This community institution continues with its extensive 80th-anniversary festival season performances, maintaining a full summer schedule that includes approximately 40 parades and events throughout the area this year. 

The historical roots of the Hobo Band are directly connected to the history of the 205th Infantry Regiment of the Minnesota National Guard. 

Many of the original members were talented musicians who  also served together during the hardships of World War II, including a memorable stint stationed in Kodiak, Alaska as part of the 215th Coast Artillery. 

However, Edwin “Slim” Kalz was not among them, according to his youngest daughter, Kathy Kalz. 

Full Hobo mode on the parade route.The Schell's Hobo Band aboard their festive float, complete with fine music, Schell's Beer branding, and plenty of patriotic flair. (Courtesy of Schell's Hobo Band.)

New Ulm historian Dan Groebner explained that Slim “was originally going to be sent further with the other band members, but because he was married, he was not sent to Kodiak, where the others were deployed.”

Those GI’s who shared in military service in the Aleutian Islands created a rare musical chemistry.

Originally known as “The Gopher Hotshots” when they performed in the 85th Army Band, these musicians returned to New Ulm seasoned by years of playing together.

Despite their professional talent, the group’s early days were loosely organized, with many members initially feeling they had “enough of band music” and intended to “hang up their horns forever,” according to the band’s history.

This stance changed in the summer of 1948 when Les “Red” Magers, a tuba player and butter maker at the Vernon Center Creamery, was asked to quickly assemble a band for a Fourth of July parade and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) celebration in Vernon Center.

Ted Marti of August Schell Brewing Company with one of the band's iconic (and battle-worn) hobo costumes. Ted has been a longtime champion and supporter of the Hobos, keeping the tradition alive for decades. (Photo by Amy Zents)

Magers rounded up about half a dozen of his military buddies, and the group performed with such raw energy and spontaneous joy that they were immediately hooked, quickly realizing they couldn’t resist the itch to play again.

When the musicians originally asked Magers how they should dress for that first parade, his directive was simple: “Wear anything stupid and dumb and cut holes in your pants.”

This instruction marked the birth of the band’s distinct “hobo” aesthetic, a deliberate, lighthearted rejection of the formal, rigid uniforms of the era. 

The band members transformed into colorful characters, some dressed as convicts, others in mismatched rags, creating a visual spectacle that matched their high-tempo, circus-inspired music.

Following that first VFW celebration, the group found themselves in high demand, soon performing for the Nicollet American Legion post. 

A piece of Hobo history. The Schell's Hobo Band (formerly the Nicollet Novelty Band) in their early glory days. Featuring legends like Slim Kalz, Tony Bartl, Red Magers, and more. The crew that helped make Schell's Beer famous one parade at a time. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.)

They played while riding on a truck at a convention in Glencoe, and later won first prize among marching units at the American Legion State Convention in Minneapolis. 

This rapid success proved they needed more serious organization.

During the winter of 1948-49, the band began intense rehearsals, which paid off as they won numerous prizes that summer, including a special award at the Third District Legion Convention in Shakopee.

This spirit of novelty extended to the ensemble’s procession during these early years. 

The band featured Kagi “Coggy” Neiman, a brewery salesman and relative of Al and Ted Marti, performing as the band’s novelty “majorette,” dancing down the parade route and keeping time, while carrying a toilet plunger in place of a standard mace. 

Throwing down at Kaltz's Bar! The Schell's Hobo Band knows how to liven up any night in New Ulm. Classic chaos from the early days of Minnesota's favorite hobo musicians. (Courtesy of Kathy Kaltz collection)

The presentation established an early precedent for the band’s performance style, and members said that the group functioned without an official leader, giving every musician an equal voice. 

It is a custom that is still a core part of their tradition. 

The band’s trajectory changed in the autumn of 1949 when Al Marti, head of August Schell Brewing Company, heard them play. 

Marti saw the musical potential in the group and offered to sponsor them.

The partnership provided the financial and logistical support the band needed to travel and perform, while the Hobo Band became goodwill ambassadors of Schell’s beer.

