Plays for Five Dances in Three Days
Shown above is A1 Kavelin, leader of the nationally-known orches
tra which plays for four Ross Volunteer dances and a corps dance at
Aggieland Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Tonight this band will play for the elaborate Queen’s Ball be
ginning at 10 o’clock following the royal coronation ceremonies starting
at 8:45. Tomorrow afternoon at 4 it plays for the R. V. tea dance;
tomorrow evening at 7 for the R. V. dinner dance; and tomorrow
night at 10 for the Captain’s Ball, climaxing the festivities.
Saturday afternoon A1 Kavelin will assume an altogether different
role, that of captain of a baseball team, leading his music makers in
a game that has already been arranged between his group and the
R. V.’s.
Saturday night Kavelin’s band will play for the corps dance,
terminating the social functions of the week.
First Called Scott Volunteers, Later
Changed to Ross Volunteers, R. V.’s
Have Been Active for Fifty-Three Years
By George Fuermann
1887 to 1940— fifty-three years of continued activity; that’s the
record of the Ross Volunteers, Texas A. & M.’s oldest student organi
zation.
Originally the organization was called the Scott Volunteers, and
the name changed as often as the college changed presidents, as cus
tom formerly dictated that the organization should be named after
the reigning president. In 1891, however, the present name was adopted
permanently in honor of Texas’ former governor Lawrence Sullivan
Ross, who became president of A. & M. at that time.
also undergone many changes be
fore assuming its present-day
makeup. During the latter part
of the nineteenth century the uni
form consisted of white duck, gold
ornaments, and a metal helmet.
Late in 1907 the uniform was
changed to blue and gray, with
large Stetson hats, but this prov
ed to be short-lived and soon the
familiar white uniform with white
caps was adopted and is still in
use today.
Composed of two platoons, the
organization is unique in that it
still follows the old-style drill reg
ulations which make for more
snap, military precision, and show
manship. Nor is drill a go-as-
you-please affair with Ross Vol
unteer members. From January
to the middle of May they drill
forty-five minutes a day, four days
a week.
And occasions to demonstrate
their worth as a military organi
zation are not few. Highlight of
their drill year is the annual Ross
Volunteer Mothers’ Day drill, and
other drilling exhibitions of the
Ross Volunteers include the cere
monies preceding the presentation
of the traditional wreath at the
statue of their namesake, Lawrence
Sullivan Ross, their annual exhi
bition drill at Navasota’s State
Bluebonnet Festival, and other
special occasions throughout the
state.
But most important of all to
every Ross Volunteer is the tradi
tional and colorful social season
held during the college’s spring
holidays each year. Led by the
batoning of A1 Kavelin and his or
chestra, Ross Volunteers and their
escortees will waltz and tango on
five occasions during the coming
weekend. Tonight at 8:45 there’s
the coronation of the Ross Volun
teer King and Queen and the in
troduction of their court. Mary
May Crawford of Houston, a stu-
(Continued on page 4)
It Was Kiddies’ Day at A. & M. As
Local Merchants Staged Easter Hunt
By Tom Gillis
Wednesday was the kiddies’
Easter day here af College Sta
tion. The grown-ups won’t bring
out their new Easter bonnets un
til Sunday, but the children had
their day at the Easter egg hunt
held yesterday afternoon. For the
fifteenth year, Luke Patranella,
owner of Luke’s Grocery Store,
provided 1850 coined .
the occasion.
The eggs were
Patranella and so me nome
economics students of the Consoli
dated High School in the park area
■funder the supervision of the teach
ers in the high school. The number
of children participating in this
year’s event was the largest num
ber to take part in any of the
fifteen annual hunts.
Prizes for finding certain eggs
were offered by local firms. The
firm’s name was printed on one
of the hidden eggs, and the child
*ndtat*0 ' es could claim his
Renting it to the
were offered by For-
son Paint and Wall Paper Co.,
College Barber Shop, Main Gate
Drug Store, College Courts, College
across the street from the A.A.A. Hills Estates Company, McCut-
office south of the campus. Par- j cheon’c Ladies Ready-to-Wear, D.
ticipating in the hunt were about; H. Reid, Jewelers, and others.
