When the Kilgore College Rangerettes took to the field for the first time in 1940, they wowed crowds with their precision, grace and signature high kicks.
Gussie Nell Davis, who founded the first-of-its-kind drill team, had been hired by the East Texas college to create something that would keep the crowd entertained during halftime at football games. Her vision and leadership turned the Rangerettes into a national sensation, influencing countless high school and college drill teams across the country.
Megan DeHoyos, manager of the Rangerette Showcase & Museum, recalled the story of Davis sitting in the audience during the team’s first performance.
”After it ended, the crowd was silent. Miss Davis thought, ‘I am going to be run out of town because the skirts were above the knee.’ It was pretty, you know, risque at the time. And dancing on the field, I mean, you just didn’t do that. So it was silent,” DeHoyos said. “And then they all jumped to their feet and started – just the applause was thunderous. Nobody had ever seen anything like that before, and it just caught fire.”
The museum is a treasure trove of history nestled on the Kilgore College campus. It houses everything from the original uniform to photographs, memorabilia and stories that bring the Rangerettes’ history to life as the group celebrates its upcoming 85th anniversary.
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“I have the best job in the world. I get to be around the organization that absolutely changed my life. It molded me into the person that I am today,” said DeHoyos, who’s been with the museum for 11 years and before that was a Rangerette on the 66th line. “I get to be here every single day. I get to see the girls rehearse and perform. And, here specifically at the museum, I get to preserve our past, I get to present the present day, and I get to curate our future. This is something that is so special to me.”
DeHoyos said the museum’s creation was a labor of love by many people on campus.
“We opened in ‘79, and the oil museum opened in ‘80,” she said. “These were initiatives that were put forward to bring in tourism and just to celebrate our organizations and why the city was really – not founded, but most certainly put on the map.
That history touches the lives of many who walk through the museum doors, sometimes in unexpected ways.
“It was my very first year working here, and a gentleman walked in, and he was very stoic. He said, ‘I’m looking for a picture of my mom.’ And so I took him upstairs and we flipped through the scrapbooks, and he found her, and I left him upstairs to kind of just reminisce and have that moment,” DeHoyos said.
“He came back down and he had tears in his eyes and he looked at me and he said, ‘my mother is struggling and suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. She does not remember that I’m her son, but she remembers that she was a Rangerette.’ And if that doesn’t speak to what this organization provides and who we are at the core, I don’t know what will.”
DeHoyos said being a Rangerette is a privilege that carries with it a sense of responsibility – and that legacy continues to inspire the future. Last year’s team captain, Hayley Triplett, has lots of fond memories of leading tours at the museum.
“So this past year we actually had a foreign exchange group come in, and that was so cool,” she said. “They were from all over the place, and it was just really awesome to see all of these kids coming into this tiny little East Texas town that honestly has so much significance and meaning to it. Not only did we get to explain our story, but we got to hear theirs also.”
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Triplett visited the museum for the first time when she was 14. Seeing the rich history on display made the decision to try out for the team an easy one. As a Rangerette, she later had the chance to share the organization’s legacy with other young girls, sparking their own dreams of joining the team.
“There was one time where we were touring an elementary school group. And, one of the little girls raised her hand and she asked me, ‘how do you become a Rangerette?’ And that made me so happy,” Triplett said. “Being able to explain the organization to kids who are even that young and spark an interest in them is really inspiring.”
A museum would be nothing without those who dedicate their time and passion to preserving its stories and artifacts. For the Kilgore College Rangerettes, this dedication is embodied in individuals like O. Rufus Lovett, who has been photographing the team since 1989.
“What was amazing to me was their discipline and of course, their precision and the tradition that they held all these years,” he said.
Lovett said he first became captivated by the Rangerettes not just for their dazzling performances, but for the striking contrast between their glamor and the small-town atmosphere in which they perform.
“When I first went to Kilgore College, I got to see Gussie Nell Davis, the innovator and the founder of the Rangerettes. So, that was an interesting experience watching her work,” he said. “I’ve known all those ladies, and it’s been so wonderful because they’ve always welcomed me to make my photographs.”
The Rangerettes were the first drill team ever, but DeHoyos says that’s not the only thing that sets them apart from other collegiate dance teams.
“They are representatives of our community, Kilgore College, the state of Texas, and for the United States of America,” she said. “We are the only team that represents and is often asked to represent the United States of America, internationally and nationally.”
In the face of evolving media landscapes and shifting public attention, the Rangerettes have faced challenges in maintaining their prominence.
“I think that people don’t realize that we’re still going because we don’t get a lot of prime time television like we did in the 50s and 60s and 70s. And so when people come to visit, a lot of them are pretty shocked and surprised that we’re still a very active organization and still performing,” DeHoyos said. “And so I think what I would want everyone to know is that we’re still here. We’re still kickin’.”
In many ways, the museum ensures the Kilgore College Rangerettes continue to be recognized and celebrated even 85 years after that very first performance on the field.
“To be able to look at all the history right in front of you inside of that museum is honestly life-changing,” Triplett said. “You get to see so much of what the organization has grown into, and all the traditions that have still carried on, and the legacy that is still carrying on to this day.”
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