
Knickerbocker Greys?
- Who can join
the Greys and how much does it cost?
- When and where
do the Greys meet ?
- What do the
Greys do?
- Are the Greys
a military organization?
- What sort of
people have been cadets?
The Knickerbocker Greys is a
not-for-profit, non-discriminatory,
leadership-developing corps of spirited boys
and girls that has been a New York
institution since its founding in 1881.
Cadets learn discipline and the habits of
orderliness, and from that they develop
leadership capabilities themselves: how to
motivate others, deal with subordinates
firmly but respectfully, and command a group
of peers. These elements of leadership will
help them in all areas of their school lives
now and with their jobs and families later
in life.
Membership in the Knickerbocker Greys is
by invitation, available to boys and girls
of good character ages six to sixteen.
Anyone interested in joining the Corps is
welcome to attend one of the weekly drills
to see first-hand what a session is like,
and to meet with one of the members of the
Board, who will be pleased to discuss the
Corps. For more information, please address
the
President of the Board of the Greys. The
annual fee is $500 per cadet per year, which
includes rental of required uniform
components. Fully refundable deposit
of $200 is requested. Financial assistance is
available for those in need.
The Knickerbocker Greys meet each Tuesday
afternoon during the school year, from 4:45
to 6:00 pm, at the historic
Seventh Regiment
Armory on Park Avenue at 67th Street. Three
formal reviews are held each year, in
December, February and June, on Friday
evenings. Throughout the year there are
various optional special events and weekend
trips that visit interesting places within
and outside of New York City.
What do the Grays do?
The main focus of each
weekly meeting is
to learn traditional armed forces marching
and drill routines, but that is only a small
part of the Greys experience. Cadets have
regular pizza and movie parties, occasional
lectures on American history, three Dress
Reviews a year, and the famous Sham Battle
with Army and Army Reserve soldiers at Camp
Smith in upstate New York. Buried within all
of these activities are the camaraderie and
spirit of doing things together.
No, not at all. The Knickerbocker Greys
have no official relationship with the armed
forces, and very few cadets choose to follow
a military career in later life. The
structure of the organization, however, is
indeed modeled on that of the US Army, which
has proved itself over two centuries as the
world's most effective, non-discriminatory,
leadership-development organization.
Many Greys have gone on to great careers
and have served their communities in untold
ways. Some have come back to be honored by
the Veterans Corps of the Greys, or by the
Cadets themselves. All were touched by the
discipline, orderliness, fairness and
kindness that characterized their experience
in the Corps. The
historical roster of the Knickerbocker
Greys reads like a Who's Who of New York,
and includes many of the City's (and
country's) government,
business, artistic and charitable leaders,
including Thomas P. F. Hoving, Robert E. Lee
4th, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.,
Winthrop and Laurence Rockefeller, Lowell
Thomas, Jr., Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., W.
Averrell Harriman, Mel Ferer, John V.
Lindsay and many others.
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