I just picked up a black 16" rogers floor tom. It seemed to fit my big sized 70's script badge 24 14 18 set. I saw it described simply as "drum" on FB market haha. I got it home, popped the head off, and found out its a holiday #11770 Cleveland drum! I dug into the forum today to see what i can find out and I identified it to be a late 63/64 because its a beavertail 3-ply drum!

Reason for posting: This forum was super helpful with the identification process. So helpful, that I was wondering if anyone has ever come across handwritten markings on these labels? I'm assuming the red D.S. is someone's initials?.. There also appears to be a "F" in black behind it? looks kind of smeared by the red ink so id assume it was there first.

Thanks!

I should've done more research before posting. Found out the F is Frank Walters the drum assembler and saw a list of other initials out there.. no D.S. but i'll assume it was someone at the factory. Rogers drum company history is pretty cool to me. I'm from Cleveland, lived in Dayton including some time in Miami county near Covington! So i always wanted a Cleveland drum and someday a Dayton drum... Next stop, California!

Congrats on finding a Cleveland 16 to match your kit.

The DS is undoubtedly the initials of a previous owner.

And you can't accurately date a drum by the serials when Holiday is typed in. Let's see a clear close-up of the bearing edge. Better yet, take the muffler off, and get a good shot of the plies through the hole. Three ply keller is tricky to verify. Three ply Jasper, pretty obvious.

Cheers, and happy Rogers hunting. Nothing better!

I'm going to guess that the D.S. could be the initials of the owner of the drum. Some people put their own identification inside or on the outside of their instruments.

I refurbished some Rogers drums. When I removed the rewrap, I found that the drum was signed, on the exterior of the shell, by Ronald Kendig, with Sept 5, 1958 written next to it. Pretty cool.

Josh

Say Josh, you mentioned Covington in your discussion of Cleveland and Dayton drums.

Pardon my ignorance, but did Covington play any role in the production of Rogers drums?

The reason I ask, is that I was in the Navy with a Jim Kendig - same last name and same spelling as the Ronald Kendig, who signed that drum you refurbished.

Just curious if maybe he was a relative.

Regards, MB

Covington is where the factory for all of the Ohio-made Rogers drums was located. The executive offices were in Dayton or Cleveland at one time or another.

Thanks....I neglected to mention that my Navy friend Jim Kendig grew up in Covington (on the Kentucky side). Ronald Kendig, the guy who signed the drum, was very likely an Uncle or something.

Originally Posted by Marty Black

Thanks....I neglected to mention that my Navy friend Jim Kendig grew up in Covington (on the Kentucky side). Ronald Kendig, the guy who signed the drum, was very likely an Uncle or something.

Wrong Covington. It is Covington, Ohio. A very common mistake. Levelpebble nailed it. You can’t always go by serial numbers when label is typed.

For all interested, here's a link about the factory, posted over at the "Rogers Owners Forum" many years ago. Because the hosted pictures are now fairly old, they show the "Photobucket" watermark, which makes it a pain, but you can still see the pictures and read the descriptions. I downloaded the pictures years ago, before the watermark was added! It's amazing that such a huge quantity of our beloved Rogers drums came from such a small factory! Enjoy!

http://www.runboard.com/brogersownersforum.t4112

-Mark