Pioneer Days
2006
Watonga, Oklahoma, Main Street


5/20/06
Bob's Main Street News
Main Street Web Site

         Folks seem to enjoy the festivities in downtown Watonga last Saturday as we put another Pioneer day Celebration behind us. It was indeed a thrill this year  to honor Dr. Coot Nelson one of Watonga's most distinguished citizens as our Pioneer Honoree of 2006
As you all know Dr. Coot Nelson had an optical business here for many years . He has spent most of his life here He certainly fits the criteria of being called a  Watonga pioneer. He has served this community well both as a business man and as a private citizen. He has been involved in many community service activities over the years . We were very proud that he excepted our invitation to be our Pioneer honoree.
We had several celebrities who honored us with their presence in the parade including our own Mayor Hightower, Senator Ron Justice and Rep. Rob Johnson.  There was a good crowd downtown as both sides of Main Street were lined with people enjoying the parade.  The folks from the Court House had an outstanding float with a model of the Court House that looked like it was made from wood. You could certainly tell this was a proud bunch ,who were proud of what they had been able to accomplish in renovating the Historical Blaine County Court House , and  proud they should be, they did a great job.  The  Main Street Program was happy to   recognize their accomplishments with an award during the parade.  We hope they will continue until the restoration is complete
I think all of our County Commissioners were involved in the parade in one way or another. We really appreciate these folks taking time to be with us, as we do all those who helped make our parade and our Pioneer Days a success There was a good crowd downtown as both sides of Main Street were lined with people enjoying the parade.
Another great entry was GL Alexander with his fleet of historical antique tractors.    Some of these machines take years to rebuild, Just finding parts can take a lot of time.
As we watched these machines roll by it brought back memories of my childhood. I can remember driving that 1937 John Deer tractor. It only had two gears and no brakes. GL and his son Geoff are always there to help make our parade a success 
   
The Thomas Country Opry Band is well known in this area and as expected drew a large crowd.  
  Everyone was thrilled and excited with the beautiful Indian costumes and the performance of the  Cheyenne Indian Dancers.
   
  There were many great entries in the parade, among them The Christian Church Float advertising their approaching Bible School . You could tell they had put in a lot of work on this float. It  would certainly be great if we could get more of our churches interested in being involved in local activities.

 

We appreciate so much everyone who participated in the parade. The Bed Races were a lot of fun as they always are .   

 		 The opportunities Inc. won for the best decorated bed as they have for the past three years .
The Chamber of Commerce came in second and The Christian church Bible School came in Third. The trophy for the fastest bed went to the Chamber this year with second going to opportunities Inc. and third to Corrections Corp. of America.  
   

We did not have as many entries in the Horse Shoe Tournament as anticipated but it was a good start and perhaps we can build on it in the coming years.

 		 We attended The Blaine County 4-H  Rodeo on Saturday night
They put on a good show and the crowd was good . This was only the second year for the Rodeo We hope it continues to grow along with Pioneer Days and becomes a great attraction for Watonga.
   
   

These events do not just happen, they require a lot of work and without our faithful volunteers we could never make it happen . Bill  and Jenifer Gauer helped with the drink concession, Lewis Green is always where ever he is needed. He helped deliver beds and also helped at the drink concession, Rex Kraft cooked the burgers along with his son Rick, Kathy Wanzer furnished the large large overalls for the bed races. Mike Russell ran the Cow Chip event, Donnie Dunn put together the Horse Shoe event and Tony Kohl was our Master of Ceremonies. All in all I would say Pioneer days 2006 was a success .

 At the very least it was a whole lot of fun.

 		  
Pioneer day , a time when we celebrate our heritage and honor some of the pioneers who struggled to survive and built this great land we call Oklahoma . Saturday6 May 20, will the day on which we do this . There will be a big parade as usual

Louise Dunn and Katie Ballew will be working together to make sure this is a great event This year some of our Indian friends will presenting the colors and then they will be presenting a program and entertainment featuring real Indian dancing in front of the stage immediately after the parade . Larry Roman Nose will be in charge of putting this event together . I am not sure who the other members will be but we will introduce them at that time . As soon as they have completed their program the Thomas Country Opry Band will take over, Everyone will enjoy these folks, they are great musicians. Many of our Watonga folks are regulars at their program in Thomas every other Saturday night. Then the bed races will be held between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. ,this is always a very popular event and a lot of fun. We have some really good racers lined up this year. Providing teams this year will be Eley's Service Center, Opportunities inc. [They have won the prize for the best decorated bed for the past two years] Lynn Wright Insurance, C.C.A. Diamond Back , The Christian Church,[They also will have a float in the parade] and The Watonga Chamber of Commerce. We are hoping to have one or two more signed up by race day. Mike Russell will be in charge of the Cow Chip throwing contest which will be next on the agenda. Cozetta Lesperence won this event last year along with Donnie Dunn ,[Enough said about that]. Beginning at 1:00 there will be more music by the Thomas Country Opry Band. Then their will be a Martial arts demonstration by one of Watonga's newest businesses . The Watonga Martial Arts Studio, operated by Roger Ballew will have several of his students there, to demonstrate some of things they have learned while studying under Roger.

Something brand new and very exciting this year will be the horse shoe tournament . This should bring a lot of competitors to Watonga as there is a very handsome pay out of $2,000.00. The horse shoe tournament registration will begin at 11:00 and continue until the event is full . Donnie Dunn will be in charge of this event . We have had a lot of inquiries from around the state , showing that there is a great deal of interest in this event.. If we have a lot of participation the tournament will become an annual event along with our golf tournament which is sponsored each year by The Main Street Organization in August. The Watonga Fire Department and the Volunteers will be raffling off a beautiful shot gun at the band stand at 2:00 p.m. Pioneer Days will be an excellent opportunity to meet your friends down town for a day of fun and excitement . Tony Kohl and I will be announcing the events that day while Rex Kraft and his crew will be frying up delicious hamburgers to keep everyone full . Bill and Jenifer Gauer and Lewis and Mina green will selling cold drinks and their will be other vendors as well.

Then to cap everything off , The Blaine County 4-H clubs will be sponsoring a rodeo at the fair grounds that evening. This will be the second year for that event and we would like to see it grow and help make Pioneer Days even more fun and exciting. The rodeo will be held both Friday and Saturday nights and should bring in a lot of our local cowboys.