300 children of the Consolidated j The children hunted for several
School up to the fourth grade and | hours until they were exhausted
about 115 children not yet of school and all the eggs were believed
age. At 2 o’clock the hunt began | found.
R. V. ISSUE
Battalion
VOL. 39 122 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 21, 1940 NO. 66
Spring Holidays c Begin As dipss ^Volunteers Inaugurate
Traditional Three-Day Celebration And Dance ‘•Program
Election Is
Changed To
April Third
Farley’s Visit And
Resulting Activity
Reason for Change
Because of the arrival and
elaborate reception of United
States Postmaster - General
James A. Farley on the A. &
M. campus Thursday, April
4, it has been deemed advis
able to move up by a day the
date for the election of three
important student body offi
cers as announced in the last
issue of The Battalion.
The general election of the
editor-in-chief of The Battal
ion, chief yell-leader, and jun
ior representative on the Stu
dent Publication Board will,
therefore, be held on Wednes
day, April 3.
A runoff election, if necessary,
will take place on the date pre
viously set, Tuesday, April 9—one
week later than the primary.
As mentioned in the original an
nouncement of the election, possi
ble modifications may be made in
the election rules; but this refers
to changes which might be made
by the Student Election Commit
tee in the method of holding the
election. It is not expected that
any changes will be forthcoming
in the qualifications required of
candidates running for the editor
ship.
Mary Louise Lewis
Represents A. & M.
At Texas Round-up
Miss Mary Louise Lewis, stu
dent at T. S. C. W. in Denton,
has been selected as A. & M.’s
representative at the Eleventh An
nual Texas University Roundup to
be held in Austin on April 5th and
6th.
Miss Lewis is a student in the
School of Art at T. S. C W. where
she will graduate in 1942. She
was chosen as one of the school
beauties and also chosen to repre
sent her dormitory in T. S. C. W.’s
annual Mardi Gras.
She is the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. J. M. Lewis of Waco, Texas,
and has a brother in the senior
class at A. & M. this year.
During Miss Lewis’ high school
days at Waco High School she
was an honor student for four
years and was elected as Senior
Class Favorite in her last year.
She graduated in June, 1938.
She lists dancing, swimming,
hunting, and golfing as her hobbies.
Waco Good-Will
Group To Visit College
Station on March 26
Waco’s Good-Will Tour into
East and Southeast Texas, March
25-28, will bring more than fifty
business and civic leaders by spec
ial train into College Station Tues
day, March 26, at 2:30 p. m. and
remaining until 3:00 p. m., ac
cording to word received here to
day.
An outstanding feature of the
visit will be a program of enter
tainment at a central point in the
business district, which will be
broadcast by a powerful sound
truck accompanying the trippers.
An exchange of greetings be
tween Waco leaders and local lead
ers will be on the program. Special
musical entertainment is planned
by the Waco gx-oup. The good-will
tour will be conducted by the Waco
Chamber of Commerce.
★
‘filers oAnd
c Rpyalty
Of The
Ross
TJolunteer
Qompany
•
(Right):
Mary May Crawford
Queen of the Ross Volunteers
(Below, left to right)
James M. (Dan) Sharp,
Captain and Prince of R. V.’s
Joseph A. (Joe) Slicker,
R. V. First Sergeant
Hubert E. (Hubie) Braunig,
King of the R. V. Court
Royalty Will
Be Crowned
This Evening
Numerous Dances,
Programs, Dated
For Spring Affair
At 8:45 tonight the annual spring
festivities of the Ross Volunteers,
A. & M.’s honorary military organ
ization, will begin with the crown
ing of Miss Mary May Crawford
of Houston as Queen of the R. V.
Court. Reigning with Miss Craw
ford as King of the three-day holi
day affair will he Hubert E.
Braunig, Field Artillery senior
from Beaumont.
