Chamber Chimes

I can not say enough about the volunteers that helped make the 33rd Annual Watonga Cheese Festival possible.  Not only did they volunteer their most valuable resource, their time, but they did so in unseasonable cold temperatures.  And through all that, they were still able to great visitors to Watonga with friendly and helpful, smiling faces that we all get to see so often.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all those who helped out at the festival!

      Last week I had the pleasure of touring a very nice group of RV campers who were staying at Roman Nose State Park.  This group of 14 came from Stroud, Bethany, Oklahoma City, Mustang and Wichita, KS.  They comprise the majority of the “Oklahoma Roamers”, all 5th wheel owners who meet 8 times a year for camp outs.  Dorothy Odle of Wichita was their trail boss this time and brought them to stay at Roman Nose and to Watonga.  We first went to the Courthouse where Linda McPherson and Cynthia Schaeffer showed them the beautiful restoration work that has been done, including the dome, the court room and law library.  Then we went across the street where Dr. Lucas showed them the Ferguson Chapel and told them the history and story of its restoration.  He also  shared information with them about the Noble House, as they would be eating there the following evening.  Following that we went to the Ferguson Home.  There we were met by Tim Curtin and, to our surprise, Mary Deane who had just been released to go back to work after her surgery.  It was such a joy to get to spend time with all these wonderful people who enjoy our city and like to share it with others. They all did a fine job of sharing with these wonderful visitors our local stories.  My thanks to them all, as well as the Oklahoma Roamers for choosing to come to Watonga.

      This week I will be spending a few days in Tulsa at the Governor's Convention on Tourism.  It looks from the agenda to have lots of information to share that may be beneficial in finding new ways to encourage more visitors to come to Watonga.  I hope to bring back new ideas and  inspiration to help us share this wonderful community that we call home.

October 7, 2009

The Watonga Cheese Festival is finally here and I expect that all the hard work of the many volunteers will again pay off in the form of a successful event.  I am really excited about the vendors, the entertainment, the shows and everything that makes this event wonderful.             As you may know, there will be 2 stages of entertainment this year.  The First State Bank stage (Centennial Park) will host the opening ceremony at 9:00 am Friday, then will have entertainment by many names you know, including John Diamond, Vernon Brickman, the Waggoner’s, Katie Ballew and more and will end up with Edgar Cruz playing from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.  The Karl’s Apple Market stage on Noble will run from 9:45 am to 4:30 Friday and will include Delivered 24/7, a Bag Piper, some well loved local talent and Osmus & the Bushmills out of Okeene.   Saturday morning will bring more entertainment to both stages until shortly before the parade, which will start at 12:30.   Following the parade, performing at Main & Noble will be SWOSU band, followed by our hometown cuties, the TLC dancers, Calumet Watonga Taekwondo Karate Club, and Music Students of Debbie Fry.  There should be no end of entertainment between all those great performers and the other amusements of the festival.  I hope you all come out to enjoy it.             On a non-Cheese-Festival note, I would like to welcome a new business to town.  Opening on Friday will be Trendz Clothing & Accessories at 121 W. Russworm.  Shelly Pendergraft has been working on opening this store for sometime and says it will carry new and gently used apparel items appealing to teens and young adults.  Stop in to check it out and wish her the best of luck.