January 18, 2006

Bill Witherspoon's legacy to Weatherford was a vision of how to celebrate the town's 150th birthday. On Saturday January 14th, the legacy came to life as hundreds of residents gathered for the first of several planned events to recognize Weatherford's sesquicentennial. Witherspoon, a descendent of early Parker County settlers and a former high school history teacher, died in October 2001 but not before passing a detailed outline of activities, contests, and ideas to newcomer Heidi Boles. Boles’ locally published essay on small town history caught Witherspoon's eye in early 2001 and he asked her to consider leading community efforts - then five years in the future - to recognize the events and people that contributed to Weatherford's long history.

"I was completely unprepared for the work ahead," said Boles, now chairman of the Weatherford 150 Committee, "but the results have been worth it."

The kick-off festival on the 14th, capped by an evening concert by country music star Mark Chesnutt, was a showcase of community talent and spirit.

"We had a great day," Boles said.

The hallways of Weatherford High School were lined with historical booths, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and local vendors offering samples of their products. Costumed members of the Parker County Heritage Society strolled through the crowds to give visitors a visual notion of >what their ancestors must have looked like 150 years ago.

Local historians/authors Mary Kemp and Leon Tanner offered visitors insights from their years of research into area history. Their works, published by Nebo Valley Press, were available for purchase and those willing to take the time were invited to peruse some of the documents the pair uses in their work.

Similarly, members of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution encouraged interested women to take time and look through their society's official publications to determine if they might have a Revolutionary era ancestor.

At their booth, Glenda Herbert and husband Johnie, Mayor Pro-Tem of Weatherford, gave passersby a pictorial tour of the historic First United Methodist Church and shared their memories as members of one of the community's oldest religious institutions. Glenda, a judge at the city's centennial beard-growing contest, remembers the residents and institutions going "all out" for the 100th birthday bash in 1956. "The community came together for a year filled with activities. Times have changed, but it's been fun to reminisce with folks today," she said.

Activities for children filled the high school's two gymnasiums. Student volunteers from the City of Weatherford's Parks and Recreation program staffed booths offering face painting, balloon hats, and games. Children also found the booth sponsored by the Governor Samuel W.T. Lanham Camp #586, Sons of Confederate Veterans and Sarah’s Rose #24, Order of Confederate Rose that were filled with Civil War artifacts displayed by local merchant Calvin Allen fascinating. A muzzle-loading pistol that could be converted to a musket by adding a stock - an invention of then-Secretary of War Jefferson Davis - and an original McClellan saddle were only two of Allen's more interesting pieces.

High School student Hannah Schnebly's "Boots for History" project - a notion to take boots donated by townspeople, repair them, and sell the restored footwear on EBay - to help fund the county's new Doss Heritage and Culture Center got plenty of attention from those visiting the Doss Center's booth.

In addition to checking the status of the museum's construction and chatting with board members about donating items to the center, those visiting the booth could check the status of Schnebly's project by looking at some of the restored boots and browsing through a printed sheet from EBay detailing the funds raised to date for the project.

Adding to the fun of the day, men with facial hair were invited to compete in a beard contest just as men of beard-growing age did for the city's centennial celebration in 1956. Those arriving without facial hair were invited to pay a fine or spend fifteen minutes in a makeshift jail erected and manned by members of the Parker County Sheriff's Posse. Eight attendees won prizes for longest moustache, softest beard, and other categories.

Local performers provided musical entertainment throughout the afternoon. Square dancers and singers - including Weatherford 150 committee member a corner of the school's cafeteria. Bob Heinonen of Blanco portrayed Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight and detailed his adventures in Parker County and across the southwest. Goodnight's partner and fellow cattleman, Oliver Loving, is buried in Weatherford's town cemetery.

Before the final event of the day, local political and civic leaders cut a ribbon to symbolically open the year of sesquicentennial activities. The evening ended with a concert by country music star Mark Chesnutt. With a string of Number One hits in the 1990s, Chesnutt's popularity has waned in recent years, but his fans in Weatherford didn't seem to care. They filled the high school auditorium and cheered wildly throughout the concert.

With a year of activities ahead, 2006 promises to be busy for locals looking for a reason to celebrate. Bill Witherspoon didn't live long enough to see his vision made reality, but the townspeople of all ages that spent time at Saturday's festival experienced the celebration he wanted for them.