Lassoing The Laughter

STANDARD-TIMES photo by Ivan P. Aguirre

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Cowboy Day steers toward success

By JOE RUIZ
jruiz@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8262

Three-year-old Sam Bir and his 7-year-old sister Gabi love the cowboy culture.

Saturday, as part of San Angelo's National Cowboy Day festivities, volunteers at Fort Concho National Historic Landmark celebrated the American cowboy and his history.

Sam and Gabi made leather key chains, roped steel calves and played with children's games and toys.

They weren't dressed in clothing specific to the 1800s in West Texas on Saturday, but they do enjoy western wear, said Henry Dusek, the children's grandfather.

''They're from California, and they're down here and they just love cowboy stuff. We live on a farm, and I love cowboy stuff,'' Dusek said.

With the help of Brad Downing, a longtime volunteer at Fort Concho, Sam made a leather key chain with a horse stamped on it, which he wore on his belt loop the rest of the day.

''Everything we do in my area is symbolic of what they would have done years ago,''

Downing said. ''The games are simple, but they can be entertaining. They're a lot like games were back in the 1800s.''

Downing has been demonstrating cowboy life and leading performances geared toward children for over 15 years.

''The kids just really seem to like it,'' he said. ''We try to find and bring in new things and add the ones that work.''

On Saturday, Downing had the look of a grizzled cowboy. His jeans, held up by black suspenders and a small belt with an old buckle, were tucked into a pair of calf-high black work boots.

''The fort seems to like having me down here, the kids love it, and on a weekend like Christmas at Fort Concho, I can have 600, 700 kids come through here... plus the big kids,'' he said.

Dusek spent some of his time watching the grandchildren, but most of it roping the steel calves or trying to pull off a few rope tricks.

The family atmosphere is one of the reasons the employees at Fort Concho decided to join the National Cowboy Day festivities, said Bob Bluthardt, director of Fort Concho.

After observing the morning's demonstrations - which drew about 150 people - and checking on the staff, Bluthardt found himself enjoying one of the western movies showing in the coolest spot on the landmarks' grounds: an air-conditioned barracks.

People were lined up for the morning's events before the fort opened Saturday, Bluthardt said.

''For a lot of folks, their knowledge of the American west doesn't come from history books, it comes from movies,'' he said.

Since this was the first year for Fort Concho's participation in the event, Bluthardt was a little worried people might not show up, but by midday, he was confident a new tradition had begun.

''Cowboys aren't just a big part of the American culture, but they're one of the two or three parts of West Texas culture,'' he said.