It was only the drum majors up front when Mary Ruth Dunn, 92, of Kosciusko joined the Big Red Band in the late ’40s and early ’50s.
Dunn recalls not having air conditioning in school, but the band hall was nearby when she was a student. Practicing with the band was her favorite part of the school day. She spent an hour practicing each day with the band and walked back to her regular classes afterward.
“I went to school in the building where the library is now. We could leave for an hour in the morning, walk across to the band hall and practice for an hour for contests," said Dunn, who was born in the era of the Great Depression. “Back in that time, we walked everywhere.”
During this time, she recalled only the drum majors being allowed up front for the group's annual photo.
She and another member of the band, Joyce Hollingsworth, got to talking about how plain the band looked in pictures. They decided the band needed something else up front besides just the drum majors.
"We spoke to Mr. Skipworth about the idea of putting flag girls up front,” Dunn recalled.
Dunn said that the band director, W.G. Skipworth, was very intimidating and that the two girls were nervous to mention the idea to him at first.
“He was tough, but he was kind about it,” she said. “You could always tell when he was mad because his face would turn red.”
Though the two girls were nervous Skipworth’s face didn’t turn red at the idea of their being other members up front in the band pictures. He agreed that the idea of the Big Red Band having flag girls up front for photos wasn’t so outrageous after all.
The next year the Big Red Band flag girls were in the front holding the KHS signs that represented the band and the high school in the group photo.
“The first year our uniforms were handmade, and we were also wearing sneakers our first year,” Dunn said. “There were only four of us flag girls.”
Not only was she at the front of the photo now, but she also had to learn how to properly throw her baton. She said that she spent a lot of time practicing this.
She even recalled a time that it was so hot while rehearsing on the practice field that she thought she was going to pass out.
As Dunn got better, so did the homemade uniforms. After wearing sneakers for a year, the flag girls got an upgrade to white marching boots, hats and corrdinating matching uniforms.
While serving under director W.G. Skipworth Dunn felt a sense of pride of being a member of the Big Red Band.
“I loved traveling to competitions and performing,” she said. “We would travel all around Mississippi for competitions.”
Dunn mentioned that one time before a competition Skipworth presented the Big Red Band with a new piece of music that they had never played. She felt skeptical about their performance, but thanks to Skipworth’s direction, the band was able to perform the music and play it well.
Serving under Skipworth was an honor for Dunn, and her time in the Big Red Band was memorable for her.
Before graduating from school, the Big Red Band had a total of five flag girls, and the uniforms, hats, boots and batons made for a memorable annual photo.
Dunn couldn’t help but laugh while telling the story of her and Hollingworth presenting the idea to Skipworth. However, their idea was a success, and the Big Red Band continues to take its annual photo where the flag girls can be seen.
Dunn still lives in Kosciusko. The performing arts and Big Red Band are still a huge interest to her. Dunn has five children — Randy, Randall, Reisa, Ronny and Ricky Henderson — and six grandchildren. She will be celebrating her 93rd birthday on July 28 with family.
