Patsy Bedford Kaufman was a Winters Blizzards Baton Twirler in 1952. This was reportedly the first year the twirlers wore these short costumes, which featured fur trim. Winters is located south of Abilene, Texas and northeast of San Angelo, Texas, so I bet the costume got a little toasty at fall football games. It was designed by the school’s band diretor and some parents thought the costumes were scandalously short. Nevertheless, they would survive Winters hot autumns for decades and would eventually also be worn by their cheerleaders.

The Winters Blizzards were voted one of the best mascots in the United States. The school’s fight song is Walking In A Winter Wonderland.

Visit us on Instagram to see a video of Patsy twirling her baton. Watch for the cars that pass by in the background. Also, here is a colorzied version of the same photo.

Source: Jo Markham, Patsy’s beloved daughter.