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04/14/2003 Archived Entry: "OUR HATS ARE OFF TO GEORGE STOVER AND SCOTT MOORE...SOOPER DOOPER POOPER SCOOPERS"

OUR HATS ARE OFF TO GEORGE STOVER AND SCOTT MOORE...SOOPER DOOPER POOPER SCOOPERS

I was downtown Friday afternoon when the first horse in town "accidentally" dropped clumps of dried grass which they are prone to drop, especially when the excitement of prancing down our city streets tends to encourage such action. The horse was just following the pattern established over many years of thousands of horses before it.

And wouldn't you know? Someone called to complain before the poop had a chance to plop on the brick street. It was a phone call made as the event was being unleashed. They called the city office, Drovers got a call and most likely the Chamber heard the noise. The alarm sounded. "Horse poopie in the streets of Ellsworth!" They were irate about it. I'm sure that individual raised a lot of furor over it with anyone who would listen. What a pity!

Now, what's the problem? For the last 140 years or so, Ellsworth has been famous for having a reason to have horse poopie in the streets. It is a cattle town and one of the three most historic that Kansas has to offer, along with Dodge and Abilene. What a rich history we have indeed. This kind of history includes drovers, cattle, horses and a tolerance for various kinds of manure....the stuff we need to promote and hang our hat on if we want to stay alive with tourists.

There were a whole lot of people who put many man hours into this weekend event. That list is very long. They also spent a lot of their own money, out of pocket, to bring all these people to town so they could spend money in our stores, get familiar with what we have to offer in this area...and get to know the great people who do very positive things like this to keep the community alive. These are the people who return to Ellsworth because they like events like this. The weekend was a huge success.

So guess who cleaned up the droppings? George Stover, the financial administrator at the hospital, and Scott Moore, our city administrator. These two tall handsome, wonderful civic leaders work tirelessly for our city and will, without blinking an eye or the slightest objection, volunteer to scoop up horse manure. They do what ever it takes and we owe them both a great deal of gratitude for the important work they do...manure aside.

The complainant must not have enough to do. Perhaps he/she/they could volunteer to help with these civic events and become more a part of the community. We will even supply a scoop and a bucket.

Or, someone could capitalize on the accumulations by digging a trench, filling it with horse droppings, put in some dirt, stir it around and plant leeks just as the English have done for centuries. They produce the most famous leeks in the world. English leeks can't be beat and this is why. There is a purpose for everything.

But I think a little patience could be demonstrated especially when this event did so much good for the town. Horses are always going to be part of our landscape. Just watch what's underfoot when you walk. It's not much to ask.