An August event I always looked forward to in past years was the annual Will Rogers Memorial Rodeo. My uncle Mann was a big rodeo fan and we often attended rodeos in the area.

The Will Rogers Memorial, held each August in Vinita, Okla., was a regular on our calendar. It usually fell during the third week of the month which was near my birthday and gave me an additional reason to celebrate.

Columnist Lavon Lewis, a native Vinitan, wrote, “Itis the finest rodeo in Oklahoma, maybe in the whole United States,” and I agree it is an excellent one.

One attraction of the Vinita rodeo was the resonant voice of Clem McSpadden, the rodeo announcer, a relative of the Rogers family. He was very easy to understand and he really knew his stuff when it came to rodeo events. Another event he often announced was the annual Ben Johnson Memorial steer roping at Pawhuska, Okla., each Father’s Day.

Lavon Lewis says, “Every town needs at least one very special yearly event to make memories.”

Our memory-making event in Gravette, Gravette Days, is the celebration of our town’s birthday. Many from my mother’s generation remember when folks drove in from miles around and camped for a few days near the spring in Old Town. The event has changed a lot over the years, but everyone still anticipates and enjoys its many activities. In recent years the parade has been moved up to 10 a.m. in hopes it will be a cooler time, and several interesting new activities have been added.

We are so thankful for the frequent rains and cooler temperatures this past week. I drove down toDecatur on Saturday, Aug. 6, and picked up barbecue chicken dinners for our lunch. It was so hot I didn’t hang around long, but my sister Nancy and I returned that evening to hear the Marty Stuart concert.

A thunderstorm moved in and the resultant lightning and light rainfall unfortunately cut the concert short. We were disappointed about the abbreviated show but were very appreciative of the moisture. Heavier rainfalls the next few nights have helped revive my flowers and our garden plants, and a few pink lilies are emerging beside the garden shop.

Fresh fruits are one of the delights of summer for me. I’ve heard there are some good peaches to be purchased this year, and they’reone of my favorites. We have a cantaloupe vine that came up out near the garden shop and I picked the first melon from it this week. I’d been told a mature melon would simply fall off the vine when ripe; and when I went out at midweek, sure enough, there it lay, unattached. I’m looking forward to enjoying slices of it, topped with some freshly-grated black pepper.

Aunt Leta’s caregiver recently shared part of a watermelon with us. It was juicy and sweet and I’ve been enjoying it. In the 1850s, missionary-explorer Dr. David Livingston found watermelons growing wild in the Kalahari desert and semitropical regions. Native to Africa, they were a vital source of water in the many desert areas. Egyptians cultivated melons 4,000 years ago. Introduced into southern Europe by the Moors, they were carried east to China and later taken into Britain.

By the 16th century, watermelons were grown successfully in warm areas of Europe. They were brought to the New World by European colonists and Africans and today are grown in all warm regions. In colonial America, they were crushed to make juice, some of which was fermented into wine. In other countries, watermelon juice is boiled down to a sweet syrup. In Asia the seeds are roasted and eaten as a snack.

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong Benton County resident.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 08/17/2011