The 142nd Infantry Band of the 36th division of the U. S. Army began during the first World War. Band leader R. Wright Armstrong reformed the group in Brownwood in Nov. 1921. They played at such notable events as American Legion Conventions in New Orleans and San Francisco and the 1923 inauguration of Gov. Pat Neff, who proclaimed them the official band of Texas. The band marched behind an actual mare and rider into hotels, state capitol buildings and democratic party national conventions in Houston (1928) and Chicago (1932). Wearing distinctive red silk shirts, yellow bandanas, patent leather boots and sombreros, the Old Gray Mare Band spread the spirit of Texas across the state and nation. 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836 - 2011