Hitting the streets in the 1950s. The Schell's Hobo Band marching strong with the big bass drum leading the way. Parades have always been their happy place, spreading joy (and Schell's Beer vibes) across Minnesota. (Courtesy of Schell's Hobo Band.)

Reflecting on this history, Ted Marti of Schell’s Brewery observed how embedded the group is in the brewery’s own identity. 

“My grandfather, Al Marti, loved music just as much as he loved brewing excellent beer,” Ted Marti said. “Sponsoring the Hobo Band wasn’t just a marketing strategy; it was about fostering local culture. The fact that they are still marching, laughing, and playing 80 years later proves that the partnership was built on shared values.”

This musical excellence was highlighted early on, with the group winning the prestigious Grand Parade Award at the Minneapolis Aquatennial three years in a row in the early 1950s. 

Their schedule was packed in that era, including a demanding 1953 season where they played 58 engagements.

This relentless dedication to the area includes a unique wintertime tradition, when a core quartet of  committed players gathers every year to perform specialized festive music for the community at Christmas.

A multi-generational “Hobo Family” now defines the band, consisting of about 25 members who rotate in and out, with ten on stage at any given time. 

The current day ensemble is guided by trombone player Gerard Aloisio, who serves as the band’s unofficial leader. 

Aloisio continues a direct line of mentorship, having trained under Duane Magers, the son of the band’s founding tuba player, Les “Red” Magers.

The group counts talented women now holding down key chairs in the trumpet, tuba, and clarinet sections, alongside legends like clarinet player Don Seberg, who, in his mid-90s, remains a living link to the band’s earliest days.

Sarah Houle, the band’s arranger and euphonium player, said that she appreciates the high level of competence the group maintains. 

The musical capability of the ensemble allows her to arrange intricate pieces without having to simplify the material for the performers.

Kathy Kalz emphasized familial connections. 

“We need to let it be known just how deeply intertwined these families are,” Kalz said. “So many people in our community today are directly related to the original veterans who started it all.”

Eighty years of performing has naturally produced a treasure trove of legendary stories, like the band playing their instruments while riding a Ferris wheel at a county fair, or the infamous incident involving Eddie Heck, who, while dressed in a convict costume, caused a local woman to rush into the New Ulm Public Library and plead for police intervention, convinced an escapee was on the loose.

The original members often looked back fondly on the camaraderie of the group when they provided the music for the Fireman’s Convention in New Ulm and the city’s very first Polka Days festival.

In more recent years, there is an unbelievable story from Montgomery, MN where a spare tire in the band’s transport truck exploded in the heat.

It was an incident long-time trumpet player Andy Siegmann specifically recalls. 

“We were startled by a loud explosion. Napkins and paper towels from the band’s supplies were flying in the air like a sudden blizzard. It blew the topper cover clean off the truck!” Siegmann said.

As the band looks toward the future, they remain entirely committed to the traditions that have sustained them. 

They still play “Barnum & Bailey’s Favorite March” at every parade, memorized thoroughly so they don’t need sheet music. 

They still share a traditional shot of beer before every performance, a ritual providing the requisite “nourishment” a hobo musician requires.

During this 2026 music season, fans will have multiple opportunities to catch the iconic group at parades and concerts throughout the area.

The band will perform this Sunday, July 19th at Bavarian Blast, taking the street for the main parade.

Immediately following the parade, the “Hobo Family” will continue the party, marching directly into the Schell’s tent to play an extended set for the festival crowds.

During Labor Day weekend, the band will return to their roots to host their official milestone 80th-anniversary celebration at the historic Schell’s brewery. 

Schell’s Hobo Band is inviting past and present members to join in the performance at the celebration. 

Schell’s Brewery Vice President Kyle Marti expressed his pride and admiration of the Schell’s Hobo Band. 

“I am always completely amazed at how well they play,” Kyle Marti said. “Musically, they are top-tier. They manage to keep bringing in great musicians who keep the legacy alive.”

For the members of Schell’s Hobo Band, the music is more than a link to their past, but an enduring commitment to a community tradition that has defined New Ulm for generations.

In a world that moves too fast, the Hobo Band remains a refreshing reminder that sometimes, the best way to move forward is to keep playing the same song, over and over again, with a plunger in your hand and a patch on your pants.