Cowboy Catfish Supper

Cowboys lasso catfish and vittles at senior roundup

This plate is weighed down with catfish and all the trimmings. A buffet of desserts, supplied by members of the area’s senior centers, completed the meal.
This plate is weighed down with catfish and all the trimmings. A buffet of desserts, supplied by members of the area’s senior centers, completed the meal.

— Every September, the call goes out to area seniors to come together at the Clinton Senior Center and bring a dessert or two for the annual Cowboy Catfish Supper. With the National Chuckwagon Races in town, a bunch of hungry cowboys are around. Four nights of catfish and all the fixings have become a highlight of the festivities for return guests and locals.

The numbers are in, activities director Benita Hickman said. “We served over 760 meals this year.” That’s about 100 more than last year.

Satisfied diners are spreading the word. Jack Fleming and his wife, Jerri, first came to the races 23 years ago, he said. “This is a fantastic meal, and every year we come back. This is part of our experience.” This year, the Flemings also brought their fellow Texas friends Fay and Melinda Aaron.

“It’s real good,” first-time guest Daisy Nelson of Lonoke said.

Stan Rippey, an outrider in the Oklahoma Land Rush racing event, agreed.

“Actually, this food is very good,” the Mound City, Mo., cowboy said. “In fact, it’s time for me to visit the dessert table.”

The dessert table was actually several tables pushed together. Dozens of wrapped slices of pie or cake, cookies and brownies covered the tabletops, and volunteers manned their stations for the constant stream of sweet-seekers.

“Each night, a senior center in the county provides all the desserts and volunteers to work the table and to help in the kitchen,” Hickman said. In addition to the Clinton Senior Center, there are centers in Fairfield Bay, Damascus, Shirley and Scotland.

“This year, we’ve already had visitors from Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma,” she added. “They come from everywhere, and we have a lot of fun with that.”

In fact, the crowd had been restless on this particular Friday evening and had already called the hogs.

“There certainly is a festive flavor every night,” Hickman said. “Last night we had a band, and tonight we have our wonderful pianist Bill Coursey, who is volunteering for the evening.”

Other fundraisers have been scheduled to benefit the Meals on Wheels program, which has delivered meals to homebound seniors, as well as serving meals at the local shelters, for 11 years.

“This fundraiser has kept us in the black,” Hickman said.

Other benefits include a homemade quilt raffled at the county fair. Tickets sold for a chance to win a side of beef raised $1,200 alone, she added.

“And the Shirley Center is starting something new next week. They are going to have a rummage sale every first Saturday. All these things support the Meals on Wheels,” she said.

“This is a tremendous undertaking,” board director Judy Simmons said. “It’s all hands on deck throughout the four nights.”

For out-of-town visitors, however, the center feels a lot like home. Take Chip Moore of Hernando, Miss., for instance. Friday was his 22nd birthday, and he celebrated in front of the crowd with a hug from Hickman and a door prize she gave him in lieu of a birthday present.

Then the whole room erupted in singing “Happy Birthday” to him while he blushed.

Hickman is a model of Arkansas hospitality.

“Glad y’all came down,” she called to a couple walking out the door. “Y’all come back now, ya’ hear?”

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