Kilgore College - Ranger Yearbook (Kilgore, TX)

Page 31 text:

Opposite pane, top: A Rangcrettc stops to take a break during summer ‘Relies. Bottom:Rangcreties share in a special moment between ‘Rette sisters. This page, top: Rangcrcttcs practice new drill routines. Abose: A Water break is taken during summer practice. 27

Page 30 text:

Summer Rangerettes Rangerettes prepare for ‘Salute to Texas’ The KC Rangerettes kicked off the year with a “Salute to Texas”. Many hours of practice in the hot and humid sun produced routines that paid off in fancy high kicks and entcrtainging line formations. One “Texas” routine required the dance team to form a human state flag. Along with the KC Ranger band they entertained crowds at athletic contests, parades and other public performances. The new freshmen ‘Rettes found that initiation into the famous dance and drill team doesn’t end after being picked to join the group. The new ‘Rettes spent “activity” hoursTuesdays clapping, singing and jogging-in-place to the Ranger Fight Song. Their heads were shiny with all those bobby pins and their manners were tested in numerous initiation rites. Chores for new Rangerettes included opening doors and making way for the sophomores and barking the traditional, “Hello Miss So and So. Goodby Miss So and So. Come rain or shine you can expect to sec these 65 young ladies logging in their eleven and a halfhours of hard work each week. They know that everyone must work as a team for everything to fall into place Some have suggested that pcrserverance, hard work, and friendliness are Texan values.The Kilgore Rangerettes have also adopted these values.“So, Texas,” they say, “We salute You”.

Page 32 text:

Summer band gets back to basics Summer band. Back to basics. Put down the instruments and walk through the routine AGAIN. Get it right, get it timed and “get with it.” Ranger Band Director Jerry Hale, using hand gestures, barks commands with the electric horn, “Ok folks let’s try it now with the horns.” The rigors of beginning again wear on the experienced and inexperienced alike. Sweat rolls and wavy heat rises from their marching feet. Cheeks bellow and arms swing as the music helps the marchers keep in step. Occassionally, “l...2...3..”.can be heard in whispers from the crowd. When something docs not look right Hale lets them know. “Stop!” is the signal that usually means someone is not doing what they should. He tells everyone except a certain section to put down their instruments. Hale may require a group to go through the part or parts of the routine by themselves. After a problem is solved he says, “Everybody ready.” The director-mentor does not always look from ground level, however. He sometimes perches on the highest scat and hangs over the rail to get a blimp’s eye view from R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium’s highest scat. With his assistant Mike Turpin, Hale works with the mass to learn new routines. The routines are to be used at different events throughout the 1986-87 year. Along with playing at weekly pep rallies, the band marches through the streets of east Texas cities during many holiday parades. The Cotton Bowl Parade in Dallas has welcomed the Ranger Band along with the Rangercttcs for 38 years. The two performing groups have led off the Cotton Bowl Classic each time. In past years Ranger Band and Rangercttcs have performed in foreign countries and some of the largest U.S. cities. But, whether they are performing in Overton, Texas, New York City or Nice, France, the technical proficiency, the timing, the creativity and showmanship that has made them famous and popular must begin with the long, repetitive workouts each summer. 28