Panola College Pony Express (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 26, 1992 Page: 4 of 18
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4-The Pony Express
Drill team members to
reunite after 20 years
—Angela “Murray
Egress VJriter-
Back in the late ’60's and
early '70's, Panola College
boasted a drill team.
The group, founded by Janet
Hancock Palmer, physical edu-
cation instructor, served as
half-time entertainment for
the Ponies.
"I decided that a drill team
would be engaging, so I pushed
to get one started,” said
Palmer.
Palmer served as head
Twirl-O-Jack at Stephen F.
Austin for three years, where
she began instructing twirling
and dance.
She came to Panola in 1964.
It was then she decided Panola
needed a drill team.
The drill team was always
chosen by a panel of judges from
which all interested ladies
performed.
Members of the first drill
team were Brenda French,
Kathy Bowlin, Debbie Pate,
Linda Owens, Brenda Lilley,
Judy Gary, and Jayne Gary.
Beverly Williams, Patty
Reed, Deanna Kruebbe, Vicki
Williams, Amy Wood, and Sue
Ann McMillan were also mem-
bers of the first drill team.
After the team was chosen,
Palmer got busy making up rou-
tines. All of the ladies' uni-
forms and props were hand-
made.
The drill team raised money
by selling cookies and sponsor-
ing a bingo booth at the
Halloween carnival. Most of
the money raised went toward
small gifts they put in the bas-
ketball team's lockers.
"I had to cultivate raw tal-
ent and all my girls were very
cooperative throughout the
years, explained Palmer.
Palmer continued to instruct
the drill team until 1974 upon
leaving Panola.
"I haven't seen most of these
girls in years, so I’m really
looking forward to Homecom-
ing," said Palmer.
The former drill teams will
be recognized at this year's
Homecoming event.
A reception for former drill
team members is scheduled for 1
p.m. on Saturday, Februaiy 1 in
the Student Center Ballroom.
Jayne Gary and Kay Snelson were original members of the drill team
Green Jackets reunion planned
-Amy O'Eryan
'E'xprcssVJritcr-
Green Jackets is a service or-
ganization comprised of soph-
more women at Panola College.
This organization is the old-
est on campus.
Merle Glass was the first
sponsor of Green Jackets. She
founded the organization in
1949.
Green Jackets was used to
provide social gatherings for
students.
Every year the organization
sponsored a Christmas formal
and a Valentine formal. The
women had to have on formals
and come with a date to be al-
lowed in the dances.
with them," raimer said.
Green Jackets has remained a
fairly small organization.
Karon Ashby is the sponsor
now and there are 15 members.
The Green Jackets is mainly
a service organization. The
young women serve at recep-
tions and this year they spon-
sored a coat drive in Panola
County to help the needy.
According to Brenda A Hums,
former Green Jackets member,
the highlight of the spring
semester was the formal dance.
Lenora Palmer followed
Glass as sponsor of the Green
Jackets.
"The Green Jackets were a
dedicated group of young
women and I enjoyed working
The requirements for being i.
Green Jacket have also re-
mained the same.
Members must be classified
as sophomores and have to
have a 2.5 GPA. Then, young
women were invited to be a
member. Now, an invitation is
no longer necessary to become a
member.
"I feel the Green Jackets is a
worthwhile organization be-
cause we help people in Panola
County," said Kimberly
Adams, present Green Jackets
vice-president.
A reception honoring former
Green Jackets will be held at 1
p.m. Saturday in the Student
Center Ballroom.
Go, tesmh gol
Former Panola cheerleader
remembers good old days
Sturrock
cheered
for teams
Jimmy Sturrock
-Angela Co [[ins-
""" Assistant 'Editor—
It may seem odd today
for there to be such things
as male cheerleaders at
Panola College, but back
in the 1950's, it was very
common.
In fact, Dr. Jim
Sturrock, a graduate of
Panola who now resides in
Longview, was a cheer-
leader in 1950-1952.
Sturrock was one of four
cheerleaders, two boys
and two girls. His job as a
cheerleader was basically
to serve as a prop for the
girls and to also cheer
along with them.
"There were also no
football or baseball teams
at Panola back then, only
an excellent basketball
team," Sturrock said, "
and as cheerleaders, we
really supported them
and kept the crowd
going."
The uniforms for the
girl cheerleaders in the
1950’s were basically the
same as they are now,
except their skirts were
below the knee. The guys,
however, wore white
coveralls and PJC caps.
"There were only two
pair of coveralls that
year and my partner, John,
got the larger of the two.
Needless to say, mine
were extremely tight,"
Sturrock laughed. "I spent
more time worrying about
my pants splitting than I
did on anything else."
Sturrock also told of one
time as a Panola
cheerleader that he will
never forget.
Jimmy Sturrock and Yvonne Smith cheer for the Ponies.
"As I was cheering one
night at a game, a friend
called out my name from
the crowd, and as I turned
around, I accidentally
tripped the official,"
Sturrock said. "A
technical foul was called
and I had to sit in the
stands for the rest of the
game."
Sturrock went on to
study at SMU and Baylor.
He has been the associate
professor of Business at
Texas Eastman for 36
years and plans to retire
in less than one week.
Afterwards, he plans to
teach at East Texas
Baptist University.
"I look back on my
years at Panola as one
very enjoyable
experience," Sturrock
said.
Lois Wilkins, '65 Green Jacket
president, presents Merle Glass
with a cours&ge.
Original play by former student
slated Thursday, Friday nights
Photo by Shawn Rabon
Freddie Mason, Jay P. Kyle, David Smith and Joe Hough in a scene from "From Hardscrabble."
—Erica 'Westmoreland-
-Egress 'Writer-
One of the highlights of
Panola College homecoming
1992 will be the presentation of
"From Hardscrabble," an origi-
nal play by former Panola
College student, Ben Z. Grant.
Set in rural East Texas, both
past and present, this story
touches the heart as an aware-
ness grows that you've seen and
heard these people before.
Drawing on the writings of
fellow southern writers, poet
James Autry and columnist Jack
Boyd, "From Hardscrabble"
resonated with southern sensi-
bility that extends well beyond
East Texas.
The play pprtrays the lives
of three individuals from
childhood through adulthood.
Included in the cast will be
several former Panola College
drama students.
The Rev. Freddy Mason,
who attended Panola in 1964-
65, will portray Boy-Howdy
Jackson.
Mason originated the role of
Boy-Howdy in the premier
production of the play. A fa-
miliar face on campus, Mason
also played Farmer Bill in
"The Surprise Box" and Willie
Loman in "Death of a
Salesman."
Jay P. Kyle will play Josh
Brewer. He first came to Panola
in 1979 as a student. Today he is
a full-time faculty member.
Other former students per-
forming include Rhonda
Reynolds and F. C. Speed.
"From Hardscrabble" got its
premier performance in
October, 1990, in playwright
Grant's hometown of Marshall
on the East Texas Baptist
University campus.
Performances are scheduled
for Thursday, Jan. 30 and
Friday, Jan 31 at 7:00 p.m. in
the studio theater in the per-
forming art’s annex.
Ticket's are $5 for adults and
$4 for students.
Drama instructor Elizabeth
Hedges will direct the play.
This is the first time a play
has been a part of the PC home-
coming celebration. Everyone is
encouraged to attend.
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Panola College Pony Express (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 26, 1992, newspaper, January 26, 1992; Carthage, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth591891/m1/4/?q=%221964~%22: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Panola College.