The 26th annual Bois d’Arc Bash filled downtown Commerce over the weekend, as citizens celebrated the heritage of their town. The event kicked off Friday morning at 7 a.m. with the 21st annual golf tournament, and ended Sunday afternoon with the 16th annual car and truck show.
“It is the biggest crowd I have ever seen here,” Wyman Williams, Director of Development for A&M-Commerce, said.
Saturday was full of activities, vendors, and music. The booths, which ran from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., featured wide assortments of purchasable items, such as shoes, hats, sheets, decorations, numerous food stands, and much more. Five year old, Sarah Uzialko, got her first airbrushed tattoo at Marco Alcazar’s temporary tattoo booth. According to Alcazar, he stayed busy all day. This years vendors outnumbered last years.
“We have over 120 vendors this year,” Sheryl Millar, chamber of commerce employee, said. “Last year we had about 80.”
The day began with the Bois d’Arc Dash 5k run at 8 a.m. The run had 68 participants; among them was the Commerce High School track team. Of the 68 people, 39 were female and 29 were male. The final run times ranged from just over 18 minutes to just over 57 minutes.
Age and gender groups each had their own awards. The overall top runner was William Warren with a time of 18:06. He was followed by Lance Smith with a time of 20:26 and Jerrod Tynes with 21:09. A&M-Commerce President Dr. Dan Jones also took part in the run, placing 22nd overall with a time of 27:35.
Many of the events were for charity, including the Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. on Saturday. Over 350 pancake breakfasts were sold to help the children of Commerce and Hunt County.
The Commerce Kiwanis started prepping for their annual pancake breakfast at 5 a.m. Luanne Huffman and Donald Holliman cooked pancakes and sausage for the customers. They maxed out their cooking space, making 32 pancakes at a time. Huffman and Holliman are the regular cooks for the Kiwanis events and have been doing it for quite some years.
“Fifteen plus years,” Holliman said of how long Huffman has been doing it. “I have been a member for twelve plus years and started cooking five years after being in the club.”
The annual Duck Race raised $3000 dollars, $2000 goes to help Commerce High School. The 12th annual wine tasting event, which has A&M – Commerce President’s Office listed as one of its sponsors, raised money for its endowment scholarship at A&M – Commerce.
There were 45 participants in the Bois d’Arc Bash parade, with the Commerce Police and Fire Departments leading the pack. A&M-Commerce featured their color guard and band. Six awards were given for parade participants. Alton Bigs, Commerces Citizen of the Year, gave the Grand Marshal Award for this year to the Scatterbranch Kids. Commerce Middle Robotics Club, Commerce High School Band, James Speight of Speight Sand and Gravel also won awards. The Scatterbranch Kids won two awards, while A&M-Commerce Band, accompanied by their Color Guard, took the Best Overall Award.
“We want to thank all the A&M-Commerce student organizations for volunteering their help,” Michael Glas, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said. “We would also like to thank the university for their sponsorship of the 26th Annual Bois d’Arc Bash, and Brian Nichols, Dean of Campus Life and Student Development, for providing a shuttle service for the event.”
The Bash ended with the 16th annual Car and Truck Show. Sandra Sims and Sheryl Millar have now been hosting the show for over two years. According to Sims, they had 46 participants this year, down from 56 last year. The registered vehicles ranged from a 1933 sedan to a 2012 Hyundai. The 1933 Sedan is not classified as the oldest because it has been modified and hot rodded out.
“Some people attend with their cars but don’t register them,” Sims said. “They show them off to others and get ideas and sometimes input of things to do to their cars for showing next year.”
The event was also accompanied by a D.J. playing oldies rock music and gave prizes out to register participants in the show for correctly answering trivia questions. Door prizes such as tools, hats, banners, and more were given out throughout the day.
The Car and Truck Show had four award categories, with trophies and plaques, provided by the sponsors for the event.
“We really thank our sponsors,” Millar said. “Without them and our door prize providers, this event would not have been possible.”
According to Millar, awards were presented in many classes, with five top awards. Quay Throgmorton, City of Commerce Mayor, gave his choice award to Tamara Brigance with a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. Greenville Antique Car Club won the club participation award with 12 car entries. Loyd Brigance won the best in show car award with his 1963 Chevy Nova SS Convertible, while best in show truck went Gaines Babb with a 1936 GMC pick-up.