Lela Gaye Wright, circa 1950 We haven’t seen many professional portraits of majorettes sitting on the floor.
Sandra Cartwright (nee Sale), was a majorette with the Kilgore High School Band, Kilgore, Texas, 1956. She was born in 1938 and died in December 2023, at the age of 85. Click here to view more hand-colored photographs of majorettes.
Happy World Baton Twirling Day! Here are some pictures of the late Monta Jeanne Gayhart (nee Smith) a collegiate twirler who was featured in the October 24, 1952 issue of LIFE Magazine. Gayhart was the University of Oklahoma “band twirler.” Gayhart was born in 1932 and died in 2000....
Elizabeth Vracec Riedel was a majorette at McKee Rocks High School, Pennsylvania, 1956. During the 1950s, the school had more than a dozen majorettes. In August, a family member donated her uniform to the McKee Rocks Historical Society. It was in perfect condition Photo Soure: McKees Rocks...
Claire Reynolds Warrick (Claire Reynolds) (1933-2021) was the high-stepping head majorette at Hammonton High School, Hammonton, New Jersey, in 1951, her senior year. She joined the band her freshman year as a majorette. One of the highlights of her experience was marching in the Miss America...
Tossing Above Silo Joyce Rice grew up on her family’s farm in Greenfield, Iowa, where she practiced tossing her baton higher than the silos. According to an article in the Creston News at the age of 17, she was named the “best baton twirler in the world”, after “defeating...
Patsy Bedford Kaufman was a Winters, Texas Blizzards Baton Twirler in 1952. This was reportedly the first year the twirlers wore these short costumes, which featured fur trim. Where is Winters, Texas? Winters, Texas is located south of Abilene, Texas and northeast of San Angelo, Texas, so I bet...
February is Black History Month! Follow along as we share a whole new collection of historic images of Black twirlers and majorettes. Here are some pictures we’ve discovered of Langston University majorettes and twirlers. Langston is Oklahoma’s only historically black college and the...
A photo of baton twirling friends, 1950s: “Me, Barb, Peg & Jackie.” Source: Etsy Seller I Love You More Photos
The following images of Clark Atlanta University Majorettes are shared by permission from Clark College / Clark Atlanta University, Robert W. Woodruff Libraries. They were taken in 1950, 1957 and 1960, at football games. Clark is an Historic Black University. Today, their marching band features...
Diane Almquist performed at the City of Seattle’s annual City Light Christmas Party in 1956, 1957 and 1958. Source: City of Seattle, Municipal Archives Two unidentified women also twirle in the Christmas Lighting celebration, 1958.
Milton Steele Brown (1884-1967) moved to Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1912, to build a Coca-Cola bottling plant. An avid photographer, he photographed many subjects throughout the county between 1912 and the late 1950s. Many of his pictures feature Tarboro High School majorettes,...
