Rangers Meet at Menard 1923

Rangers Meet in Menard 1923

March 30, 2020, my friend, Ginger Andrews colorized this wonderful photo and shared on Facebook in the Menard County History page. The middle gentleman has been identified as Olfert Gottleib Striegler, with many family in Menard.  Others have thought the second gentleman from left might be James Brooks and the last one might be Benjamin Crawford Dragoo.

We find this great story in the very first issue of the Frontier Times, Vol. 1, No. 1 October, 1923.  It is found on page 19.

The article reads:

The ex-state rangers met at Menard,

Friday, September 6, in their annual session.

The officers of the organization are

W. M. Green. Major commanding, Meridian;

J. B. Gillett, Captain, Marfa; Norman Rogers,

First Lieutenant, Post; W. W. Lewis,

Second Lieutenant, Menard;

A. T. Richie, Adjutant, Comanche;

Henry Sackett, Orderly Sergeant and Secretary,

Coleman; W. H. Roberts, color bearer, Llano;

John O. Allen, chaplain, Cookville.

The ex-rangers, organized two years ago

at Weatherford, held their second meeting

at Comanche and met this year at Menard.

These towns are the scenes of one or more

Indian engagements, of which these men are

last survivors. The organization is limited

to men who saw service more than thirty

years ago, and, therefore, includes only

those who helped to clear Texas of

Indians and bad white men of the days

of Sam Bass and Nep Thornton.

There has probably never existed in

the American continent a group of men so

famous for individual courage and

fighting ability as the Texas rangers.

The force was organized in 1835, when

Texas was in revolt against Mexico. It

has existed in some form from that day

until this. The first force was stationed

on the outskirts of the settlements to

protect the people from the Indians.

When Texas achieved her independence

as set up her people were hard put to

it for precaution against the enemies that

came in from all sides. It was at this

time during the Republic that the great

ranger Captains developed. Jack Hays

was the greatest of them all. About

1840 he was stationed at San Antonio

with a bare handful of men to watch the

Mexican to the south fight the Indians on

the west and clear the town of desperate

characters. Hays had under his command

such men as Ben McCuIloch, who fell in the

Civil War; Ad Gillespie, who was killed at the

head of his troops in the battle of Monterey;

Big Foot Wallace and many others.

This is a shared photo from Facebook of those attending the 1923 Reunion in Menard, Texas taken by a photographer from Brownwood, Texas.

1923 Ranger Convention, Menard, Texas September 6-8 from the https://trhc.org/uploads/3/5/4/9/35499853/1923-exrangers-assoc-meeting-menard_orig.jpg

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