Recruiting future Former Texas Rangers

Members of the Headquarters Company of the Former Texas Rangers Association and Foundation stand ready for action on the grounds of the Texas Rangers Heritage Center in Fredericksburg. Pictured from the left are Marvin Schroeder, Bruce Ferguson, and Jeff Nichols. – Standard-Radio Post/Joe Southern

Preparing for the future of the Former Texas Rangers Association and Foundation hinges on recruitment, especially for people who like to dress as a cowboy and demonstrate historic firearms.

“We’re looking to recruit,” said Marvin Schroeder, who heads the Living History Headquarters Company of the Former Texas Rangers Foundation. “We’re looking for the best.”

The Headquarters Company is widely known locally for making appearances in 1800s-era cowboy duds and conducting camps and demonstrations at different festivals and events in the region. They do educational programs at schools and also conduct memorial cross ceremonies at the graves of Texas Rangers. Mostly, they keep the history and traditions of the Texas Rangers alive and relevant to new generations of Texans.

“It’s a lot of fun, especially when you get either the tourists or the kids. And the kids, you know, let’s face it, we all grew up watching Roy Rogers and that kind of stuff,” Schroeder said, noting that Westerns are making a cultural comeback.

“What kid doesn’t like cowboys on horses, you know? It’s just that mantra of the good old America here. Here’s a cowboy on a horse,” he said.

Based out of the Texas Rangers Heritage Center, the Former Texas Rangers consists of two levels of membership. Foundation membership is open to anyone. Association membership is limited to current or former Texas Rangers, their spouses, or anyone of direct lineage to a Texas Ranger. It’s from the foundation and association that the Headquarters Company draws its membership. Everyone in the Headquarters Company is a member of the foundation or association, but not all foundation and association members are in the company.

Jeff Nichols, who served 22 years in the military, joined the foundation four years ago.

“I was invited to a meeting,” he recalled. “It looked like Matt Dillon and Festus were coming up to the house.”

After hearing them out, he participated in a couple of events and decided to join.

For Bruce Ferguson, being a retired sheriff’s deputy, the law enforcement aspect is in his blood.

“The camaraderie is something that you miss when you’re a service man,” he said.

Ferguson said he can strongly relate to what the Texas Rangers, both current and of old, experience.

“Personally, I have been involved in two shootings on my own and everything. So I understand what these guys went through and I actually lived part of their stuff,” he said.

 

Education

For the members of the Headquarters Company, teaching and learning never stop.

“What’s fun is doing the research,” Schroeder said. “If you quit doing the research, you’re hurting yourself.”

He said going to schools and conducting educational programs, especially ones like the annual spring break event at the Pioneer Museum, allows members to share their love and passion for the Texas Rangers and their history. He said people are drawn by the guns and horses but are often captivated by the stories of the likes of Rangers John Coffee (Jack) Hays and William (Bigfoot) Wallace.

The Texas Rangers got their start in 1823 and the Headquarters Company depicts them from that time until 1935. Rangers up through the Texas Revolution in 1836 used flintlock rifles, followed by cap and ball rifles, and later revolvers.

The outfits, weapons and other accoutrements serve as props to allow the Rangers to tell their story.

“Schools don’t have time to teach them this kind of history, so we get into the nuts and bolts of it pretty deep,” Schroeder said.

 

Suiting up

Clothing and other essentials are part of the program. With several years of experience working in the movies, Schroeder has accumulated a large wardrobe of period-correct clothing and equipment. Schroeder loans them out to new recruits so they can see what it’s like before investing in their own gear.

“It can cost two grand just to put one costume together,” he said.

That includes shirts, vest, pants, boots, hat, bandanna, holster and gun, for starters.

 

Not for everyone

The association and foundation are made up of individuals from many walks of life. All have a love of the Texas Rangers and their history, but not all of them want to dress the part.

“People have this, we call it the Hollywood vision of a cowboy. Let’s face it, they’re all mean or they’re all really nice. And you know, we’re clean today, but I guarantee you if you get out there and live it (camping), you ain’t coming away clean,” Schroeder said.

He said last year before the pandemic hit, they did a nine-day camp.

“After nine days, you get a good feeling of what that was like,” he said.

The main difference, he said, is back then, the Rangers were scouting for Indians and bandits on the frontier. The elements of danger and survival are not there for the living historians.

Schroeder also noted that some people dress up for an event or two and discover that is not where their interests lie. That’s why Schroeder loans out gear before they dive in with their wallets.

 

Bicentennial celebration and new museum

The members of Headquarters Company expect to see a rise in interest in the Texas Rangers next year as they reach the bicentennial milestone.

That’s one of the reasons why there is a push for new members.

There are also plans to open a new museum on the grounds of the Texas Rangers Heritage Center next year, which will require more volunteer help when it opens up.

 

A history of history

If Schroeder seems familiar, he should, even without the cowboy garb. Most people in Fredericksburg will remember him from the National Museum of the Pacific War.

He spent a combined 22 years (1990-1999, then 2004-2017) working at the Pacific Combat Zone, which he helped create. He served as the museum’s living history coordinator from 1990 to 2017.

“What I created here at the Nimitz Museum has never been done before,” he said.

He was recruited to the Nimitz after officials saw what he did with programs on the battleship USS Texas. His resume also includes work on several Hollywood films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including “Friday Night Lights” and Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot.”

Many of his credits are as a weapons master, armorer, props supplier or as an uncredited extra. He trained the red coat extras in “The Patriot” how to handle their weapons and perform like British soldiers. He also has the distinction of having worked on both John Wayne’s “The Alamo” and the remake in 2004.

 

Not re-enactors

One common mistake people make when they see the men of Headquarters Company in public is to refer to them as re-enactors. They’re not. They are living historians, meaning they don’t act out a particular event but rather display and demonstrate camp life and the equipment and tools of the time.

“Someone might say, ‘I’m gonna shoot my gun and all the bad guys are gonna die.’ You don’t do that. That’s what re-enactors tend to get into,” Schroeder said.

 

How to join

Anyone wanting to get involved with the Former Texas Rangers ahead of the bicentennial celebration and the opening of the museum can do so at any time.

There is an initiation fee ranging from $500 to $5,000, depending on what rank is desired (private to major), and annual dues are $100. The fees apply to both the foundation recruits and anyone qualified to join the association.

Joining the Headquarters Company and gearing up requires whatever commitment the member wishes to make.

“So you say, ‘Well, how much should I do?’ As much as you can; it’s volunteer,” Schroeder said.

He is especially interested in recruiting younger members, since the rangers were generally young men.

Application forms and other information can be found on their website at http://trhc.org/index.html.

 

Memorial Cross Program

The Former Texas Rangers Association has planned a Memorial Cross Program for Saturday, June 12, at 10 a.m. In commemoration of the service rendered and the sacrifices made by Gottfried Ottmers of Company C, 3rd Battalion, Texas State Troops, the FTRA has given a special grave marker. It will be placed at Ottmers’ grave at St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery at Cave Creek by his descendants.