Relay for Life - Lite, coming during Rough and Ready Days
Published by News Release April 20th, 2007 in News.The Drew County volunteers for the American Cancer Society have started planning for the annual fundraiser event. In previous years, Drew County has hosted the Relay For Life event in April. However, this year, the planning committee has decided to take a year off from the huge event planning and have a smaller, slimmed down version of the Relay For Life.
This year the event will be a “get-together”. ACS volunteers are pairing up with Rough and Ready Days volunteers. The event will be held on Friday, May 11th at 7:00 p.m. The title will be Celebration of Survivors. Ashley Echols is heading up the planning committee and can be contacted at 460-6458 with questions.
“We want the community to participate as always”, says Ashley. “We still want teams to form and do team fundraisers. The only real change is we won’t have an overnight event this year, and our teams won’t need to set up a campsite as they have done in the past.” Sandra Norris will be in touch will all teams and can be reached at 723-2920 or 367-9213 with any questions about team fundraisers or forming teams.
At 7:00 p.m. on May 11th, there will be a luminaria ceremony. The ceremony has always been a part of the regular Relay For Life event. It will be a time for those that have lost loved ones to cancer to reflect back on their lives and will also be a time to honor those that are battling cancer or who have won their fight against the disease.
“We will also recognize any cancer survivor during this time,” adds Echols.
Each survivor that registers (no charge) will be given a special t-shirt and survivor recognition item. If you are a cancer survivor, you are encouraged to come out and participate in the event.
Teams around Drew County have already started forming and are doing their team fundraisers. All team fundraiser money will need to be turned in on Friday, May 11th at the ACS tent during Rough and Ready Days. A team meeting is being planned for all Drew County teams to disperse information needed. If you are interested in being on a team or forming a team, please contact Sandra Norris at the above numbers.
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Monticello on the surface appears to be a very nice town. The community seems to work well together in trying to move the city in a positive direction. So you have to wonder why the city has chosen to highlight one of the greatest tragedies of America’s history as badge of honor. To my understanding “Rough and Ready” symbolizes a time of hatred, bigotry and racism. It is not wonder why this event has gain so much momentum when you look at the list of sponsors that donate money and effort towards keeping this hope alive (most openly claim Christianity status). Is it that people don’t know what it represents or is it that they don’t care? How do you explain it to your children? If this town never reaches it attainable potential you can probably attribute this event to some of the reasons why.
I don’t think anybody knows this, if it is true. It would be interesting for MonticelloLive to do an article on the history of Rough and Ready. If what “confused” is saying is true, it would probably warrant a rename of the festival.
I totally agree that an article should be done to educate everyone about the significance of “Rough and Ready”! Better yet how about we asked the individual who named it and it’s sponsors what that day really means, because I just know that they know! In the meanwhile I will be doing some research of my own. Hopefully the info is out there and not covered up. And after all of that, will the article ever get published. If not I will make flyers! Trust, the truth will be told soon or later!
This is from the Monticello Chamber of Commerce Website….A little history about where the name Rough and Ready comes from…..
“In 1835, European settlers in Drew County founded a small community, dubbing it Independence. After the Mexican-American War a decade later, they changed the name to “Rough ‘n Ready” in honor of Gen. Zachary Taylor. In 1849, the local courthouse moved to the valley below, the site of what is now Monticello.
Nevertheless, the Rough ‘n Ready name lived on, if only because it was the site of a Civil War skirmish that took place on May 24, 1865-five full weeks after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses Grant on April 19, 1865.”
So what exactly are we celebrating or honoring: Gen. Zachary Taylor; the skirmish or what. I took my son to the event about 3 years ago. To my surprise there was a booth flying and selling confederate flaggs as well as T-shirts with reflections of the civil war. We left and have not been back since. I have refused to allow my other children to attend as well. The only question I have is are city funds used to pay for this event? People can personally support whatever they want but I would like to know if I am paying for something I do not support.
History is history. It is not something that should be forgotten. Apparently some people think our past is important and hold it dear.
For the record, Gen. Taylor was dead a decade before the Civil War was fought — he died a U.S. president. “Rough and Ready” in Drew County, like several other communities of the same name thoughout the U.S. in the period, were likely named after his successful battles in the Mexican War (1846-48). He had become a national hero, and was in command of several hundred Arkansans at the battle of Buena Vista, Mexico. The community was named, I suspect, in honor of his heroism in that era.