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Great Lady A Private Interview Given By: Dr. Kay Crawford to Gayle Gile Wolf, class of '53 It was 1930 in Edinburg, Texas and a talented, young high school girl began to dream. She spent hours observing the boy's ROTC units marching, and learned all she could. She began to formulate and develop ideas that would lead to the creation of dance and drill team. She shared her ideas and inspired other girls to start strutting for fun and entertainment. Thus was the birth of Dance Drill Team, a unique and innovative creation. The young Kay Teer Crawford set herself a goal- to make Drill Team a part of the American scene. Kay Crawford was the first pioneer of Dance Drill Team. She was focused and knew what she wanted to do. She had inherited her drive and determination from her proud, optimistic and tenacious mother, Bell Teer, who was a descendant from the Camache Tribe of Indians. This determined spirit drove Kay as she pursued her education. Pat Marshall Gentry recalls her years of knowing Crawford, and knows her to be "A dynamic person always looking ahead with great ideas, most usually carried out. She was always enthusiastic and innovative…I think I learned then how to start something, follow through and accomplish a goal. I am still a very goal oriented person." Crawford worked her way through Edinburg College, Baylor, and the University of Texas, where she wrote the first master thesis on Drill Team in 1939. She passed her doctoral exams in 1943, and was awarded a doctorate degree at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Texas. She was now ready to make her dream a reality. Crawford was anxious to share her ideas about Dance Drill Team to everyone. These ideas took off across the country like wildfire, as groups began to form and spread. She continually assisted and advised the many evolving groups of drill teams. She helped with new performance styles, costuming and prop ideas. Her creativity never ran out. Her shows began to appear at televised half-time events as Crawford was succeeding in her path toward making drill team a household word.
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