Newspaper Page Text
Hometown ■
. Hero J
wmM'A*
Si#*** p snmtf\
Dan Eoff hosts the chuck wagon championships
each Labor Day weekend at his Clinton, Ark., ranch.
DIABETES? Read This!
Help is now Available for you.
If you have Medicare, Champus
Or Private Insurance
You Can Receive Your Diabetic Supplies
With Little or NO COST to you.
We are a Medicare Participating Provider since 1995
Participating provider of Blue Cross and many others
Assignment Accepted.
There are never any Upfront Costs to you.
Risk Free / Guaranteed in Writing!
We do all the insurance paperwork for you.
FREE DELIVERY TO ANYWHERE IN THE N ATION
We are LICENSED, BONDED AND INSURED
SEE HOW EASY AND INEXPENSIVE IT IS
Apply over the phone in 5 minutes, the call is Free
Call 9 am to 5 pm eastern time 1-800-689-4377
Diabetes Providers Inc.
NO HMO’S (HMO’S do not qualify for this program)
Championing the
Chuck Wagon Races
Dan Eoff, 57, says he
was "bom to be a cowboy.” And no one
would challenge that claim within a
2(X)-mile radius of his 700-acre Little
Red River homestead near Clinton,
Ark. (pop. 2,283).
It’s not just that Eoff—a burly
man with a 10-gallon hat and handle
bar mustache—looks the part, which
lie does. Or that lx- runs die town’s
feed store and makes his living rais
ing cattle on a ranch lie carved out
of a brush pile. Rather, his cowboy
fame lias spread around the world and
back because Eoff is creator and care
taker of tile National Championship
Chuckwagon Races, which take place
each Labor Day weekend at his Bar
Of Ranch.
The acclaimed race started as a
simple get-together among friends and
neighbors. The idea came in 1985 after
Eoff and his wife, Peggy, attended a
chuck wagon race in Cheyenne, Wyo.
When they returned home, he sug-
gested throwing a Labor Day party with
their own “little wagon race.”
The Eofts expected a few dozen peo
ple to show up, but word of mouth spread
and S(X) people trekked up the ranch’s
dirt nxid to join in tlx festivities. The
following year, more than 2,(XX) people
came and, last year, the chuck wagon
race party attracted 20,(XX) spectators
and 375 participants
in eight events —
from the Okla
homa Land Rush
to the Snowy River
Race. Although an
amateur event, Eoff
awards winners with
saddles, belt buckles
and “Chuckwagon
Bucks” that can be exchanged for a
variety of goods during a weeklong trade
show accompanying the race.
Danny Newland, a rodeo announcer
and high scliool friend of Eoff hasn’t
missed a Labor Day at the ranch in two
decades. In fact, Newland is the voice of
Clinton's chuck wagon races. His rapid
fire cadence keeps pace as chuck wagon
teams race across the quarter-mile bot
tomland track toward the finish line.
“I’ve never met anyone like him,”
Newland says of Eoff He's a great guy
. . . and a workaholic.”
EofTs wife concurs. "Dan always says,
'lnstead of talking about what we used to
do, let's talk about what we did today,’"
says Peggy, 48.
That spirit explains why tlx Eofts
"little wagon race” has grown into a
national event where cowboys and cow
girls from across tlx nation come to
see and be seen, as well as to match
Rate This Story
How did you like this story? Log on www.americanprofile.comlrate
SPECIAL OFFER COWBOY COOKING
Cast iron is easy to use, durable - and nostalgic. Most
importantly, it makes great food! Chock full of recipes and
tips for cast-iron cooking, you’ll learn how to select, season
and easily care for this versatile cookware.
To order the book for ONLY $19.99 + delivery, go to
www.americanprofile.com/store or please have your J
credit card ready and call (800) 715-6248 or send check J
for $25.94 to Cast Iron Book Offer - Dept AP, P.O. Box j
340, Harrison, AR 72602.
(.A, TN, 11., AR, \Y residents add state sales tax NSF checks are automati- w
tally debited for amount of check plus applicable fees. Offer expires 10/20/06. «
Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. Satisfaction guaranteed or we will refund
vour purchase price less s<nli
their racing mettle against other com
petitors. "This is tlx largest horse event
in the country," Eoff says, adding that
more tlian S,(XX) horses and mules were
“clxcked in" for last year's event. Not all
of tliose animals raced, lxiwever. Many
riders participate in parades through
town, as well as breakfast and sunset
rides on tlx ranch throughout the week-
Ranch eight consecutive Libor Day
weekends. He and his wife make the
event an annual pilgrimage—camping
on "staked out" sites, cooking over a
campfire, attending trade shows and
concerts by country music singers. “It’s a
lot of fun,” Barnes says.
It’s also a lot of work. Organizers
acknowledge that, over the years, tlx
event lias taken on a life of its own. “I
don’t know if we can stop," Peggy says.
To which her husband, a chuck wagon
racer who's never taken a prize at his own
party, says he’ll keep "going round the
track” until he no longer can.
Margaret Dor nans is a freelance writer in
Ozark. Ark.
The 21st National Champi
onship Chuckwagon Races
are scheduled Sept. 1-3. Visit
www.chuckwagonraces.com
for more details.
Page 12
end. “People want to
be a part of it, to
dress- up and show
off their horses.”
Some folks savor
tlx Old West atmo
sphere. Gary Barnes
of Pryor, Okla. (pop.
9,115), has camped
out at tlx Bar Of
Cast-Iron
| Cooking
[ -DUMMIES
f • T ' ; r’f'f
; *
American Profile