Trapper Days Kick Off Saturday

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By Naomi Hatch
    Taylor’s summer traditions begin with Trapper Days on Saturday, May 24.
    Brad Click heads up the committee that came to the Taylor Town Council in 2003 requesting permission to hold a celebration to honor those who helped to make Taylor what it is today.  
    Click said, “Too many times the pioneers, the stalwart citizens, are forgotten and one of the most notable places in town is Trapper’s Cafe.” He noted that Trapper’s has been written about in magazines and is well known throughout the country. Click wanted to honor Kirk (Trapper) Hatch, and he has put a lot of effort into doing just that.
    Trapper Days kicks off with the American Legion Breakfast, slated from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.  Saturday at the Rodeo Park Pavilion. Breakfast will be served for $3 per person.
    The trail ride will begin at 7:30 a.m., and will be preceded by registration at 6:30 a.m. Trail riders meet four miles west of Highway 77 on the Pinedale Road at the holding pen. The ride will last approximately three hours and will go behind Schoen’s Dam on the Forest Service road this year. Breakfast will be served prior to the ride at no cost, thanks to sponsors. For more information, contact Trail Boss Judy Vieira at 536-7497.
    An important part of the day is honoring the veterans in a program that begins at 9 a.m. at the gazebo at the corner of Main and Center streets.  
    This year they have added the names of Jackson Brewer, Dale Bowers, Matthew Cosper, Jamin Fellows, Cassidy Nevins, Roger Solomon and Steven Zeremba to the Veterans Monument in the courtyard of the Taylor Museum.
    Cassidy Nevins moved to Taylor from Willcox, and was deployed to Afghanistan January 2007 with the National Guard, Prescott Armory, because he is in the U.S. Army Infantry and the Show Low Guard is a transportation company. He returned September 2007 with injuries to his knee, and is still recovering and working for the Show Low National Guard. His unit returned March 2008, but may go back for a second tour of duty.
    Nevins said, “Afghanistan has changed drastically for the better. I can see the change from all the good we did.” He recalled that when they first went into a village, people didn’t know who or what they were, but after people had a chance to know the guys “they were cool,” said Nevins, and would tell them where the Taliban was. “If I got sent again, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
    He is married, and has a son and a daughter.
    During the ceremony, the flag at the Taylor Museum is retired and presented to a veteran in the community. This year’s speaker will be Superior Court Judge Tom Wing, who served in the U.S. Army 498th Medical Company during the Vietnam War.   The names of those from Taylor who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror will be read. Taylor had five veterans who gave their lives while serving, including  Royal Lewis, World War I; Fen Wakefield, Hunt Standifird and Gyle Standifird, World War II; and Dorothy Fails, Desert Storm.
    Vintage tractors will be on display beginning at 10 a.m., with the tractor parade slated at 12 noon through Rodeo Park.
    Weight pulling for pit bulls begins at 10 a.m. at the pavilion.  The All American Dog Registry Four Corners Conformation Show begins at 1 pm.
    Dave Wood’s famous barbecue will be served beginning at 11 a.m.
    Mutt Show registration begins at 12:30 p.m. on the softball field at Rodeo Park.  Prizes will be given for the biggest, littlest, blackest, whitest, ugliest, prettiest mutts, as well as for the best trick.
    Northern Arizona Barrel Racing Association 4D barrel racing begins at 2 p.m. at the Rodeo Park arena.  
    All activities conclude at Rodeo Park at 5 p.m.
    Doors open for the Grand Ole Opry at 6 p.m. at the LDS Stake Center on West Willow  Lane and the first act will go on stage at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 per person. A dance will follow.
    On Monday, May 26, a Hayride Jamboree will be sponsored by the Taylor-Shumway Heritage Foundation.  The hayride and tour of historic Taylor begins at the Margaret McCleve Log Cabin and will be narrated by a Taylor/Shumway Heritage Foundation member.  Participants will return to the cabin for dinner and entertainment. Donations will be gladly accepted.
    For more information on Trapper Days, check the Web site at www.trapperdays.com.