The times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord.
                                               Acts 3:19 KJV

First Annual Fall Festival
The 1Waters Ranch on October 18 was a fun filled day for kids and adults alike.  It was a beautiful fall day as children and their parents and grandparents arrived and were greeted by Stephen and Christy Johnson and Ray and Jane Timmerman.

While at the festival they could choose from many activities in which to participate style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Carroll Piper gave rides to children on his ‘flag train’ while Dennis Brown took people down to the bluff on the hayride wagon.  After hiking up to the bluff with Janice Putnam and Susan Goodwin to enjoy the view of the camp, they were returned to the shelter house where Gene and Barb Holtgrewe were holding square dance and line dance lessons. A favorite activity for the kids was the ropes course.  Jenni Carey, Kendra Motley, Katie Hash, and Dan Meyer led groups through the course throughout the day.  Levi Motley had his hands full with the Mighty Bucky machine generously loaned to the camp by John and Jeri Adrian’s Rodeo Ministry.  Kids were lined up throughout the day to try their hand at ‘bull riding’.  Cindy Brucksch, Chris McClimans, and Tim Jones were in charge of the scarecrow paintball shooting activity.  Special thanks to Christian Sloan, Michael McClimans, and James Carey for being very quick targets!!  Debbie Leiber and Jackie Traverson headed up the fall crafts for the children who wanted to make a special keepsake while at the festival.  Face painting by Gail Hale, turned out to be more like portrait painting!   Rodney Leiber was in charge of the GIANT slingshot as kids and adults took turns chuckin’ mini punkins’ and gourds at targets.  Trina and  Caleb Taylor were in charge of the petting zoo complete with a pony, two calves, a mama goat and her kid, and a piglet.  A special thanks to Pat Brownlee for the goats, Jim and Teri Estes, Estes Pork Farm, for the use of the piglet, and Erica from the Lowry City Bits and Bridles 4-H Club for helping out in several events.

Of course, fishing with Joni Bledsoe, Missouri Conservation Department, was another popular activity.  Some even tried their luck with a cane pole.  Everyone caught at least one fish.  Thank you to Joni for the use of poles and Buzz’s Outdoor World for donating an ample supply of fat, juicy night crawlers!

One of the most interesting sights was the Dutch Oven Cook Off area.   Gage Fergerson won first place with his Cherry Dump Cake in the kids’ division.  Terry Eaton of Nevada and Billy Hampton from Hermitage split the honors in the adult division.  Billy earned first place with his Cornish Hens with Bacon main dish and second in the dessert division with Apple Dumplings.  Terry took home first place with his Peach Cobbler and second place for Chili and also first place with canned biscuits.  He also won Best Camp for his authentic mountain man camp site and clothing.  Prize money for the contest was generously donated by Kreisler Drugs of Clinton.  Many thanks go to John and Donna Parks for judging the delicious food prepared by the contestants.

The hay maze was an a-mazing attraction for all ages.  As participants wondered their way through the maze they found several false exits.  A special thanks to Kendra Motley, Dennis Brown, Danielle Taylor, and Norman Kottwitz for setting up the maze and Roland and Geraldine Derby for helping supervise it during the festival. 

Several vendors, including the Heart House, set up tents and tables to sell their decorative crafts and gifts.  The concession stand served many delicious snacks and wonderful funnel cakes.

At the conclusion of the activities a hearty meal was served by the St. Clair County Cattlemen’s Association.  Special thanks to Allen Haverland for cooking the brisket and beans and Debbie Kottwitz for frying potatoes.  Many delicious desserts were donated by several people.

Everyone was treated to wonderful singing by Kalina Hickcox and her Grandpa Ray Hickcox, followed by several beautiful songs sung by Allison Yates. Earlier in the day Gene Holtgrewe and Jenni Carey performed several duets on guitar and fiddle.

The rather chilly evening ended with the silent auction bidding then the main program of Horse Whisperers Billy and Dusty Epperson, father and son, working with a young colt provided by Bob and Dani Mallett. .  They successfully were able to saddle the colt and mount by the end of the evening.  While working with the colt, Dusty explained that life before becoming a Christian and receiving salvation by accepting Jesus as our Savior, can be compared to a wild horse.  We have to allow ourselves to be trained in the ways of the Lord; just like a young colt is trained to accept a saddle and take new directions from a rider.  Older, broke horses were compared to more mature Christians whose job it is to lead the newly saved Christians in learning about God’s love and plan for us.  It was truly an inspirational evening.

Living Waters Ranch would like to thank everyone involved with the Fall Festival.  The shelter house had just been completed in September with the help of Gene Holtgrewe, Dennis Brown, Levi Motley, Ben Gardner, Danny Fergerson, John Adrian, Norman Phillips, Jimmy Foltz, Gary White, Kevin Lovewell, and Keith Bloom.  The electrical work was finished due to the generous time and materials donated by Stan Thomas, Chet Jones, Gene Holtgrewe, and Bob Hodges. Thank you also to Gene and Barb Holtgrewe, and Bob and Wilma Hodges for cleaning up fallen trees, weed eating, and marking a path for the hikers.  It was beautiful!