sealed bags, the new concession stand accommodates
up to two-dozen workers during the busy nights and it is
air-conditioned. But one thing that has never changed is
the grill that’s used to cook the hamburgers, even though
Duncan nearly ruined it.
“Mac Martin taught mechanics at the high school, and
he ran the stand in the daytime,” Duncan recalled. “One
day after the rodeo I decided the grill sure was dirty. I had
them take it apart and take it to his shop and sandblast
it. Then, I found out that sandblasting it is the worst thing
you can do. It puts pits in it. Oops! It took two to three
years to smooth it out again.”
The grill survived the cleaning and, over the years, has
received a facelift in the way of a vent-a-hood. Prior to the
airflow of the vent-a-hood, longtime club member Brookes
Worthington said the grease would rise and accumulate
on the edges of the cover and collect until it was several
inches long, hanging down over the grill.
“Fred Bankhead was always the cook during his days
working in the stand,” Worthington said. “The grease, you
never saw it drip, but you just knew that any minute it was
going to drip. And Fred always had a cigarette with the
ash curled over that you just knew it was going to fall on
the grill into the hamburger meat. You knew if you waited
long enough, you’d see all that stuff come down, but I
never saw it happen.
“It was a lot different back then than it is now. There
were no restrictions. No requirements. We’ve advanced
tremendously from what it was 35 years ago.”
On the nights when Swancy’s dad took over the grill
he came prepared with his special spatula, apron, and a
paper cap. He’d start the evening off by throwing several
pounds of onions onto the grill and letting the smell
permeate out through the stand’s window to draw in the
crowd. He was also the brains behind the club’s secret
sauce.
“In the ‘50s we’d take a spatula and run mustard over
the buns and then pickles over it,” Swancy said. “Dad said
it was a waste of time and mixed it all together. It sped up
making the hamburgers.”
These days the secret sauce varies from night to night
depending on the cook, but one thing is for certain, order-
ing up a “cheeseburger wet” never disappoints.
“I can visualize dad there today flipping hamburgers
and cooking them left and right,” Swancy said. “Friday
night of the rodeo this year I ended up cooking hamburg-
ers and a batch of sauce. I called mom and told her I got
to step into dad’s shoes.”
What was once a small operation by the club now
requires the commitment of all club members along with
many of their spouses and children across the span of 10
days. It is the height of the club’s year, and a true testa-
ment to the “We Serve” motto of Lions.
“The old-timers were just a different breed than what
we are right now,” Worthington said. “The one thing I can
say we have in common with them is that we all enjoy
our time out there.”
TEXAS BUTANE CO., INC.
Morris & Judy V. (Kemp) White
South Side Square • 103 W. Church • Weatherford, Texas 76086
Local
Phone:
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“LOCALLY OWNED & FAMILY OPERATED”
We are proud to be the oldest continuously family owned propane company in the Area!
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Metro
Phone:
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Propane Sales & Service Since 1958
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