Reflections Back

As I come to an end of my participation in the Black Iron Gang in Roswell, I wanted to reflect on the enjoyment and adventures I have had with my fellow cooks/friends.

It all started back seven years ago, when Megan and I moved to Roswell, NM to take care of her Mom. I had met Bill Hartman before we had moved so I had an outside contact besides Megan's brother Rory. I feel that Bill and I bonded into friends one because of the love of horses, two we had similar medical conditions that we could talk to one another on our situations. I believe it started one day when I was unloading a trailer full of stuff that my Dutch Ovens came into view, Bill asked if I cooked and I said "yes I love cooking in my Dutch Ovens and had been for several years in Montana". Bill had a friend that also cooked in Dutch Ovens and they had cooked on a Chuck Wagon in a competition. They also cooked for different groups/ranches and hunters. So he introduced me to Walt Lowe and we became fast friends.

Walt Lowe, I have learned is a perfectionist and has some sense of order about him. I on the other hand have no organizational skills or perfected anything. I guess they say opposites attract. We commenced to start our little group of DO cooks and it turned into one to the best times in my life, cooking whenever we got the chance once a month or more as we saw fit. Walt asked I if we would like to cook on a Chuck Wagon at the Lincoln County Symposium Chuck Wagon Cook Off. I jumped at the chance.

Walt introduced me to an old coot by the handle of Wayne Slinkard, he was an old time DO cook and owned his own wagon and had competed with Walt and Bill on a couple of occasions. Wayne owned the La Junta wagon out of Roswell, NM. It is a beautiful wagon, every detail is the right period in history of the wagon. It was Wayne's wagon that we were going to compete with at the Symposium. As time grew closer we had a practice cook out almost three weeks in a row. Boy did we eat and have a lot of friends join us to get a feed back on our food. We had good comments so we commenced to carry on. Unfortunately Wayne had a heart attack just before we were to leave, we were all thankful that he had survived that ordeal. We continued on and practiced and practiced. The next year came up and some of us were not going to be there for the Symposium, so we did not go.

The third year we decided to borrow Phelps Anderson of Roswell's wagon from the Circle Diamond to compete with. Phelps was excited that we were going to use the wagon and offered any help that we needed to compete with. He gave us a name of a fellow that competed on the wagon before, Tony Krakauskis (I believe that's how you spell his last name?). Tony came to a practice and we were doing Chicken Fried Steak, because that is what everyone did at the cook off. He said they buried their meat in the ground and let it cook over night and by the time judging was due it would all be done. So we practiced that and it turned out well everyone seemed to think that's the way to go. So that's what we did, even the beans went into a hole to cook all night. We had the meat, the beans, Walt made the biscuits, and dessert, Bill was in charge of the potatoes and they were going to be mashed, I was in charge of meat and beans. Tony did a Hominy cheese filler dish not to be judged, just to add to the meal. It was all fun, we slept at the wagon I was lucky to have a tent, Bill and Walt were true cowboys sleeping on their bed rolls under the stars but on cots. Tony went back to town. When it was all done feeding fifty paying customers and a bunch of friend's we were wiped out. Walt went to the judging meeting and came back with a check for third place on Bill's potatoes. We were shocked as we had no thoughts of even placing. We were there for the fun and fellow ship, and to meet other cooks. That has always been our motto; put out the best meal we could, have a good time and remain friend's after it was all done. Mission accomplished.

We competed a total of five years on the Circle Diamond and came home with additional place's in the competition both in the Meat category a forth and a fifth place as always a surprise to us.

Along the way we lost a couple of our cooks Tony for one, had other things to do, the other one did not fit into our group like we hoped.

Then came a long a tall young man named Madux Hobbs, he lives in Roswell, and was a good friend of Bills as his dad and Bill were best of buds. His dad had been a good friend of Megan's family growing up with her brothers. Madux just wanted to help out anyway he could, so he worked as what in the old days the cookie called a "Little Mary" who did all his odds and ends that he did not want to do. Madux did so with vigor. The next year we put him to cooking more. Madux has turned his cooking into smoke meat competitions and is doing really well. He has several first place wins.

Then Walt and Wayne had a friend named Bobby Wooley (State Representative), who is a politician through and through but we did not hold that against him. He is doing a really good job looking out for the people of his district and all of New Mexico. He enjoys the cowboy life and liked cooking. He came in as our bean man and made some damn fine beans. He is also a great cook when it comes to smoking meat. Since I have known Bobby, he probably has cooked a hundred hogs, whole, halves, quarters, pieces and parts. What a friend to have in your group.

