Volume 12 , Issue 38

Perry, OK County Fair

Roy of Perry says, " For the first time in several years, it did not 'rain on our parade'!!! Nor did we have any bad weather for the entire week of our county fair here in Perry, Oklahoma. We have just completed our 117th continuous annual running of the CHEROKEE STRIP LAND RUN celebration. It is the longest running continuous annual celebration in the state of Oklahoma, having begun 13 years before we became the 46th state in the nation.

"I can recall one year that the falling rain was quite cold and many of us huddled under awnings and other overhangs around our town square as we watched the decorated floats slowly losing their identity as it melted away from the constant falling moisture. Last year, the rain miraculously quit just ten minutes before the hour-and-a-half parade began.

"This year we had bright sunshine all day long and I shot video for our local-access TV channel for almost eight hours. Most of that time was spent standing on the grass under tent covering the audio-control booth in front of the bandstand in the courthouse park, but I also stood for an hour-and-a-half in front of Jim Franklin's sculpture studio behind my video camera that was recording the passing parade. This year's parade marshal was our own internationally famous (two-time Olympic Champion Wrestler, retired) Danny Hodge. His vehicle was followed by our 'citizen of the year', Noble County Sheriff Charlie Hanger (the ex-highway patrol trooper who in years past had arrested the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh).

"All in all, it turned out to be a great day for our celebration, and I am beginning to get rested up from it. As to falling rain, the previous week, we had received an additional six tenths of an inch. We've had a considerable amount this year and I am behind again on my grass mowing."   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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