Over fifty years ago I attended my first July 4th celebration in Meeker, Colorado. Since that time I’ve celebrated July 4th in New York State, Oregon, Utah, Dallas, Fort Worth and various other small towns in Texas. All were fantastic and a great time but none will equal Meeker’s Range Call Celebration. The small town of 2000 nestled in the valley along the White River Forest more than doubles its population for July 4th. School classes and families have their reunions and anyone that was raised in the area treks back. For four days the town devotes everything they have to celebrating the birth of our nation. For those that have been they can count on the celebration being much the same. The faces may change but the 3 or 4 days of events will vary minimally. The Carnival and rides set up the day before the festivities start. This year’s 125th celebration started on Friday with the CPRA Rodeo and barn dance, Saturday; the Bank Robbery reenactment, free live music on the court-house lawn, carnival, rodeo, concert-Neal McCoy, and ice cream social. Sunday starts off with a pancake breakfast, live Gospel Concert, and 5K walk and run. The parade (my favorite event) started at 10 a.m. followed by a barbeque, Ranch Rodeo, the reenactment of the Meeker Massacre, and finishes with a huge fireworks show.
Horses of all sizes
The old & the new
A little politics
During Range Call Days Karl and I volunteer for the Lions Club working the concessions for the rodeos. Between the rodeos and activities we had family and friends over for hamburgers and homemade ice cream. Karl has an incredible love for ice cream. I’ve tweaked the following recipe so it is easily made anywhere and is rich enough to not freeze rock hard yet not too heavy.
Karl’s Favorite Ice Cream (5 quart freezer)
1 quart 1/2 & 1/2
1 quart whipping cream
4 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbls Vanilla Ext.
2/ 1/2 cups Sugar
Mix above ingredients until sugar dissolves. Add to ice cream freezer and make as directed by manufacturer.
The big finale. The temperature dropped into the 40s before the fireworks. Blankets and hot chocolate were required to keep everyone warm. Another Meeker Range Call, everyone was tired, everyone had a great time, and everyone will always remember this 4th!
Women of Wise 