DECATUR -- When Lloyd Peterson and a group of prominent Decatur citizens first threw chicken quarters on a barbecue grill in 1953, little did they know their action would create a town tradition that would last more than six decades.
The Decatur Barbecue, now in its 62nd year, has become one of Northwest Arkansas' premier events. This year's event begins at 7 a.m. on Aug. 1 with the 5K run from Edmiston Park and ends Saturday night with a spectacular fireworks display at Veterans Park in Decatur.
The event began in August of 1953 as the Decatur Homecoming Barbecue, with the Miss Decatur Barbecue and tiny tot pageants, a parade and lots of barbecue chicken dinners. One year later, in 1954, it became the Decatur Barbecue, still with the same beauty and tiny tot pageants, parade and more barbecue chicken. Unlike the first event, which was organized to honor all the Decatur residents for their loyalty and support to the city through hard times, the 1954 event was in celebration of the city being voted" All-America City Under 1,000" by the National Municipal League and Look Magazine (Decatur was featured in the Feb. 8, 1955, issue of Look). Decatur was alive again!
There has been some debate among old-time residents of Decatur about exactly when the Barbecue started, whether it was in 1953 or in 1954. But one thing that they all agree on is that the Decatur Barbecue has become one of the long-standing traditions in Northwest Arkansas.
From the first event in 1953 to that of 2014, the Decatur Barbecue has always been about community. And at the heart of that community is the family.
And, when it became apparent, after several conversations with Jesse Keith Whitley's agent and Pat Austin, that Whitley wanted to carry on his family legacy of performing at the Decatur Barbecue, the theme for this year's event was born.
"A Family Affair" highlights all the different aspects of the Barbecue over the decades that involved the family. After all, it was the Peterson family that kept Decatur alive. With them were families like the Austins, Wilmoths, Rollers, Bredehoefts, Setsers and Montgomerys, who provided strength and stability to the town so that it, like the mythical Phoenix, rose from the ashes to live again. But more than just these families, the entire population of Decatur, from the 390 in 1955 to the 1,699 today, all had a part in the building of this city.
In 1954, as part of the magazine article on the town, a photographer captured an image that would never be duplicated again. The entire town of Decatur, from infants to long-time residents, posed on Main Street south of the four-way light to take an epic photograph of the essence of Decatur. Later the caption in the article read, "Here is the entire population of Decatur -- all 390 of them. There could be no such picture even attempted today if citizens hadn't acted to keep their town alive."
That photo captured, in 1954, the single most important reason to celebrate the Decatur Barbecue: the people of Decatur.
All about families
The Decatur Barbecue has grown over the decades. In 1988, the numbers reached a record 14,000 people. That year Jesse Whitley's father, Keith, performed at City Park. Pat Austin recalls that "there where people everywhere that year." A year later, in 1989, Jesse's mother, Lorrie Morgan, performed on the same stage as that of her late husband. That year saw 10,000 people shoe horned into City Park.
The Decatur Barbecue has been and always will be a family affair. Families brave thunderstorms (the 2013 event) to run together in the 5k race. Kids tie their legs to a sibling or friend to hop along in a potato sack, hoping to cross the finish line first in the sack race. Teens from all over Northwest Arkansas walk across the stage in hopes of impressing judges and becoming the next Miss Decatur Barbecue. Families gather in their own little patch of the park to hear a concert performed by a noted country music star. This is what the Decatur Barbecue is all about, a family affair!
General News on 07/29/2015