During all this time Walt decided he needed a place to cook at his house so he built a really nice outdoor kitchen that was blessed with the name Black Iron Kitchen. It is great cooking there it is like fine dining outside. We cooked a many a meal out there, they were all considered practice. We learned a lot from each other on techniques we used and tried that worked. Always sharing among each other.

This is how we came up with the name Black Iron Gang sitting around the Black Iron Kitchen and the name just came up from someone we all liked it so that was it. Megan designed aprons and we had them made up to match, we even had some made for the wives as they helped with prep serving and clean up. It developed into a great fellow ship. 

We started to smoke more meat along with our DO cooking. We did some really big parties, that took three days to cook for and organize. We cooked twice in Santa Fe, NM at the capital, once for the politicians around two hundred I would guess, the second time in a snow storm we cooked for all the staff at the capital building, for the Lobbyists who wanted to thank them for all their hard work, we served nearly seven hundred people. Boy were we wore out. We cooked at rodeo's, for a Republican party fund raiser, Walt and Bobby even traveled to Hobbs, NM to feed. I got to cook on the NMMI trail ride for three days and ride my horse, can't beat that.

We found out that a friend of ours grandson liked to cook in the DO's so we added him to our competition crew, starting at the bottom and working his way up. Robert Floyd 16  years old and a great young man. We even let him drive until we found out he has no drivers license at that time. But this soon passed and he hauls us old farts all over town getting supplies when we are competing. He even got to cook last year and made a great cobbler. 

That's when I started my quest to have a youth competition at the Symposium. They do it at all the others so why not here. For Robert and his talent. We will have to see as I will not be here to assist with that deal.

Along the way you meet some wonderful people that you know will be on your friend list forever. That person is Wayne Calk from El Paso, TX. He is a true Historian of the times when Chuck Wagons came into play. He caters out of Texas all over the place. I first met him at the Billy the Kid days in Lincoln, NM. He had his chuck wagon Calk/Clark set up there giving demonstrations and explaining to public the purpose and history of the Chuck Wagon. We admired his cooking stove, a four side with a cooking surface. So we took pictures and went to the drawing board. We made ours off his and we came up with a bigger better fire box. The next year at the Symposium Wayne camped across the road from us. So I told him to come on buy and look over our fire box. He did and went and got his camera to take pictures of it. The next time he came back to the Symposium he brought his big cook stove so we could not compare. Last year he was at the Billy the Kid Day's with his 1921 Ford converted into a Chuck Truck we had seen it at the Symposium one year they had two and they raced around the track it was pretty entertaining. Any way he brought back his improved fire box, it looked great. He had added legs to it so when catering he could cook on top of a paved surface and not damage it. It was the best weekend in Lincoln. He had his friend Steve Woods there, between them two and Walt and I we had a great time just talking pitching ideas and recipes back and forth. Walt was interested in the Chuck Truck as he is building one him self so there were designs and calculations flying all over. Wayne's run in with the law went viral when I put it on Facebook and on our blog, it was hilarious. 

I hope to return again next year to the Cowboy Symposium to see my good friends and enjoy our fellow ship. I also have met some wonderful people on Facebook in a few groups that have helped me grow in my ways of cooking and learning from them. One couple in particular Russ and Susan Richins from AZ. We finally met at the Symposium, it was a great time between cooking and competing to know them face to face and not on the internet.  

We lost Megan's mom and my dad three years ago. Living on the farm in Roswell, it was decided that the family would sell the whole works. Megan and I would move back to Montana where all of my family lives and our one son and his family. It took three years to sell the farm ground as we wanted to sell it all together but things don't always work out how we want. Any way we sold the farm ground and kept 1.8 acres the house and barns to sell separately. 

We have had three deals on the sale of the house but people are having a hard time with financing. This one we are into know is the most promising one so far. If it comes through we will be gone by March 10th. to Northwest Montana to be by our oldest son and his family.

So to all my friends in New Mexico,Texas and AZ, Adios! You do not know how deeply I will miss you. You are not friends anymore you are my family. Remember this and I quote from my one of my favorite movie's, (The Man from Snow River) "You are welcome to my fire anytime."