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A TRIBUTE TO MISS GUSSIE
NELL DAVIS
"Memories..."
by Joyce E. Pennington
The death of Miss Gussie
Nell Davis, founder of the Kilgore College Rangerettes, on December 20,
brought an outpouring of thousands whose lives she touched. Miss Davis was
87 years of age and a pioneer in the dance/drill team industry.
She was born in
Farmersville, Texas, on November 4, 1906. She attended college in Denton,
Texas, at what is now Texas Woman's University where she received her
under-graduate degree in physical education. She went on to the University
of Southern California where she received her master's degree in science.
At one time she wanted to be a dancer on the stage, but her family wanted
her to be a concert pianist. In 1929, upon returning to Texas, she
accepted a teaching position at Greenville High School where she was also
placed in charge of the pep squad. She developed the pep squad into a
performance team on the field that performed drum and bugle style
routines, twirling and eventually precision dance steps that evolved into
the "Flaming Flashes" drill team.
In 1939, the board of
regents at Kilgore College approached Miss Davis to come to Kilgore to
develop a halftime show that would keep the people in their seats. It was
a very conservative Bible Belt community and some of the citizens would go
out to their vehicles at halftime to have "a nip of whiskey." This caused
great concern for the college. When asked what they had in mind for this
show they replied, "That is why we hired you!"
In 1940, the first line of
the Kilgore College Rangerettes performed and developed a new art form
with their precision moves and trademark high kicks. During her 40 years
with the Rangerettes, the group traveled to several foreign countries and
appeared in many bowl games, on national television, in countless numbers
of parades, at conventions and on magazine covers. Miss Davis retired as
director of the Rangerettes in 1979 and continued to be active in the
community, garnishing many awards, including her 1990 induction into the
Texas Woman's Hall of Fame in Austin. Other inductees included Barbara
Bush, then First Lady of the United States. Other tributes included the
construction of the Rangerettes Showcase Museum on the Kilgore College
campus and the naming of Davis Hall, a women's dormitory in her honor.
In 1958, Miss Davis and
Dr. Irving Dreibrodt, director emeritus of the Southern Methodist
University Mustang Band, created the first drill team camp with the
American Drill Team School©. Teams came to the SMU campus from all around
the nation to learn routines and hear Miss Davis present her famous "Poise
and Projection" speech. I was a student at camp in 1966 and 1967 and
remember well her talking about our "salad bowl," "bird cage" and "bowling
ball" and how important they were to our posture. Through the camps, tens
of thousands of young women were touched by her message of how to be a
lady.
Martha Dean, former
Kilgore Rangerette commented, "Under the leadership of Miss Davis, we all
learned not only the precision drills for which she made the Rangerettes
famous, but also skills which will serve us throughout the rest of our
lives. She instilled pride in a job well done, a sense of individual
responsibility and working cooperatively with others. Miss Davis was also
my first employer, as she gave me the opportunity to work as a dance
instructor for the American Drill Team School©. She worked right along
with us at the camps, passing along those same basic skills to hundreds of
high school girls. She was truly a lady who inspired awe in everyone."
Jeanne Hale, retired
director of public relations at Kilgore College, who assisted with
Rangerette publicity for many years: "To me the most important thing the
Rangerettes accomplished was not dancing and entertainment. Gussie Nell
gave these girls a foundation for life. She taught them that through hard
work and dedication to a goal, they could accomplish anything and this
lesson carried over into their personal lives. She practiced 'tough love'
before
that became a byword. She was hard on the girls, but it was for their own
good. I knew her professionally, but I also went through all her keepsakes
and personal correspondence before the Rangerette Showcase Museum was
built. I was amazed at the reach of her compassion; she sent friends
letters of congratulations or commiseration. Miss Davis was a very
intelligent person. She brought intelligence to an area which a lot of
people tend to think of as
frivolous."
Miss Davis is survived by
two grand nephews, a grand niece and a host of Rangerettes and close
friends. Miss Davis was in love many times, but said that she had only one
true love, Rangerettes. She had spent a short time in the hospital with
some breathing complications, but was due to be released. She was in good
spirits and had enjoyed visiting with friends the day before her passing.
Her services were held on
Wednesday, December 22, at the First Presbyterian Church in Kilgore and
her burial was in Farmersville, Texas. Her honorary pallbearers included
all past and present Rangerettes, managers and voices, which filled over
half of the sanctuary.
I lost a special friend, a
mentor and my hero. She will always be the angel sitting on my shoulder as
I make an humble attempt to carry on her great traditions. She will be
missed by many, and remembered by all. |
