Arizona Hoorah

The Southwest chapter of the American Chuck Wagon Association held a Hoorah on March -21-24, 2014 just outside of Ft. Thomas, Arizona at the end of Poverty Flats Road at the home of John and Sandy Sullivan.  President Russ Richins, of the Southwest chapter, was on hand to help with the organizing of the various events scheduled throughout the three day event.  The ACWA president-Wayne Calk, Administrative Assistant-Nancy Sparks, and three board members-Dave McDowell, Kathy Christianson, and Glenn Moreland were present.  
                                                                               

The Hoorah began three years ago in Ft. Thomas, Arizona as a way for chuck wagon owners and ACWA members could come together to celebrate the chuck wagon heritage while getting to know each other under circumstances other than competitions.   Clearly the gathering has grown from a little over 20 the first year to over 60 this year.  Chuck wagon aficionados traveled from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Washington, and Colorado to participate in what is turning out to be a shining star in the American Chuck Wagon Association. 

As we arrived in Thacther, Arizona the first stop on Thursday was at Brashas’ Grocery Store where manager, Edmundo Lopez provided the event with nearly all the groceries we needed for the event at Poverty Flats.  The amount topped the $500 mark.  Edmundo was such a fine gentleman as was his assistant.  We are humbled by his extreme generosity and will be forever in his debt for kindness.  We wanted to be able to display a sign showing that he was the sponsor for the event and invited him to attend and he said that all he wanted in return was a group photograph to place upon the wall of his office. 

A small group of folks arriving on Thursday made a short trip over to Safford, Arizona to enjoy the fine steaks at the Copper Steer Steak house. This is the only time that we have when “someone else” serves the food.  Our meal planning begins on Friday and the Arizona sunrise is nothing short of spectacular.  Of course with the full complement of cowboy tipis, flags from around the US and also a windmill to help serve as a backdrop didn’t hurt.  Steve and I were up early with our own little campfire and coffee pot gurgling…we were ready to start the morning.  It wasn’t long before many of the camps were up and attum, ready to see what else the day would hold for this group of friends and strangers.  I think it can easily be said that is wasn’t long before there were no strangers…only friends.  

Friday began with some hot steaming cowboy coffee, as you would expect.  Some of the guys were rushing around loading some poles for a project back in El Paso.  Many of the folks were beginning to arrive about mid-morning and the lunch preparations were underway with Steve Woods from Denton, Texas, Bob Sparks from Brownfield, Texas and myself making Pico de Gallo to go with the marinated and grilled flank steak to be served on a flour tortillas.

As folks got their camps set up they immediately got their “swap meet” stuff lined out on the ground or table like fire iron, coffee pots, ovens, lanterns, dippers, knives, steak turners, harnessing components, cookbooks, pots, pans, three tined forks, and a lot more.  The quality of the items were really good and many good bargains could be had if you were quite enough to pick them up before someone else got to the good stuff. 

The time frame for Friday was to have everything at Poverty Flats set up and ready so we could journey down the road to Pima, NM by 4 pm for the Vaquero gathering at Gummer’s Camp.

Randy and Rhonda Hawkins hosted the Friday night event, at their home in Pima, Arizona, in honor of the Vaquero.  It was explained at the supper--it was with much indebtedness to the Vaquero that we owe for the many cowboy ways we learned from them.   To the Vaquero—We Salute You!

Randy and Rhonda Hawkins at Gummer’s Camp Western Town provided a Mexican meal highlighted by their Tapatias.  Randy gave everyone a guided tour of his western and chuck wagon collectables.  Their backyard is the location of the western town of which they are quite proud. During the meal we were entertained by a most capable group of musicians led by their fiddle player.  I apologize that I didn’t get their names but they were indeed quite good and entertaining. 

Saturday morning began with coffee and with Dave McDowell from Chandler, Az preparing donuts, Scottish scones and Welsh Cakes.  Martin Winslow from Cortez, Colorado was cooking the donuts (folks sort of hovered around the donut bowl and ate the wonderfully hot pastries)  and Rodney Carriker, also from Cortez, served as the fireman for the whole event having coals ready for whatever it was that was being prepared.  I might add that there were a few folks mentioned who were sort of responsible for preparing certain meals or side dishes, but all of the rest of the people in attendance fell in and offered their assistance from everything to washing dishes to making the fire.  That makes it a Fun For All!!! 

