Richard Fruhauf is excited to show off contemporary techniques such as dye sublimation that Fruhauf Uniforms uses to create eye-popping modern marching band uniforms and other special occasion garments. He is equally excited to point out a sewing station with machinery that went out of production in 1905 and is still used daily.

For Fruhauf and the company he runs with his brother Ken, drawing on history and family is integral to meeting current demands.

“I had the opportunity to work with my grandfather and my father and my brother at the same time. It was really, really nice to have that knowledge from older generations and to have my brother and I continue it moving forward,” said Richard Fruhauf. “I don’t know anything else but working with family.”

Fruhauf is the kind of business owner who will tell a touching story of a kind deed his company did for a community organization or an employee — then ask that it not be shared.

One way the company serves Wichita that Fruhauf will discuss is its role in outfitting Admiral Windwagon Smith, the mascot of the Wichita River Festival since 1974.

“My grandfather was very talented — a very talented musician, very talented artist. He designed the uniform, we made it, and we’ve been making it ever since,” Fruhauf said.

Admiral Windwagon Smith is an American folk character in the tall-tale tradition of Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill. He was the subject of a Disney short animated film in 1961. In 1974 the character was adopted as the mascot and ambassador of the Wichitennial River Festival, now Riverfest. Ron McEwen serves as the 52nd Admiral for this year’s festival, which kicks off on Friday.

The Admiral’s distinctive uniform is red with black and metallic accents. Wichita artist Joe Worley drew on its design when he created a festival poster in 2018.

“One thing I like about the Windwagon Smith uniform is the contrast between the well-put-together, sort of drum-major uniform and the somewhat ramshackle chimera of the Windwagon,” Worley said. “It invokes the aura of a legendary folkloric type character. The red and gold coloring make him feel heroic.” 

The honor of the position, the pride in wearing it, and the uniform itself are inextricably linked, according to two former admirals.

When people interacted with her as the Admiral, “there was something, not just authority, but an appreciation for what the uniform was and the history of the festival,” said Kaye Monk-Morgan, the 2023 Admiral. “The number of times folks wanted to take a picture — lots of pictures! — and it was all about the uniform.”

Tim Norton, Admiral in 2018, said people who interacted with him demonstrated joy and respect.

“I think people understood that it was an honor, but it was also someone giving some service to the community at a fun time.”

Founded in 1910, the Fruhauf Southwest Garment Company made ceremonial costumes for fraternal organizations, which led to a request to make marching band uniforms. That became the company’s specialty.

“We are a fully custom business,” Richard Fruhauf said. “No one uniform is the same as any other.”

He believes that uniforms bring out something in both those who wear them and those who see them.

“A lot of times people will look up to someone in a uniform,” Fruhauf said. “We got to schools, and we see the kids, and when they put on the uniform they change. They stand a little taller. They are a little prouder.”

Pride is something Fruhauf talks about a lot. He is proud of his employees, many of whom are related to one another. They tend to stay at the company for a long time. “Every year we have more (longevity) awards in the 20- to 40-year range than we do in the 1- to 10-year range.” 

And Fruhauf sees the pride his employees take when they see their work in its intended setting. “They love to watch the parades. They love to be able to say to their family, ‘I worked on that uniform. I helped build that one.’ … They take a lot of pride, because it’s custom and made by hand.”

Monk-Morgan saw the pride of uniform in action as the aunt of a North High band member; she also graduated from North. Her nephew was at the school during a mascot update, and getting new Redhawks uniforms took two years.

“Watching him march his senior year in his uniform as opposed to his junior year when they had matching jeans and t-shirts, there’s a different level of pride and confidence that I think our young people feel as a result of the uniforms they get to wear,” she said. 

Uniforms also helped the North High alum ease into rooting for the rival East High Blue Aces when she volunteered to help her kid’s marching band. “I loved being a band mom,” Monk-Morgan said. “That was my opportunity to support his education. … I was the data keeper.”

In addition to emergency hemming, button repair, and finding missing hats, Monk-Morgan assisted in matching band members with uniform pieces. She recalled taking several measurements of each student and feeding them into the sophisticated Fruhauf software system. That produced numbers that assigned each marcher a bottom, top, and hat. She saw “lots of hand-sewn beads and epaulets and the finery of the work. So top notch.”

The process of fitting an Admiral for the iconic uniform is even more detailed than the process for a marching band member, not to mention much more secretive. The newly chosen Admiral visits the company’s facility at 800 E. Gilbert — Richard Fruhauf still calls it the “new building” after 33 years — around February, weeks before Riverfest reveals the Admiral’s identity.

“From what I understand, it’s never gotten out,” Fruhauf said. 

Over the years, Fruhauf has built an inventory of Admiral Windwagon Smith uniform pieces, but each new Admiral is measured for any needed alterations or new pieces. 

“It was wonderful. I spent time down there getting fitted. It was a fun day,” Norton said. “A little different than going to a retail store and having someone run a tape measure around your neck and your waist.”

On a practical level, being dressed as the Admiral for nine days plus associated promotional appearances is a commitment.

“Every morning there was a regimen of getting out a fresh pair of white pants. You had to have several pairs of white pants because they don’t stay very clean,” Norton said. “Normally I get dressed in 10 minutes. It was a half hour to an hour.”

“We’re expected to wear white bottoms. As one of three girls (to be selected as Admirals) I wore a skirt,” Monk-Morgan said. “I think I was the first Admiral to do that.”

Everyone involved acknowledges that the uniform is hot. Monk-Morgan described the ice vest she wore that required someone to bring her new ice packs two or three times a day. Fruhauf said the uniform fabric has been updated to be lighter and more breathable.

“But they still wear a wool vest. It’s like wearing a suit jacket when the weather’s in the hundreds.,” he said. “Plain and simple, it’s going to be hot.”

There have been some subtle improvements, too. Fruhauf’s grandfather made some of the trim and embroidery on the sleeves and front of the Admiral’s coat out of vinyl material, and eventually the metallic layer separated.

“We took off all the trim work and replaced it with embroidered trim work. That embroidery will outlast us all. Even some of us who aren’t even born,” Fruhauf said. “It just sparkles in the sun.”

Those adjustments aside, Fruhauf guarantees that year to year, the honorary official will be outfitted for the occasion. 

“I don’t think it would be the same if Windwagon Smith weren’t there.”

The Details

Fruhauf Marching Arts Apparel has been open in Wichita since 1910. In addition to supplying marching band uniforms for high schools and colleges around the country, the company provides uniforms for honor guards, mounted police, and other dress occasions. The company constructed the uniforms used for a Broadway revival of the “The Music Man” and has provided material and trim for film and television costumes.

Learn more at fruhauf.com.

The 2026 Riverfest is May 29-June 6. Admission buttons are $10 for children ages 6-12 and $20 for anyone age 13+. Purchase buttons in advance at area QuikTrip stores and the Wichita Festivals office at 444 E. William St.

Learn more on the Wichita Festivals website.

Seth Bate’s book “Winfield’s Walnut Valley Festival” was named a 2023 Kansas Notable Book. In a previous century, Bate was a National Critics Institute fellow at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. He loves Muppets, Twisted Sister, & kitschy musicals.

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