Crowds turn out to see the Whole Hawg in Eufaula

By Bess Warren
Phoenix Correspondent

July 26, 2008 11:56 pm

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EUFAULA — Kandie Dye dished out cotton candy slushes to her three young daughters as they sat beneath a shade tree.
Saturday was the third day in a row that Dye and her girls attended the Whole Hawg Days downtown.
“This is something for them to do without going 30 minutes or an hour away,” Dye said.
Dye, who has lived in Eufaula for three years, has come to the event every year since becoming a resident and was enjoying having so much to do with her children.
“I told them after today, no more,” she said with a smile.
The event, sponsored by the Eufaula Area Chamber of Commerce, blocked off most of the downtown area. The celebration kicked off Thursday with a carnival and rodeo.
There were plenty of activities to entertain the kids, such as carnival rides, face painting and arts and crafts. On the other side, the adults milled through the Rust to Riches Car Show, while others enjoyed shopping at the vendor tents.
Tex Mize watched closely as leather crafter, Ray Comdrem, stenciled his name into a new leather wallet. Mize, 60, of Kinta grinned as he ran his fingers across his name and said he was pleased with how it turned out.
“Oh yeah. That’ll work,” he said.
Comdrem, 64, of Tuttle said that this is the 14th year he has set up shop at the event. He said that the event has been profitable for his business, Class Craft Leather, every year.
“I always do pretty well here,” he said. “Any time a crafter comes back to a show for the second time, you know they did well the first time. You know I’ve done well for as many times as I’ve been back.”
According to Shauna Belyeu, 39, board member of the Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event definitely started out better than last year. Saturday, temperatures soared into the upper 90s.
“Last year, we were flooded. We were standing in mud,” she said. “We are glad the weather accommodated us, even thought it’s hot.”
Belyeu wasn’t the only person feeling the heat.
David Ford, 33, of Eufaula stuck his head into a large meat smoker to check on his lunch. Ford would soon be serving his 90 pounds of barbecued pork to attendees. Ford, who is a road foreman for the McIntosh County Commissioner District 3, had been there since 5 a.m. preparing the food and didn’t mind donating his time for the city.
“It’s something to do,” Ford said about cooking. “If you weren’t doing it here, you’d be doing it at home.”

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