Ben Estlack

It was a busy time in Clarendon last weekend with a good turnout for the 147th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration July 4-6, starting with the Lions Club’s bingo and barbecue cookoff on Thursday and running through the parade, rodeo, and other big events on Saturday.

The Lions’ bingo packed about 96 people in the Lions Hall the morning of the Fourth to play for 27 fabulous bags – coolers, tool bags, designer purses, etc. – that ranged in value from about $50 to more than $500. Afterwards, the Lions’ barbecue cookoff drew five teams that prepared chicken, pork, and beef entries. The winners of the people’s choice voting were Best Beef – Taylor Shelton, Best Pork – Lauren Graves, and Best Chicken – Chris D’Costa.

The Junior Ranch Rodeo wrapped up activities for the Fourth, and the Depression Luncheon was held at the Crossties Ministry Center Friday followed by the first night of the COEA Ranch Rodeo, the results of which are printed separately.

The theme for celebration parades this year was “A Salute to Service,” honoring the men and women in uniform who serve America.

The Liberty Electric Kids Parade started things off Saturday morning with three age categories plus a motorized division.
Winners were as follows: Motorized – first place Ransom Wylee Renee and second place Oakleigh Douglass; Ages 0-3 – first place Astrid Jaramillo, second place Rodey Henson, and third place Natalie Dillman; Ages 4-8: first place Kendall Danner, second place Kinze Zongker, and third place Lennyn Gaines; and Ages 9 and Up: first place Elizabeth Newton, second place McKinley Wilhelm, and third place Kennedy Wilhelm.

In the Herring Bank Parade, the Clarendon High School Class of 2025 won the first place Float, Summer Towing had the best car/truck entry, best Animal entry was MR Cattle, Newhouse Farms had the best Tractor entry, and Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts had the best Other entry.

The Chamber’s second annual REFZ Lawnmower Barrel Race drew nine contestants for the timed course event. Aaron Hanes finished the course in 56 seconds, and Emmalyne Roys was the runner up with a time of 59 seconds. Special recognition went to Michael Newhouse for being the only participant to finish the race with no penalties.

The Chamber also hosted its second annual Best of Donley County Blue Ribbon Exhibition during the celebration, and those results are listed in a separate article.

The Al Morrah Shrine Club served about 500 plates of barbecue this year. A portion of the proceeds from the annual barbecue are used in to help pay for the transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals.

The Donley County Junior Livestock Association raffled off a gun, and Craig Snell won it. Roy Bertrand won the drawing for the First Baptist Church youth group, and Nikki Robinson and Judy Ward won the drawings for the Consuela bag and Cornell’s gift card respectively held by the CHS Cheerleaders.
The Clarendon Lions Club’s Cow Patty Bingo was won by Russell Estlack, Bob Weiss, Courtney D’Costa, and Jesus Hernandez.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race was also held Saturday afternoon in its traditional location at Third and Kearney. A total of 109 youth entries competed in three different age divisions. Winning turtle jockeys this year were: age 0-4, Chambray Askew; age 5-8, Kendall Danner; and age 9-16, Meredith Artho. Adults then competed in a 17 and up division, and Carey Wann and Aaron Mays both won in a turtle tie.

Clarendon’s Tom Stauder says it was “the trip of a lifetime” when he joined about 85 other veterans from the Panhandle and South Plains on an Honor Flight to the nation’s capital.

Stauder was accompanied by his grandson, Bobby Tyler, in a group of about 125 people for the South Plains Honor Flight, which started Friday, May 31. Stauder and ten others had served in the Korean War. About 74 others had served in Vietnam.

A luncheon on the campus of Texas Tech University was the first gathering of the veterans, their companions, and members of the South Plains Honor Flight, and they all received matching red shirts. The group flew to Washington, DC, arriving at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport followed by a visit to the World War II Veterans Memorial, where Stauder said it was neat to see the old military uniforms. The group then went to the Pentagon Memorial commemorating the lives lost in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

“It was very impressive in that there were monuments with names for each of the 125 people killed when the airplane crashed into the building,” Stauder said.

Sunday morning’s tour began with Arlington National Cemetery and the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which he said was “very impressive.”

The Women’s Military Memorial and the Seabee Memorial were next, followed by the US Marine Corps War Memorial, which depicts the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.

“That was impressive seeing the GIs placing the flag pole with our flag of the United States,” he said.

The National Museum of the US Army was the first stop of the afternoon.

“We got a great view of how the Army weapons have changed over all those years,” he said. “As the oldest mobile vet, I placed the wreath at the memorial.”

The next stop was the group’s longest – the Air & Space Museum.

“To me, because there are so many unknowns our scientists need to discover, I found this to be the most interesting,” Stauder said.

Dinner Saturday evening featured a keynote address by Phillip Waite, managing director of the Vietnam veterans organization.

“He recognized and presented pins to our Korean veterans as well as the larger group of Vietnam veterans,” Stauder said. “He also gave a great patriotic speech.”

The National Museum of the Marine Corps was the first stop on Monday, June 3, where Stauder said it was interesting to see what he remembered from his 14 months in Korea. That stop was followed by a trip to the US Navy Memorial.

“The best food I had in the Army was on Navy ship,” Stauder said. “The size of the ships has changed as well as the armaments.”

The Korean War Memorial held a special significance for Stauder due to his service in that conflict.

“I was asked to present the wreath,” he said. “In addition, I found the name of a grade school buddy, who was a forward observer. When the Chinese hoard came down, his position was overrun. Lt. Phillip F. Bauer gave his best for our country.”

A short trip to the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool was next.

“What a site, so pretty,” Stauder said. “Old Abe was sitting in his chair.”

The final destination was the Vietnam Memorial where Stauder noted the equipment was different from his days in Korea. The Honor Flight group then returned to the airport for their flight back to Lubbock.

“When we arrived, Adian Tyler, Bobby’s wife, was waiting for us for the ride back home,” he said. “We arrived after midnight and hit the hay.”

Writing his recollections down the following evening, Stauder said he still had not recovered from the trip fully, but he was grateful for the opportunity.

“Thank you, South Plains Honor Flight, for allowing me to have the Trip of a Lifetime!”