Mystery Texas baton twirlers baffle state archivists

The mystery footage shows an apparent 1950s baton twirling summer camp with champion twirlers from across the state. The mystery footage shows an apparent 1950s baton twirling summer camp with champion twirlers from across the state. Photo: Texas Archive Of The Moving Image Photo: Texas Archive Of The Moving Image Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Mystery Texas baton twirlers baffle state archivists 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Do you know these twirlers?

A mystery video showing some of the state's most talented baton twirlers has emerged and archivists want your help to try and identify them.

The 1950s footage was found in a collection from Southern Methodist University in Dallas back in 2011. After three years all that is known about it is that it was filmed at an apparent baton twirling summer camp known as "Ranch-O-Twirl."

"Pretty much all we've found are little advertisments in newspapers," said Madeline Moya, curator at the Texas Archive of the Moving Image which digitized the footage.

The adverts revealed the camp was a seven night sleep-away costing just $25, which toured Texas throughout the '50s and '60s.

"You could go there and twirl and swim," said Moya. "There are kids as young as six and others that appear to be in their older teens," said Moya.

The 24-minute video shows a large group of twirlers practicing a number of routines set to patriotic music. TAMI is searching for clues about who the people are and where the mysterious camp took place.

"We would love it if people that went to the camp contacted us and told us their story," said Moya, "There are a couple of women that are really great twirlers, so if someone could identify them and tell us which city it took place in that would be great."

Only one person has been positively identified, a star twirler called Woody Woodard. That's not the same Woody who was once the general manager of the Seattle Mariners or the Woody who coached football in Kansas.

The Texas Archive for the Moving Image houses thousands of films capturing decades of Texas history, many of them collected from home movies found stored in people's houses.

One mystery video turned in revealed footage of Martin Luther King's funeral procession. Another film in the collection shows footage of "Uncle Jeff" Hamilton, a slave purchased by General Sam Houston who later allegedly was brought up as a member of his family.

Several films reveal events popular back in the good ol' days, like one of the Miss Wool Collection, a pageant held every year in San Angelo to celebrate the sheep and wool industry.

The full Ranch-O-Twirl video can been seen here.