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Panned view of the Howard House & Museum
(Picture courtesy of Ben Friberg) |
As Howard Days 2017 approached
this year I felt a mixture of emotions. This included the usual excitement in
anticipation of seeing old friends again, the thrill of visiting Robert E
Howard’s hometown of Cross Plains, and the house where he created all of the
magical characters of his imagination, but also a little concern that this may
not be a “great” year to attend. This is because I had heard that several
wonderful Howard/REHupa friends would not be attending for various reasons.
People like Barbara Barrett, Damon Sasser, and Al Herron and his grandmother
and aunts. Although these folks were greatly missed, my concerns were unfounded
and Howard Days 2017 was another great year with old friendships reaffirmed,
new friendships made and lots of scholarship and learning packed into three
days that had the feel of a family reunion (one where you really like
everyone).
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Dierk & Chie Guenther
Gary Romeo in background (R) |
Travel day for me was Wednesday
June 7, even though events don't really start until Thursday evening, because
it makes the journey a little less tiring to stretch it out. Many folks do come
in on Wednesday and it was great to catch up for an impromptu dinner and get
reacquainted Wednesday evening before checking in to my motel in Brownwood. The
“glow” of being around people that share a similar passion, that most people
don’t understand, started the moment that I entered Cross Plains and lasted
through the weekend.
Thursday June 8 started for me
with breakfast at Jean’s Feedbarn with Todd Vick (spoiler alert, winner of two
REH awards this year!) and David Piske. I had never had breakfast at this
august establishment so it was on my must-do list. Excellent meal and company.
Many of the REHupan’s were there at another long table and the conversation was
lively and erudite. Then it was a pleasant, slow day of checking in to the REH
House and Pavillion to meet others arriving for the weekend, greet and catch
up. It is always a thrill to see who comes in and to make the initial walk through
the house and take in the small room and desk where REH created all of his
characters and stories. The Project Pride folks, like Arlene Stephenson and her
husband Tom, are warm and hospitable and help create the atmosphere of
inclusion and celebration that marks the long weekend.
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Derie's REH Bar Guide
(Pic courtesy of Howard Works) |
A real treat was having scholar
Bobby Derie generously pass out a REH Bar Guide, spiral bound, that had
everything REH had ever written, in letters and fiction, about alcoholic drinks
along with drink recipes so anyone can recreate some of these libations. This
was an 80-page scholarly labor and delighted everyone who got one.
Dinner that night was at the
Senior Center on Main Street for a fish fry and more conversation with arriving
folks like Jeff Shanks and his wife Claudia. Rusty Burke and “Indy” Bill Cavalier, who are
the initiators of Howard Days from their first formal gathering of fans here in
1986, were also in attendance. After dinner the Howard Days parade went through
downtown Cross Plains to kick off the celebration.
Day 1
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| The REH Foundation |
On Friday June 9 Howard Days
officially started at 8:30 AM with registration outside the Alla Ray Morris
Pavilion. Coffee and donuts were provided by Project Pride. From 9 to 10:30 AM
Rusty Burke conducted his annual bus tour of Howard sites in the area. I can
never miss this as I feel that I always pick up new information about REH’s
life and upbringing. Jack Baum was in the bus with Rusty to fill in local color
for the tour. This year we went to Cross Cut and Burkett.
These are very sparse villages now
but in their day were much larger settlements. Rusty and Jack helped us fill
in the scenery from the 1920s. The Howards lived on the N side of a cemetery in
Cross Cut and had the Newton family as friends on the S side. Dr Howard would
walk to visit the Newtons and whistle his way through the cemetery. The school
REH attended here has been demolished.
As we rode the narrow road to
Burkett, Jack Baum explained that a “sand rough” is an accumulation of sand and
weeds that develop where there are fence posts and create almost a wall or a
thick barrier outside a pasture. We saw them all along the way. The connection with Howard? “Post Oaks and
Sand Roughs” is the title of REH’s semi-autobiographical novel. Dr Howard bought property in
Burkett but did not build a house there and wound up moving to Cross Plains to
the home we know, that he bought from JM Kaufman who built it. Dr Howard did a
lot of land speculation in the many towns the Howards lived in prior to
settling in Cross Plains. They moved 8 or 9 times prior to 1915 when they moved
to Cross Cut. Relocated to Burkett in 1917 and then Cross Plains in 1919 when
REH was 13.
In Burkett, we crossed the Burkett
Bridge over the Pecan Bayou that was seen in the movie The Whole Wide World. The movie was mostly filmed in Austin as it
was too expensive to film more in the country. Other facts from Jack Baum and
Rusty were that REH did not hunt because he did not like hurting animals, but he would tag along when his friends David Lee and Lindsey Tyson hunted.
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"The Glenn Lord Collection" panel
(L to R: Paul Herman, Rob Roehm, Patrice Louinet) |
11 AM was the first panel on “The
Glen Lord Collection” with presenters Paul Herman, Rob Roehm, and Patrice
Louinet.
All panels were at the Methodist
Church fellowship hall on N Main St which was a new location that was spacious,
bright and had excellent acoustics. It was very generous for the Methodist
Church and pastor Kevin Morton, to go out of their way to provide all the
attendees with a great venue to see and hear the presentations. It made the
experience richer and more comfortable. I don't know how we can all say thank
you enough for this privilege.
