Dateline: September 1, 2005

Messer a mainstay of Hedley's barbecue 

By Kari Lindsey, Clarendon Enterprise

The annual Community Chicken BBQ was held in Hedley last Thursday, August 25, and helping with the event was Doyle Messer, a life long Hedley resident, was one of the first ones to start the chicken barbecue in 1960.

“It started out being a celebration for the Lions Club members only. I thought it would be nice to honor everyone in the community that helped support the Cotton Festival,” stated Doyle Messer.

Henry Moore was the one who mainly did the cooking, but Doyle was there to help. A few years later, Doyle took the head responsibility of the barbecue. The barbecue goes on rain or shine. Long ago tickets cost $1.50, and they broke even on the price. They had no sponsors back then, just a group of men wanting to do nice things for others. This year over twenty sponsors helped to make the day complete. Doyle and his crew cooked 700 chicken halves on Thursday.

Messer, now 82 years old, has been a part of every single barbecue. He recently turned over the head responsibilities to fellow Lions Club member, Lon Adams; but Doyle is still there to help. The chicken barbecue now has sponsors that help make the event possible.

By no means is this endeavor a one-day event. There are days of preparation getting ready for the barbecue. Doyle was there preparing in 1960, and he spent the entire day at Hedley School on Thursday, making sure the barbecue was a huge success.

Also helping make the barbecue a huge success this year were sponsors White Farms, Herring Bank, Donley County Gin, Greenbelt Peanut, Scooter’s, Messer Law Firm, Moffitt Hardware, Reynolds Machine, Memphis Thriftway, Ward Electric, Community Bank, Donley County State Bank, Evans Fertilizer, J&W Lumber, Koetting Automotive, Western Equipment, First Bank & Trust, Fowler Insurance, Memphis Compress, and Red River Irrigation. Hedley Lion Lon Adams stated, “We really appreciate all the support given to the Lions Club and to the community of Hedley.”

Close to 550 people attended the barbecue this year.

The chickens are turned every 15 minutes unless Mr. Messer tells them different. When you start losing at dominoes, it is time turn the chickens quickly. If you are winning, the time between might be a little longer.

Many hands go into the preparation of the chicken barbecue. Workers come from Clarendon, Hedley, Lelia Lake and surrounding areas to prepare the meal. Many students of Hedley High School also spend a great part of the day helping out.