Cowboy Up
Day of the Cowboy held downtown
The National Day of the Cowboy, celebrated with music, cowboy poetry, readings from wellknown and recognized cowboy authors and authorities throughout the country and the world, also happened to be a blazingly hot day, so hot it was hard to take.
But festivities started at about 5:30 p.m. but really kicked off about when the sun started to go down, and the musicians played until after 9.
A good crowd still stopped by the celebration in Centennial Park throughout the evening, listening to music by acclaimed cowboy musician John Bergstom from Santa Clarita, who sang and entertained the crowd for hours, until Jerry Hall and Trick Shot took over when it was starting to get dark.
There were children playing in the park, learning to use the lasso, running around in the heat having fun. Others with their parents were having rides on the Jackass Mail Run Wagon around the park on Main Street. People were having a darn good time, enjoying chatting together and greeting old friends, and listening to bits of cowboy history, as well as a few got up and danced. Sylvia Harrel and a colleague from Crack O’ Dawn dancers got up and did some lively line dancing,
David Eastep and his little granddaughter Davina Miller had fun dancing together.
Judy Holloway, Jerry Kirby, and Kellie Coulter set up their lawn chairs and sat with newlyweds Cameron and Christine Hamilton, who Hall and his band congratulated. Holloway had brought her Sulphur crested cockatoo parrot Angel to the show, who talked and danced all evening to the delight of children and adults alike.
Bobbie Caulk and her daughter Donna Carrara enjoyed the music as well as their friend Doris Mason.
2019 Jackass Mail Run Wagonmaster Tonya Hall read a proclamation from the State of California Senate declaring July 27, National Day of the Cowboy, and the Porterville City Council signed a National Day of the Cowboy proclamation thanks to Jerry Hall.
Hall spoke about cowboy heritage of pioneering families out west in the proclamation, and said there are 656,500 working ranches in all 50 states, and cowboys are stewards of the land, and the animals and creatures on it, and the pioneering men and women, known as cowboys helped establish America’s frontiers.
Jerry Hall was raised on the Gill Ranch in Springville. Ed Hughes sings harmony in the band Trick Shot, and raises horses on his ranch. Randy Fowler arranges most of Trick Shot’s music and is “a long time cowboy in training.”
Before Jerry and his band performed, he met up with some friends from the Porterville High School class of 1963, and they chatted and had a great time reminiscing. “We all played on different occasions at PUSD,” said Jerry Hall, as he chatted about them all being musicians at the same time.
He said, “It’s an honor having my picture taken with Ray Flores,” who’s played with so many great well known musicians. Flores said, “I’ve been very fortunate with the people I’ve known and been associated with.”