Cracker Day

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

For the Buckles family, Cracker Day begins the night before. At 7 p.m. Friday, March 30, they began filling four large barbecue pits with the 3,550 pounds of beef. The projected attendance was about 3,000 people. With each piece of beef being rotated every 30 minutes for 12 hours, it is a no-sleep kind of job. But it’s tradition. And Cracker Day, as any long-time Flagler County resident knows, is as much about the lunch as it is the rodeo.

As the sun shone through a cloudy sky at the 57th-annual Flagler County Cracker Day, a line of hungry people wound through Cattleman’s Hall and past the livestock stables. The smoky smell of slow-cooked beef floated through the air, teasing stomachs. One-by-one, attendees traded green tickets for a Styrofoam to-go box overflowing with coleslaw, baked beans, bread, barbecue sauce and a half-pound of beef. Lunch was served.

Presented by the Flagler County Cattleman’s Association, this year’s Cracker Day was dedicated to George H. Clark III, who died Oct. 3, 2011.

Clark, also known as Poppa Tooter, worked for Flagler County Road and Bridge for 26 years and was a member of the Flagler County Rough Riders. He helped organize Cracker Day for several years and could often be heard over the loudspeaker giving the prayer.

WINNERS
Senior Bull Riding
1st Zack Chesser
2nd Ryan Price

Junior Bull Riding
1st Austin Cody

Buddy Pickup
Scott Benoit and Megan Wilk
Kacie Burk and Cody Mack
Kenzie Adams and Noah Duenas
Austin Cody and Lane Cody
Kaylie Coffman and Zachary Branning
Ennasea Coule and Kaitlyn Bennett
Andrianna Hobart and Miranda Childress
John Jackson and Kaitlin McCabe

Barrel Race
1st Tammy Rawlings
2nd Summer Musgrove
3rd Melanee Bryans
4th Megan Wilk

Steer Saddling
Andrew Smith
Gunnar Galambos
Casey Smith
James Mounteer

Chute Dogging
The Steer

Boot Race
(ages 5 and under)
1st Lindsey Uy
2nd Sarah Rami
3rd Kayla Mohrbach

(ages 6 to 10)
1st Kai Coute
2nd Frank Lania
3rd Erica Farella

Ribbon Roping
1st Jeremy Barton
1st Laura Hughes