GLADYS CITY IS RAISIN’ A RUCKUS!
Celebration of Beaumont Before the Boom Set for May 12
BEAUMONT – Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum will be the site of a rowdy and raucous celebration of Beaumont before the boom, The Boomtown Ruckus, on Saturday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the museum grounds.
“The Ruckus is our chance to tip our hats to Beaumont history from the Civil War to just before the oil boom of 1901,” said museum director Mark Osborne. “From cowboys to cattle ranching and soldiers to shootouts, we have packed the day with something for everyone.”
This rollicking celebration of Beaumont’s wilder days is co-sponsored, in part, by Stewart Title Guaranty Company; Dick Dowling Camp 1295, Sons of Confederate Veterans; and the Big Thicket Outlaws. The day will feature activities for children and adults, including re-enactments of robberies, shootouts and other scenarios involving lawmen, outlaws and saloon girls. Some of the “outlaws” will face a jury of their peers in mock trials presided over by Jefferson County Precinct 7 Justice of the Peace Brad Burnett with local attorney Charlie Shelton acting as prosecutor and event goers serving as the jury.
One highlight of the day will be an exhibition baseball game played using rules and replica equipment from the 1890s. Entertainment will be provided by local storytellers Neil and Mary Early and a dulcimer group The Backporch Friends, who will lead an old-time jam session during the afternoon. Local musicians are encouraged to attend and play along. Other highlights include a children’s bicycle parade, carriage rides courtesy of Stewart Title, a mini-quilt show presented by members of the by the Golden Triangle Quilt Guild, a Civil War encampment, longhorns from the Gentz Cattle Company of Winnie, and working blacksmiths.
The day will be rounded out with craft demonstrations, games, a “cow patty” toss, prize drawings and contests, including a Ladies Fancy Hat Contest and a Men’s Wild Whiskers Contest. The museum’s replica gusher will blow at 10 a.m. and, again, at 4 p.m. as the climax of the day’s festivities.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for Seniors age 60 and over, and $2 for children 12 and younger. Anyone registering for the contests, in advance, as well as the children’s bicycle parade, will receive free admission. Likewise, anyone attending the Ruckus in period costume will receive free admission.
Free spaces for non-profit food vendors and local artisans are available.
Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum is located on Hwy. 69 at University Drive in Beaumont. Plenty of free parking is available. For more information, please go to www.gladyscity.org or contact the museum at (409) 880-1750 or info@gladyscity.org.