Brownwood-Big Country History and Tourism

Forts still a boon
History tourism discussed at seminar

By CELINDA EMISON, Abilene Reporter-News
June 23, 2006

BROWNWOOD - Hunting, cookoffs, festivals and heritage tourism are rural events that towns along the Texas Forts Trail could turn into major tourism dollars, speakers at a seminar said Thursday.
The 2006 Tourism Roundup was sponsored by the Texas Midwest Community Network, the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Forts Trail.
''We are here to help you understand what is happening in your region,'' said Margaret Hoogstra, regional coordinator for the Texas Forts Trail. ''Rural Texas has always been on the top 10 list of tourist attractions.''
The Texas Forts Trail Region is a 650-mile driving route within a 29-county area that highlights eight frontier forts, including Fort Concho in San Angelo and Fort Chadbourne north of Bronte.
Bob Bluthardt, director of the Fort Concho Museum, said the forts are just as important to communities now as they were 125 years ago because they are potential tourist sites.
''An Army post in your city, then or now, is a huge economic break for your community,'' Bluthardt said.
Throughout the seminar, attendees from places such as Abilene, Brownwood, Buffalo Gap, Coleman, Comanche, De Leon and Early shared information about their festivals.
Hoogstra cited the recent Robert E. Howard Day in Cross Plains that celebrates the Cross Plains writer who created Conan the Barbarian. Hoogstra said the festival netted Cross Plains and surrounding communities almost $300,000.
''They had more than 300 visitors from 20 states and five foreign countries,'' Hoogstra said. ''And the festival was featured on the front page of USA Today.''
Interest in Cross Plains has been high in recent months as the community works to recover from a wildfire late last year that killed two and destroyed dozens of homes.
Several event leaders from surrounding cities shared their secrets of success with the group.
* Mary Griffis, executive director of the Coleman County Chamber of Commerce, said hunting is by far the biggest draw for her county. The county's annual Hunters Appreciation Dinner has grown: Last year, more than 1,500 showed up to eat. She credits trips to the Hunters Extravaganza in Fort Worth every year to get Coleman County's name on the lips of the 35,000 to 40,000 people who attend that event.
* Dr. Bob Wettemann of McMurry University heads the Vintage Baseball Association in Buffalo Gap. Teams play on the first and third Sundays of every month, and they use rules of the game employed during frontier days - no batting helmets or aluminum bats. He encouraged community leaders to get vintage baseball teams started in their cities, and said efforts are under way to put a West Texas league together.
* Wendy Ellis of the Brady Chamber of Commerce said the 33rd Annual Goat Cook-off in August is the city's biggest event all year. Sometimes, Ellis said, organizers must adapt to allow their festival to grow.
''Don't be afraid to change what you're doing, and to make it better,'' Ellis said. ''If you don't make changes, the event won't grow and may die.''
Christi Perkins, who is on the Comanche Main Street board, said the seminar was useful. Comanche is ''not a tourist destination yet, but we are getting all the things in place where we can be,'' Perkins said.

source: http://www.sanangelostandardtimes.com/sast/news_local/article/0,1897,SAST_4956_4796049,00.html