The Garden City Telegram
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Springer: Beef Empire Days goes beyond Finney County's borders
Published 6/13/2009 in Beef Empire Days : Columns
Several people stood at the side of the Horse Barn on Thursday about noon and watched as two of the 10 Budweiser Clydesdales received a bath and a haircut.
When the groomers led the horses back into their stalls, the five people who were watching, including myself, took a step back so our backs were pressed against the building to let the horses pass.
I wish I could explain how loud their footsteps were on the cement.
Thursday also marked something other than the first day of the Clydesdales' stay. It marked my 13-month anniversary of working in Garden City.
It's not as significant as a five-year or 10-year anniversary, but it's something that I silently and sometimes not-so-silently mark each month.
Since I've been here for more than a year, that means that this is the second year that I've covered Beef Empire Days.
I have been trying to enjoy Beef Empire Days this year. Last year, I only went to the events I had to cover and I left quickly to go write my assigned story.
This year, I've paid more attention to detail. Since I'm a Garden Citian now, I've gone to several events as a community member, not a person with a note pad and a deadline.
I made a stop at the Children's Story Hour Friday morning at the Finney County Public Library. I didn't have to work, I just went because I wanted to see what it was like.
It was hard to find a parking spot. Once I found a place, I had to walk a block to get to the front of the library.
I watched as a sea of children clapped and giggled as cowboys performed tricks with their ropes. Two little girls in front of me were picking grass, then pretending the handfuls of grass were bouquets of flowers. The girls, who looked about 5, then gave the makeshift flowers to their parents.
Imagination rocks.
It's more fun to go to an event and look for the laughter of kids or imagination that you didn't know existed.
There's also another aspect of Beef Empire Days that I've noticed this year. People from all over southwest Kansas, and probably beyond, come to Garden City to take in the excitement and the beef.
I took my family to the parade last weekend, where we sat back and let the kids in front of us get to the candy first. We saw a few people we knew and chatted with them, then went to Stevens Park for the meal at Chuckwagons in the Park.
After deciding we wanted something a little more air conditioned, we made our way to a Mexican restaurant and stood in line for a few minutes.
The restaurant was busy because there was a group of about 15 people waiting on tables to be cleared.
To my surprise, my family knew most of the 15 people. They weren't from Garden City, rather they traveled to Garden from Dodge City to take in the Beef Empire Days celebration.
For that, I will gladly wait a few minutes in line and not complain.
And when I'm not seeing people from other towns, I'm getting calls on my cell phone about Beef Empire Days. Thursday night and Friday morning, several of my family members called me and wanted to ask me questions.
They didn't care about storms Thursday night into Friday morning, and they didn't ask me about the tornado warning in Finney County that was issued around midnight.
Their questions: Did you see the Budweiser Clydesdales? Did you interview anybody that travels with them? Can we see the photos you took?
Yes, I am fine and the storm didn't affect me. And yes, I will let you see the photos that I took of the Budweiser Clydesdales.
Staff Writer Monica Springer can be e-mailed at mspringer@gctelegram.com.
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