Parade winners named

By Nolan Davis

Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of downtown Albany Saturday afternoon to watch the horses, wagons, floats, antique vehicles, and longhorns take over Main Street for the 2019 Fort Griffin Fandangle Parade.

With temperatures a little cooler than the typical mid-June triple digits, both participants and spectators seemed to enjoy the event, even though it was a little shorter than usual.

“I thought the quality was really good,” said parade coordinator John Ayers. “We had fewer entries, but the floats were good, and we had a great variety of wagons.”

Ayers also commented that the crowd along Main Street was as large as he has seen in a number of years.

The annual parade was held this past Saturday, June 22, and recognition was given to the best entrants in each category.

Parade entries were announced to the crowds by Pam Davis. Roy Burl Oliver provided the sound system.

Parade Lineup

The parade was led down Main Street by Louann George playing the calliope, a Fandangle parade tradition.

Parade marshals were the “Cowboys of Long Ago,” most of them riding on a float, with Old Timer John Matthews in a wagon.

Winning Entries

The parade had six cate-gories along with a best over-all award.

The top three entries in a number of different categories were named by the judges and announced before the Saturday performance of the Fandangle.

The 2019 Fandangle Parade winners include the following:

Best Overall Entry –  “Under the Age of Consent.”

Best Float – 1. “Fishing and Fandangling” by the Jones Family. 2. “Cowboys of Long Ago” by Neighbors Nursery. 3. “Texas Central” by Paige Thompson.

Best Group – 1. Hardin-Simmons University Six White Horses. 2. Flag Parade. 3. Indian Maidens.

Best Individual Entry – 1. State of Texas Longhorns. 2. Texas Central Train. 3. Fandangle Set Crew.

Best Antique Vehicle – 1. Billy Boland’s 1964 Ford Galaxy XL 500. 2. Ranger College’s 1952 John Deere B tractor. 3. Nancy and Hubert Young’s 1929 Ford Model A replica.

Best Horse Drawn – 1. Cliff Teinert and his Army Ambulance. 2. Fandangle Stagecoach. 3. Fandangle Prairie Schooner.

Best Side Saddle – 1. Kirstin Hilliard. 2. Laci Cook. 3. Lacy Roop.

Longtime Chairman

This year’s parade was the last to be under the direction of longtime chairman John Ayers.

“I’ve been coordinating the Fandangle parade for about 30 years,” said Ayers. “I started in my twenties, and I’ve definitely enjoyed being in charge of it.”

Ayers has enjoyed all aspects of running the parade.

“I’ve been able to meet a lot of new people and make a lot of new friends because of this,” said Ayers. “It’s also nice to know that people always enjoy coming out and watching the parade.”

Ayers thinks that not being in charge of the parade will take some getting used to.

“It will definitely be a little weird,” said Ayers. “I’ll probably miss it at first. I took pride in running it well, but I am also looking forward to being able to actually be in the parade now.”

Ragan Riley and Shannon Leech will be taking over the annual parade, and Ayers has complete faith in them.

“They’re both going to do a great job,” said Ayers. “Both of them are very creative, and they are go-getters. I know that they’ll be great.”

Parade Thanks

Ayers expressed his appreciation to this year’s judges – Dean and Debby Smith, Jimbo and Terry Lynn Calhoun, and David Klement.

Ayers also thanked announcer Pam Davis, and sound system provider Roy Burl Oliver, along with everyone who helped with lineup duties, the individuals and businesses that provided trucks, trailers and drivers for the parade, and the sheriff’s office, police department, DPS and highway department for handling and diverting traffic during the event.

“I want to thank Jeff Pleasant for furnishing the trailer for the judges float,” Ayers said. “The Fandangle set crew helped with lining up the parade entries.”

Ayers also thanked his wife, Lorna, for working with the judges and helping to tally the judges’ scores, as well as Riley and Leech for helping coordinate the event and taking over the parade for next year.

“It’s not just the ones in the parade itself who make it a success,” said Ayers. “There are lots of people working behind the scenes.”