Maypole alive and well in Beaumont, Texas

My father once bragged that he refused to do the Maypole at his elementary school spring function and I've always wondered what that entailed and just why he objected. Then I participated in one at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge and had a blast. Guess it's not much of a guy thing, but if that's the case today's men should forgo the macho attitude and partake. 

You can dance the Maypole in Beaumont this month, on May 13 at the Beaumont Botanical Gardens. This free, third annual event  will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and families can wander through the gardens, feed the koi, meet local artists and even encounter a mystical fairy or two along the way, according to the city's press release.  The blessing of the crops and the wrapping of the Maypole with multicolored ribbons by young Beaumont dancers will begin at 4:30. There will be food and drinks available from food trucks.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Thar she blows! Spindletop celebrates 115th birthday

The nation’s first oil boom happened deep in the heart of Texas (actually more like along the southeast coast) and this year the Spindletop gusher, located just outside Beaumont, celebrates its 115th anniversary of the Lucas Gusher discovery that changed the way we use energy. When the gusher blew on Jan. 10, 1901, the flow was so intense, oil spewed forth for nine days before the well could be capped.

The Spindletop Gladys City/Boomtown Museum will celebrate the anniversary of the Lucas Gusher discovery on Jan. 9, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the Spindletop Anniversary Celebration. Re-enactors will take visitors back to the early days of the oil rush town with demonstrations and craft-making of blacksmithing, butter churning, soap-making and more and there will be live entertainment and an old-fashioned “drillers’ lunch.” Of course the day won’t be complete without the blowing of the Lucas Gusher.

The celebration continues into the next day, with free admission to the Boomtown Museum all day on Jan. 10.
            For more information, visit http://www.spindletop.org/.

A fire hydrant Clifford the Big Red Dog would love

            They say everything is bigger in Texas and a trip to Beaumont would assure anyone that this Dalmatian-styled fire hydrant fits the bill. Actually, it’s the third largest hydrant in the world — largest, of course, in Texas — but the largest working fire hydrant ever! We’d really love to see this baby in action!

             The fire hydrant sits in front of the Fire Museum of Texas, located in the city’s 1927 working Central Fire Station at 400 Walnut Street in downtown Beaumont. The museum is filled with vintage fire engines and equipment and memorabilia dating back to the late 1600s. Items include the 1909 Aerial ladder truck, the 1856 Howe Hand Drawn Pumper, the 1931 Light Truck used for search and rescue in the 1937 New London School Explosion and the Gamewell Call Box Alarm System used to call in fires before there were telephones.

            There is a fire engine for play as well, so kids can dress up in firemen clothes and sound the alarms, and an international collection of fire patches with a handy index so you can look up your town or state

            The Fire Museum of Texas is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and is free! And don’t forget the gift shop.