The royal court will be made
up of Princess Daphne Salois of
Dallas escorted by Prince James
M. “Dan” Sharp, captain of the
Ross Volunteers and the following
dukes and duchesses: Merrill
Smith and Catherine Callender;
Vernon Smith and Alice Thomas;
Mick Williams and Carolyn Ash
croft; Charlie Miller and Carolyn
Thompson; Tom Harris and Mary
Frances Donovan; Bill Slaton and
Jeanette Sims; I. Q. Mayhew and
Glenna Mcllhannon; Jim Collins
and Mary Margaret Kepple; and
Bill Guy.
The ceremonies will begin to
night when members of the court
enter the annex of the mess hall
where the coronation is to take
place. They will take their places
about the throne, and the King
and Queen will then enter and be
crowned in an elaborate ceremony.
Immediately following the corona
tion a floor show for the enter
tainment of the court will be held.
The floor show will be followed by
the Grand March and the Queen’s
Ball.
At 1:30 Friday afternoon the
R. V.’s will stage their traditional
precision drill. After the drill
Miss Salois escorted by Captain
“Dan” Sharp will go through the
(Continued on page 4)
Ross Volunteers To Place Wreath on Statue of Lawrence F. G. ANDERSON
Sullivan Ross Friday-Man for Whom Company Was Named ANNOUNCES FOR
COLLEGE MAYOR
★ ★ ★
> A
r i
©
L_
Former Governor of Texas and President
Of Texas A. & M. College
The first organized student activity at A.
& M. appeared in 1887 as a crack military com
pany called the Scott Volunteers. In 1891 the
name was changed to Ross Volunteers in honor
of former governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross,
who became president of A. & M. at that time.
The uniform of the company at this time
was of white duck with gold ornaments and a
tin helmet. In 1907 the uniform was changed
to gray and blue with a big Stetson hat, but
since this dress did not meet with favor, the
white uniform was again adopted with the
substitution of white caps in place of the tin
helmets.
As part of the annual activities the Ross
Volunteer Company places a wreath on Ross’
statue in front of the Academic Building.
In choosing the name of Ross Volunteers, the
company could not have picked a more appro
priate name from a military standpoint.
Ross was born in Iowa, but moved to
Texas at an early age. From the beginning
he was marked for a military career. So able
a military leader was he that at 18 he ac
quired the rank of captain in the Texas
Rangers. While serving in this capacity, he
defeated a tribe of Comanche Indians and
effected the rescue of Cynthia Ann Parker, a
girl kidnapped from her home in childhood.
When the Civil War started, Ross enlist
ed as a private, in 1861. Four years later he
was discharged as a Brigadier-General. After
the war, he returned to Texas to raise cotton
on a plantation in the Brazos River valley.
Through a campaign carried on mainly by his
friends Ross was elected governor of the
state.
In 1890, immediately after his term of
office as Governor of Texas, Ross was elected
president of Texas A. & M. College. So popular
was he over the state that many parents in
effect sent their sons to Ross rather than
to A. & M. During'his administration the en
rollment of the college increased enormously.
In this capacity Ross served until his death
in 1898.
‘Best Interests of AH’
Is Only Platform Pledge
Colonel Frank G. Anderson,
member of the Physical Educa
tion Department of A. & M., has
announced his candidacy for the
office of mayor of the City of
College Station. The election will
be held on Tuesday, April 2.
“I haven’t any platform,” Colonel
Anderson said. “If elected, I will
perform the duties of the office to
the best of my ability, working
for the best interests of all.”
Colonel Anderson is running for
the office of mayor by special re
quest of a group of citizens of
College Station. He has been at
A. & M. for nearly twenty years.
During this time he has worked
on the coaching staff, with the ex
ception of two years’ service as
Commandant of A. & M., 1935
to 1937.
Colonel Anderson was born in
Sparta, Tennessee, December 19,
1891. He attended the Mississippi
State College where he received
his B. A. and M. A. degrees. He
was head coach and director of
athletics at Mississippi in 1919-
1920.
Colonel Anderson came to A. &
M. September 1, 1920. He was
freshman coach of all sports 1920-
1921 and track coach 1922 to 1935.
Colonel Anderson was captain
of the Mississippi College battery
at the onset of the World War
and later went overseas for one
year as Major, 104th Field Artil-
I lery. He now holds the rank of
, Colonel, Field Artillery Reserve,
| commanding the 11th F. A.