Erick has always been a tight-knit community that had to lean hard on family and neighbors. Western Oklahoma faces droughts and storms, floods and tornadoes.
“We aren’t weak,” laughed a woman shopping at a booth.
Yet, the hardships the town has faced has always drawn them closer together.
Those hardships are what created one of their favorite sons, Sheb Wooley.
Wooley endured a ramshackle childhood during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. He survived events that seemed unimaginable. And that was before he ever left Oklahoma.
He then went on to make himself one of the most famous men in America, truly illustrating the tenacity of Erick citizens.
This last weekend, a festival was held in Wooley’s honor in Erick.
In something that Wooley probably would have supported, most of the proceeds will go to Erick’s kids.
The arts and crafts booths were full. The amount of retail items are too many to list.
The Erick Fire Department were the stars, though.
The groups of volunteers hosted a pancake breakfast to raise funds for Christmas gifts for local children.
The EFD will then hand out these gifts in December.
Shelby Fredrick Wooley, known first locally and then internationally as Sheb, was born in the rough-and-tumble countryside outside of Erick in 1921. Life started out tough for the talented Beckham County boy, but times got leaner when the Great Depression and Dust Bowl struck during his elementary years.
Wooley learned early on that his best means of survival was being a cowboy and all that embodies. Working young and working hard was not an option if he wanted to succeed.
From tiny Erick, Wooley found his way into the world and hearts of countless Americans.
In 1958, he scored a rock and roll hit with “The Purple People Eater.”
Wooley achieved huge success, but like the market fluctuations of his childhood, he also experienced career ebbs.
Still, he persisted. Decade after decade, he reinvented his career in westerns like “Rawhide” before moving to Nashville as one of the originators of the current country music scene.
Purple Parade: 1st place: The Shedd’s 2nd place: Blue Rose Flower Shop 3rd place: Erick Senior Class Coloring Contest sponsored by Hobby Lobby: Best Overall Winners **Best Overall** Most Colorful: Emma Heinsohn (Erick-5th grade) Most Original: Brysen Speed (Erick- 4th grade) Most Unique: Mariah Lindsey (Erick-6th grade) Most Abstract: Charlie Magee (Sweetwater-4th grade) Most Creative: Abby Carlisle, Emily Fox, Abigail Grant, Alyssa Megli, Kaylee Johnson (Sweetwater- 6th grade)
