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Enola Gay Mathews
Here where we live, there’s a lot of tradition, and stew ranks high on the list. Not just any old stew, but real, authentic Hopkins County stew cooked to perfection over an open fire. The best of the best cooks gathered early Saturday morning, Oct. 28, in Buford Park to carry on the traditional competition to see whose stew is the best. The 54th annual World Champion Hopkins County Stew Cook-off may have had rain to dampen the ground, but not the atmosphere or the spirit of this beloved tradition. A huge thank you to the Chamber of Commerce staff! Watch our next issue for photos and a list of winners.
Speaking of the Stew, Cletis Millsap pointed me to an hour-long video that the Food Network produced in 2002 about the Hopkins County Stew Contest. It can be found on Youtube. If you can, watch it. You’ll see some beloved friends like Marie Chester, Billy Sam Elliot, Charley and Mary Charles, and even Cletis himself. I saw Frances Daniel, Mark Homer, Johnny “Buffalo” Chester, Miss Annie Mae Wilkerson and even Bill Bradford in the footage. It did my heart good to relive those good ole days. Now, with cooler weather coming, stew will be on everybody’s menu. Cooked indoors or outdoors, it’s a rich tradition.
And, check out the Down Home Today podcast # 209 for Saturday Oct. 28 to hear a very special surprise!
Here are more traditions, old and new. Plan now to make sure and enjoy a few.
The annual Heritage Car Show is Saturday, Nov. 4 downtown presented by Sulphur Springs Downtown Business Alliance.
The ninth annual George Dorner 42 Tournament is Saturday. Nov. 4, at 9:30 a.m. at Sulphur Bluff United Methodist Church.
Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, Nov. 5. Don’t forget to set your clocks back!
Christmas in Heritage Park is Saturday, Nov. 25, and Saturday, Dec. 2, at 416 Jackson St.
The Lions Club’s lighted Christmas Parade will pass through downtown Friday night, Dec. 1.
The CASA Cookie Walk is Friday, Dec. 1 at First UMC with decorated cookies sold by the pound.
A Chili cook-off at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center starts at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 1. Bring your homemade chili ready to serve. To sign up, phone 903-885-1661.
Northeast Texas Choral Society’s Celtic Christmas Concert is Dec. 2 and 3 in the SSHS Auditorium.
And, friends, be sure and grab the insert the Wednesday, Oct. 25, News-Telegram. It’s on Breast Cancer Awareness, and it was a team effort of us all at the newspaper. Let’s make it a mission to be sure the gals we know and love are getting mammograms.