Students leaving their dormitories may be amazed at the transformation on campus, Thursday, April 12, as HSU presents its 25th annual Western Heritage Day. The expansive green lawn of Hardin-Simmons University will be host to a sight more familiar to Davey Crockett or Jim Bowie as the sights, sounds, and flavor of the old west come alive for over 5,000 Abilene school children.

HSU faculty and staff dig out their western duds and recreate scenes from a time when a good horse was more valuable than gold. Lil’ Buckaroos can try their small hands at roping a “steer� or pumping water with an authentic hand pump, or they can visit the critters corral and pet a goat or stroke the velvet-soft nose of a horse. There’s always a good chance a Cowboy Preacher will show up and hold an authentic pioneer church service, and western craftsmen and women will be under every tree making quilts, horseshoes, weaving linen, and demonstrating campfire cooking. Auditions are likely for the traveling “horse opera,� a live buffalo will roam, the HSU Spurs will paint faces and a Texas Ranger and posse will keep an eagle eye out for those ornery types.

Will it bite?

Western Heritage Day was created by the late Dr. Lawrence Clayton as an opportunity for HSU faculty, staff, and students to remember the traditions of our western heritage. It provides a physical link with a distant time and brings substance to memory. The demonstrations and displays teach a new generation about the integrity, honor, character, and hard work passed down through generations of west Texans.

Please contact Leianne McMillan at 670-5775 for more information. The event runs from 8:00 a.m. until 3:p.m., although most schools arrive early.