RIDING AS grand marshal of the Yamboree queen’s parade in Kenneth Stewart’s classic Thunderbird convertible was a privilege, an honor and more — a chance to see the huge parade crowd from a unique vantage point.
The crowd Saturday must have been one of the all-time largest, drawn both by the historic appeal of Yamboree Saturday and a perfect crisp fall day.
Residents of Gilmer Care Center had a perfect vantage point from in front of the building, since the parade started on Titus St. just north of there. And as it approached the courthouse square the people numbers rose dramatically. And what a happy, friendly throng it was.
I especially enjoyed seeing the multigenerational families that came to the parade; little children do seem to enjoy being waved at the most, and seem happy to wave back.
I MISSED SEEING horses in the parade, though I understand the reason for the rule change. It seems in recent years some riders have not been able to keep their mounts under control, and that could be a safety problem.
What I didn’t miss was politicians and their supporters.
The 1988 Yamboree visit of Sen. and Mrs. Lloyd Bentsen, when he was the Democratic nominee for vice-president, was enough to make politics an unwelcome intruder in the queen’s parade. (See photo above.)
So in this year of endless campaigning it was a relief to be in a politics-free zone where tens of thousands of folks were gathered with (mostly) only fun in mind.
YOU MAY recall that 1988 was the year when Gov. Michael Dukakis and Sen. Bentsen ran against then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and Dan Quayle, whom Democrats criticized as too young and inexperienced to be on the ticket.
Bentsen is remembered mostly for his debate with Quayle — often cited this season — in which he responded to Quayle’s statement that he had as much Congressional experience as John F. Kennedy did when he ran for president. Bentsen shot back:
“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy.”
THE DEBATE, held on Oct. 5, 1988, was well behind him when the Bentsen entourage arrived for the Yamboree. Between the Secret Service and the sizable Washington press corps, his participation was disruptive, to say the least.
But the worst part, in my recollection, was the visiting press’ reaction to our revered festival. One of them wrote scathingly to the effect that it was an ordeal to have to spend time in this hayseed town.
Earlier, Gov. Dukakis had visited the area to speak to assembled union workers at the Lone Star Steel Co. plant.
WITH TEXANS on both tickets, the personal campaigning was so unlike this year, when both parties have written us off as a solid “red” state. But it was not much help for Dukakis and Bentsen. Texas went for Bush and Quayle by 55 percent to 45 percent, slightly better than the GOP national victory. The elder Bush won an electoral vote landslide, 426 to 111.
Presidential politics also had a role in the 1960 Yamboree, when Lynda Bird Johnson was Duchess of Texas in queen Peggy Ingram’s court. The queen’s mother, Janet Ingram, and Lady Bird Johnson had been classmates and friends at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lynda Bird took time to campaign on behalf of John F. Kennedy and her dad at a downtown Democratic booth. The presence of Lyndon Johnson on the ticket has been credited with swinging Texas to the Democrats in that very close race.
ONE YAMBOREE factoid, new to me, surfaced when 2008 Yamboree First Lady Dian Melton presented me a miniature yam corsage before the queen’s parade started.
Instead of the real miniature yams of previous years, she pointed out, these were ceramic ones. Why? It seems that feral hogs have been deadly to the supply. That’s one more black mark against these beasties, but on the positive side, the ceramic corsages are permanent.
One Saturday event I try never to miss is the fiddler’s contest.
I ENJOYED visiting with Charles Gardner of Nacogdoches, who was one of the judges. He is a bass fiddle player who was one of the East Texas String Inn-semble that entertained Texas Folklife Festival audiences in San Antonio for many years before they reached retirement age. (All of the players, including my friend F.E. [Ab] Abernethy, were Stephen F. Austin State University professors.)
Rex Gillentine, guitarist who won the award as best accompanist, took the microphone to make a plea to keep the contest going. “Tell the Chamber of Commerce,” he entreated.
Of course, even though the Yamboree operates out of the Gilmer Area Chamber of Commerce office, it’s the Yamboree board that determines each year’s events.
I hardly think there’s a chance that the fiddlers’ contest will be dropped. It began with the third Yamboree in 1937 — which was also the first year that the queen’s Coronation Pageant had an overall theme — and it is a proven crowd pleaser. All you need is a folding chair and ears to listen with.
THIS YEAR’S lovely queen, Stephanie Henson, takes her place in a long line of past royalty, each with a unique perspective on Yamborees yet to come.
If I’m reading the list correctly, more than 60 of the 71 queens are still with us. Recent years have taken a toll, and Clarine Smith Tucker of Longview, the sixth Yamboree queen in 1940, is the earliest queen still living. In the last 50 years, two queens, Teri Smith, 1984, and Amy Dean, 1987, have been lost at tragically young ages.
Since they were older at the time they served, Yamboree presidents have a few more missing from their list. Don Williams, who served in 1950, is the earliest surviving president. And what a joy it was to see him sitting with several generations of his family Saturday on the Titus St. part of the parade route.
I BELIEVE I’m right in saying that in the list of presidents since 1962, only Cranfill Cox Jr., Jack F. (Spot) Baird, and Richard Potter have passed on.
I heard some people speculating on why Freddy Arnold was president four times, 1939 through 1942.
Mr. Arnold was a major figure in the local yam-growing industry, as was J. R. Penn, the second president, in 1936. I guess it took a while to figure out that it was too big a job for one person to hold more than once — and an honor to be spread around, as well.
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