Clothing Collection
The TRHFM collection includes both historic and modern clothing items, particularly the personal items and gear worn by Texas Rangers. Here are some of those artifacts:
Contemporary Texas Ranger Items
Retired Texas Ranger Assistant Chief Frank Malinak donated many of his personal items from his Ranger career, including 12 items of clothing ranging from a camouflage BDU (pictured here) to a tan suit fit for the courtroom, as well as a collection of 21 training books and manuals, and several Texas Ranger oral histories. Donations like these help us continue to tell the story of the Texas Rangers.
As a Ranger, Malinak specialized in investigative hypnosis and courtroom presentations, and achieved the rank of Assistant Chief before retiring in 2017. Since retirement, he has been a board member of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, and involved with the Texas Ranger Association Foundation. His contributions to the Texas Rangers and continuing interest in the museum is greatly appreciated.
These boots were made for Joaquin…
Here are two pairs of custom-made boots originally owned by Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson. Both pairs of boots were made by the L. M. Easterling Custom Boot Company of Fredericksburg, Texas. The pair with the Texas Ranger badge was made in 2006, and the pair with the cattle brand was made in 2001. The cattle brand is a “Walking J”, which sounds a lot like Joaquin!
While Jackson retired from the Texas Rangers in 1993, this is the type of boots he would have worn throughout his career. Jackson served in the Rangers from 1966 to 1993, and worked at his private investigation firm after retirement, in addition to being an author and actor. He passed away in 2016 at his home in Alpine, Texas. These boots are an important addition to the collection and help tell the story of Texas Rangers today. We also wish to thank the donors who help the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum tell these stories by sharing these artifacts with the public.
The pair on the left is on loan from Wendy Ihde and the pair on the right is a gift of Jewely Van Valin.
"Do you know Drew Carter?"
In 1999, Ranger Drew Carter arrested Angel Maturino Resendez, the infamous "Railroad Killer" near El Paso, Texas. Little did Ranger Carter suspect that he was about to become an overnight sensation. News outlets interviewed people who had contact with Ranger Carter from all areas of his life. He became a household name, and this led to the often-asked question "Do you know Drew Carter?" The question was asked so often that the Rangers of Company "A" had these t-shirts made as an inside joke. This t-shirt was donated by Assistant Chief Frank Malinak.
According to Assistant Chief Malinak, he and his wife attended a Ranger event and she ran into Earl Pearson who was Captain of Company "A" at the time. Drew Carter's name had been all over the news, and she asked Captain Pearson the same question every Ranger in Company "A" had heard a million times, "Do you know Drew Carter?" In response, Captain Pearson reached into his desk and pulled out this t-shirt and handed it to Mrs. Malinak as a gift.
A Signature Hat
The Texas Rangers are well known for their white hats! Hats can be very meaningful, especially this one. This “party hat” was gifted on September 15, 1949 to Commissioner “Tex” Kelly of the Texas Department of Public Safety upon his departure from DPS. The entire hat is covered with signatures from many different law enforcement officers, including Texas Rangers from all five Companies. Even Ranger Captain Manuel T. Gonzaullas signed this hat!
