Roscoe Celebrates July 4th Despite Rain

Mike and the Moonpies moved to the Lumberyard after an afternoon  shower.

The rain put a damper on some of the events Saturday and forced changes in others, but people showed up anyway, and a good time was had by those who attended.  

Hopes for a dry July 4th celebration were nipped early when a rain that fell before dawn Saturday morning totaled over two inches, making George Parks baseball field unsuitable for the holding of the Mudbog later than day. The problem wasn’t so much for the mudbog itself, which is supposed to be wet, but to all the surrounding area, which was soggy, muddy, and with too much standing water to be usable for contestants or crowd. It was a disappointment because several contestants had already made the trip from as far away as New Mexico with their mud vehicles. But with conditions as they were, there was nothing that could be done.

The parade, however, went on as announced with only a light sprinkle. The crowd was down because too many potential spectators didn’t know if the parade would be held, but the number of entries seemed about the same as usual. And those who did attend enjoyed participating or watching the show.

After the parade, the weather looked promising, and everyone hoped the rest of the day would be suitable. A fair number of people were downtown, and at the museum there were about as many visitors as always.

But in mid-afternoon, a shower hit just about the time the musicians were beginning to set up on the street stage in front of the bank. It rained hard for about fifteen minutes, and although it stopped after dropping about a quarter inch, the time it fell was such that the bands feared damage to their equipment.

Some speakers and other equipment were damaged by a sudden shower back when T. G. Sheppard was here at the West Texas Wind Festival in 2017, and with that in mind, a decision was made to move the music to the Lumberyard for protection from the rain. So, Lyndall Underwood and Kody West did their sets on the small stage, and the headline band, Mike and the Moonpies, did theirs on the Lumberyard’s big stage.

And, of course, shortly after the move was made, the clouds broke, the sky cleared, and the sun came out. Many later arrivals to the celebration had brought their coolers and lawn chairs for places in the street, and rather than not use them, they set them up in the street directly outside the Lumberyard. So, when the bands put on their shows, there was a large crowd inside as well as a sizeable number of people outside on Cypress, who could hear the music but couldn’t see the band.

Nevertheless, everyone, inside or out, seemed to enjoy the music, and the chairs in the street were in the right spot for the fireworks show that followed the music. So, even though the wet weather upset the original plans for the day, everyone made the best of the situation and had a good time celebrating the 4th anyway.

Parade Winners

Best Antique Vehicle – Welton Ellison – Blue car
Best Bicycle – Zaley Velasco
Best Fire Department – Maryneal
Best Western Theme – Clayton Parker
Best Overall – Gary Williams – Green antique car
Best Patriotic Theme – Kason Schauffer – 4 people
Best Four Wheeler – Oliver Galvan – 3 year old mini
Best Golf Cart – Dakota Freeman – 4 people

The City of Roscoe parade committee wishes to thank all those who joined us for a day of celebration. Thank you for joining our parade or just supporting us by being there. Thanks also to our Police Department, Volunteer Fire Department and Fire Department Women’s Auxiliary, and Nolan County Sheriff’s Office. Thanks also to City employees and everyone else who make this parade happen.

--o--

 

Varsity and Junior High Cheerleaders brought home trophies, awards, ribbons, and the spirit stick from the NCA Cheer Camp at Tarleton State University last week.

--o--

VEHICLE ACCIDENT PUTS LOCAL MAN IN HOSPITAL

A failure to yield right of way at an intersection on Thursday evening was the cause of a collision that caused a serious injury to Ray Gonzales. The accident occurred at the intersection of FM 608 and the I-20 north service road. The other driver was a man from Lubbock.

Gonzales was injured and taken to a local hospital.

--o--

MARK CHESNUTT APPEARANCE CANCELED

Mark Chesnutt

“Honky Tonk Legend” Mark Chesnutt, who was scheduled to make his first appearance ever in Roscoe and the Lumberyard this Friday, has had to cancel because of back injuries. His show will be re-scheduled for another date, possibly in October.

The Lumberyard will honor all pre-sales for the re-scheduled date or for another concert of the ticket holder’s choice. It is sorry for any inconvenience the cancellation may have caused.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: COOL, CLOUDY, MORE RAIN

The cool, cloudy, and rainy weather that have characterized west Texas for more than two months now continued once again this past week. We’re experiencing a sustained weather pattern rarely seen in these parts, which is something of a mixed blessing for area farmers. Those with good drainage in their fields have the makings of a possible bumper crop with all the ground moisture that’s accumulated, but those with the so-called playa lakes, or “dry lakes,” in their fields may have been unable to plant or seen their baby cotton drown with all the recent rains. And everybody, farmers or not, is dealing with the humidity, profusion of weeds, and abundance of mosquitoes that have resulted.

Our weather is part of a larger pattern being caused by an unusual movement of the jet stream over the western United States and Canada. West and northwest of us, conditions are hot and dry to the point of breaking records for drought and heat. There, the jet stream is locked in what is known as an Omega pattern, so-called because it resembles the Greek letter omega, Ω, with a high-pressure weather pattern inside the curve creating the hot and dry conditions.

Here in west Texas, we are outside and to the east of the omega pattern, so we have been caught in a corresponding low-pressure pattern resulting in cool, wet weather. In other words, rains and temperatures that would normally be in the northwest are being experienced here. I talked on the phone to a woman in Idaho on Friday. She asked me if it was hot in Texas, and I told her it was cool and wetter than we’d seen in years. She said it was 108° and dry there. How long this will go on is anybody’s guess.

In the meantime, we must be breaking some kind of record for the number of rains we’ve had for the past couple of months. It seems that every few days we got another couple of inches. I added up all the rain I’ve got in my rain gauge from the last week of April until now and came up with a total of 21.45 inches, which is about average for what we normally get for an entire year. I asked Roscoe weatherman Kenny Landfried what he’s recorded officially for the same time span, and his total is 19.27 inches.  I’m guessing that people living in the Champion area have got more than either of us since they usually get more rain there than we do in town.

Roscoe has been keeping official records since 1936, and the wettest year since then has been 1991 with a total of 37.05 inches, barely beating out 1986 with its 37.00 inches.

However, Roscoe’s wettest year was more likely before the records became official, namely 1932. A Sweetwater Reporter article from that year, which I am posting with this issue, states that according to Monroe McCauley’s unofficial record (McCauley was once Roscoe’s mayor), the 12-month period from September 1931 to September 1932 had a rainfall total of 62 inches. The cotton crop around Roscoe that year produced a record 22,000 bales, not broken until 1962 when technology had advanced considerably.

With all that said, my measurement for precipitation for the past week is 3.7”, 2.1” before the parade Saturday and .25” after, and then 1.35” more on Monday.  Temperatures were mild, and skies were either cloudy or partly cloudy. Afternoon highs were in the 80s, lows were around 70°, and humidity was high.

The forecast is for continued highs in the 80s under sunnier skies with continued high humidity but less chance of rain. The high today should reach 85°, tomorrow 90°, and Friday and Saturday 91° with morning lows of 69° or 70°. Sunday and Monday will be slightly cooler with highs of 88° and 87°. On Sunday, the chances for showers will increase to 30%, or at least that’s what they’re predicting at the moment.

If the forecasts are accurate, maybe we can get enough drying out in the next few days to mow the lawns and weed the gardens.

--o--