| The 142nd Infantry Band of the 36th division of the
U. S. Army began
during the first World War. Band leader R. Wright
Armstrong reformed the
group in Brownwood in Nov. 1921. They played at such
notable events as
American Legion Conventions in New Orleans and San
Francisco and the 1923
inauguration of Gov. Pat Neff, who proclaimed them the
official band of
texas. The band marched behind an actual mare and rider
into hotels, state
capitol buildings and democratic party national
conventions in Houston
(1928) and Chicago (1932). Wearing distinctive red silk
shirts, yellow
bandanas, patent leather boots and sombreros, the Old
Gray Mare Band spread
the spirit of texas across the state and nation. |