As the clock ticked, it came to pass that the black powder cannon demonstration and “front end loaders” didn’t get to do their thing because of some personnel glitches.  As it turned out we spent time with Dave McDowell leading a discussion on the timeline of certain spices during the cow camp era.  He explained that oregano, garlic, chilies, bell peppers, mustard seed, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, vanilla, and lemon extract were available along with various sweeteners like loaf sugar (cones) and molasses followed by syrup.  Corn was the most plentiful after the Civil War but flour, baking powder (Saleratus) and yeast was also available.   Canned goods were available in 1865 and the most common were corn, tomatoes, beans, pineapples, strawberries, cherry, peach, oysters and lobster—costing from 50 cents to a dollar per can and were sold in cases of 24 for $12-$15 per case.  By 1870 United States canners were producing 30 million cans of food per year.  The most common on the chuck wagon were tomatoes but the prairie supply points often stocked canned oysters and sardines, potted chicken, deviled ham, as well as cheese and crackers. There are other categories that Dave covered that can be obtained through the ACWA May 2014 Newsletter. 

John Sullivan, Sandy Sullivan and Randy Hawkins worked off and on during the morning prepping for their wheelwright demonstration that was to occur after lunch. 

Bob and Nancy Sparks gave a historical accounting of the chuck wagon and discussed in detail the many things that chuck wagon judges (both have judged many chuck wagon competitions) look for when judging the wagons for competitions. Using a sample judging sheet, they went down the list talking about all the items on the “check sheet”.  There was enlightening and interesting commentary from the Sparks’ as well as Kathy Christenson and Glenn Moreland.  Some “new” wagon owners got many of their questions answered. 

Russ Richens, from Phoenix, AZ, was busying himself with the hot dog preparations and cooking up some more of the skirt steak while Rex Dalton, from Cortez, CO, was making up two batches of Pico De Gallo, one with green chilies and the other with Jalapenos. 

The fire was hot and the wagon wheel tire was in amongst the coals expanding so that John, Randy and Sandy could set the tire on a butcher knife wheel during their wheelwright demonstration.  The tire spokes and fellies had been put in place and the procedure for doing so was talked about by John. He explained that tire had a section of it taken out to better fit the outside measurement around the wheel.  The setting of the tire didn’t go so well and it was determined after a couple of tries that further adjustments would have to be made before the final fitting.  The demonstration outside of John’s wagon barn was informative as well as enlightening because of all of the close tolerances. 

The American Chuck Wagon Association held a meeting to discuss the possibilities of the ACWA sanctioning chuck wagon cook-offs and ultimately culminating in an ACWA Championship Cook Off.  Some of the pros and cons were discussed as well as some issues such as the fairness of someone who is really far from most of the cook offs being held.  The ACWA announced an upcoming meeting in Abilene, TX to discuss the topics further. Also discussed at the Hoorah was the implementation of the ACWA Awards Program.  Awards discussed were:  Pioneer Award, Western Heritage Award, Rookie of the Year Award, Youth Award, and the Hoodlum Award.  Much discussion occurred around the need for wagon recognition and it was brought forward that the award might include the whole wagon camp.  We took that information and promised to present it at the Abilene, TX meeting.

During the calendar year I was contacted by the Bethany Braley, Executive Director of the National Day of the Cowboy organization that the ACWA had been selected as one of their recipients of the Cowboy Keeper Award.  Beth asked when would be a good time that she might be able to present the award in person.  I suggested the Hoorah and she was excited about the possibility of attending.  Many times when a distinguished award is presented the presenter does a brief fanfare and the award is handed over, BUT not this one.  Beth did an amazing amount of research in recognizing the ACWA accomplishments and goals of preserving the Chuck Wagon Heritage.  It was with honor that we, the board of directors of the ACWA, accepted the award by such an eloquent delivery by the Executive Director.  Thank you so very much National Day of the Cowboy for this honor.

Grant Smith from Alma, New Mexico was on hand to give a demonstration of his exceptional Dutch oven pie making skills.  As you can see by the picture the crust isn’t your ordinary pie crust.  Grant went through the steps of creating the masterpiece.  He had his cookbooks for sale that included many outstanding recipes and “tricks” that he has learned from cooing with Dutch ovens for 60 years.  And speaking of cookbooks, there were at least 5 other chuck wagon cookbooks for sale.

Several appetizers were being enjoyed while preparations were being made for the New Your Strip steaks, chicken, baked potatoes, salsas, frijoles and several desserts.  Socialization or as some would call it…bsing was at a high pitch.  Rex Dalton and Joe Cannon had some wonderful tales to tell and were quite memorable, like the “this is gonna hurt” and the “breaking of 28 mules” and one that Joe Cannon told last year was about the “neighbor’s dog”.  You just had to be there to appreciate the humor in the stories.

