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Sunday, July 06, 2008
Community turns out to celebrate July 4th
By Michael CaryThe Gazette-Enterprise
Published July 6, 2008Fourth of July Parade judges picked the nuttiest float in the parade as the winner of the grand prize for best overall entry.The winner in Seguin’s Biggest Small Town 4th of July Parade in Texas was the Floresville Peanut Festival float.Residents and out-of-towners alike lined the Austin Street parade route and waved and shouted as more than 100 floats passed — many of them stood and saluted as the advance color guard marched down the middle of the street with the U.S. and Texas flags waving in the breeze.This year’s parade had everything from vintage cars to shiny red fire trucks as it slowly made its way toward Central Park.The parade was one of the first events to mark a Fourth of July celebration in Seguin, a celebration that lasted through Saturday Night with the Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Freedom Fiesta.Fiesta food booths were ready with sno cones, hot dogs, hamburgers, frozen treats, corn on the cob and other food and drink as the parade ended.John Edwards, booth captain for the Seguin Rotary Club, said parade spectators bought more than 50 sausages on a stick within 30 minutes after the last float passed by.After suffering a breakdown of a circuit board last week, the Central Park Fountain was working again as Freedom Fiesta got under way on a partly cloudy afternoon Friday.“We got rained on Thursday night, but otherwise the weather has been good,” Dana Overstreet, chamber communications director, said as she handed out wristbands Friday evening.It was a time for seeing old friends as members of the Seguin High School Classes of 1956 through 1972 gathered in the 100 block of East Gonzales Street for a Matador Memories Reunion that continued with a banquet Saturday night at the Seguin Guadalupe County Coliseum.“Everybody came in from all over the place. We’re really pleased,” Gene Vivroux, Class of 1956, said as he walked from the Heritage Museum to the street party.“We were the first class to graduate from the new high school,” Vivroux said of the 1956 class.Reunion guests were invited to take a tour of the newly renovated Heritage Museum from 6-9 p.m. Friday. Museum officials had put up several displays of old high school photos.“These displays are wonderful, they bring back so many memories,” Shirley Hester, Class of 1961 and Seguin resident, said as she looked at photos of her classmates.She pointed out a photograph of Lois Pagel, a member of the Class of 1961 and her best friend’s sister.The reunion attendees were set to celebrate their homecoming with a banquet and a dance to the music of Dottsy Dwyer as the reunion climaxed Saturday night.Beth Lange, president of the museum’s board of directors, said many volunteers worked long hours to get the museum ready for the reunion tour.“This has been one of the most exhausting weeks of my life,” Lange said.“I’m really pleased. I thought people would come and check out these old high school photos, but there has been a lot of interest in all of the displays,” she said.County Commissioner Roger Baenziger, whose family once operated a Red & White Grocery Store in the Heritage Museum building, met high school friends and toured the museum.“I ran into quite a few of my old classmates, a lot of them are local but some of them came from a good ways away,” Baenziger said.“They’ve done a really outstanding job,” he said regarding the museum’s new look.Max Starcke Park was filled to capacity and people lined South Austin Street parking lots for the Friday night fireworks display that went unhampered by wet weather.Vicki and Dan Johnson of Seguin had a reunion of their own as their daughter, Emily, and her husband, Brian McAfee, visited them from Temple during the weekend.“We enjoyed it. We used to take our daughter to see the fireworks,” Dan Johnson said.Vicki said they found a great spot along Tor Drive to watch the fireworks from their lawn chairs.“Brian had not seen fireworks since he was a kid. They had a fantastic time,” Vicki said.Rainy weather held off for the most part during the Saturday festivities in Central Park.“We’ve been doing really good, we’ve been busy all day,” said Steve Johnson, chamber president.Johnson had been working one of the beer booths, but he also put on his swimsuit and took a turn in the dunking booth.It wasn’t long before he was soaking wet — and cooled off in the water.“I think that might not be a bad job today,” Mayor Betty Ann Matthies told him as she passed the booth.“This is one of the highlights of my tenure as president of the chamber,” Johnson said.Ruben Longoria, proprietor of Longoria’s Concrete, sponsored the washer pitching tournament Saturday. He and his partner, Juan Hernandez, found themselves in a final round of competition for a $500 prize and a trophy made from an aluminum Budweiser bottle.But it was Ray Patlan and his son, Mario, who took the top prize in the washer pitching contest.Then the crowd gathered around to see four contestants sweat their way through one of the toughest jalapeño eating contests in the state.Many jalapeño contests use pickled jalapeños, but not here in Seguin, where sponsors Advanced Home Health Services chose to serve up fresh — and very hot — plates of jalapeños.Seguin resident Jordan Brawner took the championship last year, but he wasn’t present to defend his crown in the second annual contest.No worries, Lori Kluth of Seguin kept the trophy at home as she managed to get nine jalapeños down in four minutes.“You’ve made us women proud,” said Tammi Murphy, co-chair of the Freedom Fiesta event and referee of the jalapeño eating contest.“Beer never tasted so good,” Kluth said as she gasped for breath and waited for the heat from fresh raw jalapeños to subside.Her husband, Clay, and their dog, Daisy Doo, were in the crowd to cheer for her.“I smell the jalapeños coming off of you,” Clay told her after she started on her second cold beer.“They seem hotter now,” Kluth said after she had a few gulps of water and beer.Kluth said she was confident going into the contest, although she doesn’t make it a habit of eating the raw peppers.“I thought a woman needs to win this thing, and I was the woman to do it,” Kluth said.
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