When there’s an event at Crawford School, the issue is always parking. It’s limited, and if the event is popular (and what event in Crawford isn’t popular?), folks end up parking all over the neighborhood. If you have anything to carry, you’d better get there early or you’ll be lugging your cargo uphill (or maybe downhill) and along Elm Avenue to the school.
Of course, the Oldtimers/Newcomers dinner sponsored by the Crawford Chamber of Commerce is a potluck. Crawford, I contend, is the Potluck Capital of the Universe, and that comes from someone born and bred in the Midwest, where green beans and mushroom soup rule. That means there were dozens of Crawfordites toting casserole dishes along the streets of Upper Crawford to the school gymnasium on the night of February 21.
Social hour began at 5:30 p.m. This year, the Chamber asked area businesses to set up tables featuring their products and services for the crowd to check out before settling into their true mission, which was to eat and brag about their Crawford roots, whether deep or shallow. The need for more room for those tables was key to the Chamber’s decision to move the annual dinner from Crawford Town Hall to Crawford School.
It wasn’t an entirely popular move. More than a few citizens complained that the gym didn’t have the intimate feeling of the community room at Town Hall. The business tables didn’t draw much traffic. And the official proceedings weren’t scheduled to start until 6:30 p.m. At 6:15 p.m., lots of people were wandering about, and I could hear tummies rumbling. Although side dishes were collecting on the long tables at the end of the room, there was no sign of the main course promised by the Chamber: “Where’s the meatloaf?” someone asked.
Relief — in came the volunteers carrying the big roaster with the meatloaf (how fortunate are we to have Sue Ayer and Homestead Beef supplying our goods?), and just then Crawford School principal Sam Cox took the microphone.
Cox, who has become the face of Crawford School to our community and has helped shepherd our town through a painful transition, gave a rosy report on the status of Crawford School. Clearly, it’s a vital place. Crawford students are high achievers by any measure, including the State of Colorado’s. “Crawford School continues to grow,” said Cox. He encouraged citizens to support an upcoming student auction and chili supper in the first week of April to fund a student trip to the Keystone Science Center.
The Chamber of Commerce tries hard to make a sincere nod to any person or group who bolsters Crawford’s economy. These days, there aren’t that many candidates. Times are hard. But I think it will surprise non-Crawfordites to know that we have several businesses that continue to anchor our community and that extend beyond it. One is Business of the Year, Don’s Directory, piloted by Mike and Brad Hart, which strives for “nationwide coverage of the oil and gas industry.” It’s an industry leader. And right here in Crawford.
Oops– maybe there wasn’t quite enough food this year, unless you were willing to down more than one boulder-sized slab of meatloaf, of which there was a ton. But then the introductions began. The thing that’s really special about the Oldtimers/Newcomers dinner is the time when Crawford folks get to tell the assembly about how they got here, why they came, how long they’ve stayed, and what they’ve done. Everyone waits for someone to do the math on who’s been here longest and who came most recently.
This year, Bertha Ann Lindeman got the Oldtimer award, and Dee Smith and her husband, Gene, were acknowledged as the newcomers, having settled in Crawford just this past October. It took a long time to get through the crowd, but every single person in the group got to introduce her or himself and talk about why Crawford is home. And everyone got applause. Real appreciation. It’s a Crawford thing.