Later in the evening, around the big campfire, the group was entertained by two local musicians (didn’t get names) with Glenn Moreland setting in and singing some songs.   It was a nice culmination for the evening.   Several individual campfires burned late into the night kindling the fire of old and new friendships. 

John and Sandy were up early preparing their Mountain Man breakfast which was a combination of eggs, cheese, sausage, onions and other ingredients.  Not much need for breakfast to be announced…as everyone was ready to indulge in the smells coming from the central fire pit.  And, as has become a tradition at Ft. Thomas, a cowboy church service. 

This summarizes THE HOORAH at Ft. Thomas, Arizona.  When it was begun three years ago, we didn’t know what was going to become of the future of the “get together”, we just knew that it would be fun and a chance for folks to come together in an environment without a competition.  The organizers feel that the Hoorah has served the purpose and has paved the way for others to step forward and organize a gathering in other areas.  The next event—The Chuck Wagon Rendezvous-- will be in Bennett, Colorado at Lost Creek Farms on May 4-6, 2014 followed by another one in Sat the Three Hearts Ranch on September 12-14, 2014 in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

See ya on down the trail!
Wayne

Sourdough Sunday

Just a couple of days after Valentine's day and really enjoying this 83 degree weather in El Paso, Texas.  I have started on a rather lengthy project for a blog and realized that I needed to write something in the mean time.

This blog is about a sourdough biscuit recipe.  The recipe I have included is one I duplicated from my long time friend Glenn Benson from Del Rio, Texas.  For those who do not know, he was my 8th grade Industrial Arts (shop) Teacher .  It was one time in Del Rio that I had gone to help him out a little after some surgery when I noticed a recipe in his kitchen window. I thought it was pretty cool since one of the recipes was mine and one belonged to our friend Billy Foster.  I noticed that it was written on the back of a shooting target.  I looked around and found the same targets and replicated the recipes just as Glenn had written them.   Well anyway, one morning I asked Glenn if he wanted some biscuits and of course he responed with a "why hell yes". I think I made them a couple of times and they were sure fine.

I have had several sourdough starters in the refrigerator over the years, some lasting a couple of years or so. The last starter died a couple of weeks ago for some unknown reason.  So I had to make some more.  Now those of you who know all about this sort of stuff--don't get your danderuf up--just bear with me cause there are a bunch of folks that might find this useful.  To start a new batch of sourdough starter you need to find some sort of ceramic or crock container that has a lid.  The one I use is about two quarts.  Add three cups of flour, three cups of warm water, about a tablespoon+ of sugar and about 1/2 pack of instant dry yeast.  Just set it back uncovered of a couple of three days and check on it ever now and then and stir it. You will see that it has bubbled and frothed up quite nicely.  The pan of biscuits I made after the dough had been on the kitchen counter for about three days.  I think the sourdough gets more potent after sitting longer.You can then cover your starter and put it  in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it again.  Just set it out on the counter the night before you plan to make something with it.

Now this morning I used nearly two cups of starter and when you take out two cups of starter you must add back the same....ie....two cups of flour and two cups of water....a little sugar and a little sprinkle of yeast.  Now here is something to know......with patience you can skip the adding of the instant yeast and the dough will begin to bubble  because it will get  the natural yeast from the air......it just takes longer.

I thought I would experiment with the cutting of the biscuits using the twist method and the straight pressure down method.  Of course you all know that if you twist the biscuit, it will not rise as tall and have a somewhat stunted rise on the side of the biscuit.  You can't tell from the picture but the twisted ones are about 1/4 shorter than the straight down cut.

You can follow the recipe or change it up according to your tastes.  I sometimes have to cook them about 15 minutes and sometimes 20 minutes plus.  Just keep an eye on them and if you want them browner.....well you know.  The thing to do to get the bottom and tops to crust real good is to put a goodly amount of oil in the bottom of a heavy pan and sop the top of the biscuit and turn it over.  They will be real pretty.  Oh, and of course if you will put some homemade pear preserves on them like your mother use to make then ...well ....they will be scrumptious.

The recipe is special and so was my friend.  If you will allow me to expound on our friendship--After taking his class I guess I retained a lot from his teachings.  I went on to study and teach Industrial Arts myself....then went in to public school administration.  I guess you could say much of this was because of Glenn.  Anyway we remained friends over the years...actually over 50 before he passed away.  So it is easy to remember someone special when there are so many things you do on a daily basis that are attributed to a friend.

Raising a sourdough biscuit..............Here's to you Glenn!!

Boy Scouts at Camp Fawcett, Texas.....continued

This is the second of the two part series on Boy Scouts....

