Dateline: July 10, 2003

Organizers call 125th celebration a success

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The 125th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration is generally being considered a great success by those organizations who helped put on this year’s festivities.

Typical July weather in the upper 90s was a great difference from last year’s celebration when some two inches of rain fell on the event.

With the courthouse renovation still being wrapped up, City Park was the site of the activities. The Old Settlers Reunion got things started, and Douglas Allee of Waynesboro, VA, received the award for having traveled the greatest distance to be there. Viola Graham and Coy Stevens were the oldest Woman and Man. Stevens also received the award for having lived in Donley County the longest – since 1914.

The Al Morrah Shrine Club served more than 1,000 plates of barbecue. Funds from the barbecue are used in conjunction with the Khiva Temple of the Shrine in Amarillo to help pay for transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals, both of which are Masonic charities operated free of charge.

The Kids Parade saw a total of 36 entries. In the 4-year-old and under division, Raylyn Shelton was first, Hannah Floyd was second, and Richee Tiedeman was third. Evan Jones took first place in the 5- to 8-year-old division, followed by Taylor Perryman and Payge Petrie. And first place in the 9- to 12-year-old division went to Nicholas Tiedeman, Andrew Tiedeman was second, and Cassandra Trevino was third.

The annual July Fourth Parade boasted 58 entries in four divisions this year. The Clarendon High School Cheerleaders’ float won first place in the Float division for the third year in a row. The Hedley Lioness Club was second, and the Shamrock American Legion was third. In the Antique Car division, Henry Like was first with his 1941 Plymouth truck, Ken Carden was second in a 1949 Hudson Commodore, and honorable mention went to Otis Ferris with his 1938 A Model John Deere. The Riding Unit division was won by Boys Ranch with the Khiva Shrine Temple Mule Skinners second and the Donley County Horse Club honorable mention. The Hard Core Ministries’ motorcyclists received first place in the Miscellaneous division. Hinton’s Hay Baling was second, and the Fultons were honorable mention.

The star attraction in the Lions Club’s Cow Patty Bingo was in no hurry to declare a winner. Instead of getting right with it at 1 p.m., the critter stood around in the hot sun way past 3 p.m. before selecting Markeeta Howard of Clarendon, Teresa Dronzek of Clarendon, and Susan Bratton of Dallas as the winners.

The COEA Ranch Horse Competition was held July 3. Bill Smith won the Open Division, followed by Todd Adams and Bill Smith in second and third. Riley Abbott was first in the Cowboy Division, Steve Lewis was second, and Jim Richardson was third. In the Bronc Riding, Casey Stegall was first, R.D. Horn was second, and Tim Stout and Cody Lewis tied for third.

The COEA Ranch Rodeo was held July 4 and 5 and was very well attended. On Friday, the Parks Ranch team won the Bronc Ride, Matthews/Dorsey won Sorting & Doctoring, the JA’s was first in Cow Milking, and the Upper 6666’s won Team Branding. On Saturday, the Barnes Land & Cattle Co. was first in Bronc Ride, Bar W Ranch was first in Sorting & Doctoring, Rafter S topped the Cow Milking competition, and Jones Ranch won the Team Roping.

The Jones Ranch was first overall, Barnes Land & Cattle Co. was second, the Upper 6666’s was third, and Bar W was fourth. Roady Wilson of the LX Ranch was the Top Hand, and Monty Jones of the Jones Ranch had the Top Horse.

Winners in the Calf Ride were Laxton Lamberson (Thursday), Dustin Crump (Friday), and Tate Stavenhagen (Saturday). Dustin Camp was the overall winner.

Winners in the Steer Ride were Bradley Watson (Thursday), Cody Holowell (Friday), and Matthew Key (Friday). The overall winner was Matthew Key.

The winner of the Saturday Donkey Ride was Kayla Hall, but the name of the winner of the Friday ride was not available. Winners’ names from the Calf Scramble were also not available, but the COEA appreciates all the kids who participated, and the Donley County State Bank for the cash awards and Walco International for the prizes.

Lee Bo Tolbert, Dale Robinson, and Bob Trout were the winners of the COEA’s beef drawings.

Paul Bell won the Shriners’ drawing for a new pair of handmade James Owens boots.

Jennifer Tubbs won the Chamber of Commerce’s drawing for the tickets to the National Finals Rodeo.

The Stick Horse Rodeo sponsored by the Donley County Horse Club on Saturday morning was reportedly very well attended with over 20 kids participating.

Henson’s turtle race had 230 entrants Saturday afternoon, and the top winners were MaRae Hall, Sami Lindsey, Brayden Hawkins, and Jessica Tabor.