Once the Hoe cakes were going real good I started whipping up a batch of buttermilk biscuits.  Steve explained to the scouts that all the major ingredients could be mixed ahead of time with the buttermilk added right before cooking.  He pointed out how the dough is folded gently so that the biscuits will turn out flakey.

  If you roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1” and the biscuits will be nearly 3” tall when done. 

The biscuits get the good crust on the bottom by adding  is a good amount of oil in the pan and sop the top of the cut biscuits when placing them in the pan.  The main question is always:  “how long does it take to make biscuits"?  The answer is a bit complex when you start with arrival time and start with building a fire and getting the appropriate coals for the top and bottom of the Dutch oven…….in essence it only takes about 20 minutes or to cook once the biscuits are in the pan. Getting the appropriate amount of coals on top and bottom and sufficiently screening the wind from blowing the coals is real important to having a good outcome. 

Buttermilk Biscuits

8 Cups of flour

4 tbs baking powder

2 tsp of baking soda

4 tbs of sugar

2 tsp of salt

1 cup of butter flavored Crisco

4 cups of buttermilk (substitute 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of milk to make buttermilk)

The weather was for the most part cooperative in that it didn’t get too cold.  There was ice on the ground early morning and the wind blew most of the day but the temperature didn’t remain cold and other than a little wind, it was a beautiful.  We managed to get a big pot of chile cooked up for lunch and served that with onions, cheese, and fritos.  There were several like Mike Kyle that managed to down at least three bowls of the concoction.  It was along about this time that Park Ranger Jack Johnson

came by to give us a special demonstration on making a fire using sticks.  There was a bit of moisture in the air and there was great difficulty in getting the ember.  Jack was very diligent and I am sure making a very interpretive instructor wherever he goes.  Again, I wish we had been able to see some of the things that were going on at Camp Fawcett like:

·         Atl’Atl,

·         Black Powder Shooting

·         Knife Throwing

·         Tomahawk Throwing

         Caber & Cannonball Tossing

·         Flint & Steel Starting

·         Wells Fargo

·         Dutch oven Cooking

·         Old Fashioned Root Beer

·         And the infamous Colter Run

I don’t know if all the events came off as planned as there were some absences in the ranks and the full complement of activities may not have been realized.  However, I find it very impressive that the Boy Scout organizers were able to put together this amazing list of activities to benefit the scouts and traditions they hold.  There are so many things going on for kids these days and I feel that there are none that are more important than what can be learned in scouting.  In my youth, I was a Cup Scout and still think the things I learned as a Cub Scout served me well in later years.  I have no idea why I didn’t pursue the travel into Boy Scouts.  I’m sure I would have been totally consumed by their teachings. 

The final meal for the staff was Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.  The code of the West, which states “if I give you this recipe-then you can’t give it to someone else.” This recipe was given to me from my friend Carl Hawkins from Santa Fe, New Mexico and he uses it in his catering business so I am bound to keep his secret my secret.  I will say that it is a simple recipe and has a special ingredient that kicks it up several notches.  Hope everyone enjoyed them. 

It was along about suppertime that everyone was pretty well worn out from all of the activities of the day and Steve and I weren’t looking forward to have to load everything on the trailer after the meal was over.  But, not to worry, there were several scouts and scout leaders still around and the chore of loading was diminished considerably and completed almost before it got dark.  

I was privileged to get to spend some quality time with John Martinez.

He is what he calls himself, “a professional scout”.  His title is Wintergarden Senior District Executive.  John is a behind the scenes man who works to get things like this Frontier Day activity organized and supported.  Of course, he is one of many leaders that it takes to pull off all the scouting activities throughout the year.  He says that he enjoys what he does but the true enjoyment comes from being able to participate with the young people and see the benefits of his efforts in the office.  It is also true of the guys that I grew up with as mentioned before, Jimmy, Brad, Billy, Luke, and Michael, whom we got to visit with after they helped us pick up and load everything.  We gathered at the motel in Barksdale and sort of debriefed the day’s activities.  It was clear that these men are Boy Scouts to the bone.  They will do everything within their power to see that the mission of the Boy Scouts is carried out.  And speaking of that mission, it is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the three promises of the Scout Oath.  They are Duty to God and country, Duty to other people, and Duty to self.  

After I was home for a week and finally got my wagon unloaded and the pots and pans washed up I wrote this blog and reflected on what was a wonderful weekend spent with some young and impressionalble minds.  The scout leaders were busy and we didn't get to spend much time together but I was impressed with what they have been able to teach tus far in the lives of these young Scouts.  

Luke Billingsley

I have included a number of pictures I took during the camp but Luke Billingsley and Brad Bradley shot many more of which several are on the Camp Fawcett website. Check it out.

See you on down the trail.............