History
of
The Osage Valley Vigilantes
(condensed version)
Chapter One--- Incubation and Birth
In the early 1990's a man in Garden City, Missouri set about to put on a weekend festival for people to come and display and demonstrate crafts, sell some of their handiwork and experience some amateur and professional entertainment. It went over due to a lot of volunteers who thought it was a good idea and pitched in to help. It went over so well many of the volunteers said let's do it again only bigger and better. It went over bigger and better. Some things, not so popular were dropped. Others, like the gunfighter shows were expanded and improved. Ram shackle sheds were moved into line and renovated to become buildings in an old west town. New buildings were built to finish out the Old West Town set. This included a two story saloon and hotel. The town became Mack's Town. The players became Mack's Gang in honor of the feller who owned the property and had started the whole thing. It became so popular we made the newspapers and TV news shows in Kansas City.
Things went fine for three or four years then there came a parting of the ways. The volunteers noted a change in direction in the shows. Mack wanted to go to more of a Buffalo Bill Wild West show with horses, ropes and whip acts while the bulk of the volunteers wanted to go more toward the gunfighter acting shows. The result was an abrupt and somewhat painful parting of the ways. Those with shops in Mack's Town were given two weeks to move out. Those not following the new direction were also invited to depart.
That left a lot of us out. We had been having fun and didn't want to quit. We decided to gather and see if we couldn't find a way to keep on with what we had been doing. We met and started a new group on August 20, 1998. We elected a president, vice president, secretary and a treasurer. We agreed to operate under Robert's Rules of Order. As no one had a name right off we agreed to each think of a name and we'd vote on it at a later meeting. We agreed to continue meeting on Thursday nights at 7PM. The routine would be business meeting first followed by skit practice. This routine has been the same up to this day with only slight variations for unusual circumstances. The new group was founded by not 2 or 4 or 6 people as claimed by some disgruntled former members, but by a houseful of people. At the second meeting, August 27, 1998, various names were proposed. Of those considered, The Osage Valley Vigilantes, sounded the best. There was a problem. We were not in the Osage Valley. We were in the South Fork of the Grand River Valley. But The Osage Valley Vigilantes sounded so much better that we decided to ignore the geography and go with it. The motion was made, seconded and carried by vote and that's how we became the Osage Valley Vigilantes.
In subsequent chapters you'll get the blood, sweat and tears, and the triumphs and the applause and the look on the kids' faces that made it worth while.
CHAPTER 2
FUN & GAMES
Right off we became a mobile affair. Our industrious engineers built Western sets and we began performing at festivals. My best recollection is that our first performance was a night time shoot out at the Garden City Fall Festival. For the first ever-so-many years Sundance was our public relations man. He contacted and wrote contracts and committed us to just about every festival available in Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas. Our group fluctuated between thirty and forty members. Members joined to have fun and to have fun with their kids. For the first few years we entered contests, competing against other gunfighter groups. We became very good at it. Unlike other groups, we met weekly for skit practice and business meeting. We were prepared. We put on plays representing a town with infants to old people. Our plays were not skits with two or three saloon girls and a couple good guys and a couple bad guys who shoot it out after a brief argument. Out skits might have twenty or thirty people involved in a three act play. But we loved it. It was fun. And we were close friends. If someone had a sick family member it affected all of us. We were all concerned. If someone was in need because of a lost job, members helped out. When you are sick or you have a sick kid, it's hard to have fun. The Vigilantes tried to help our members. It's no fun if someone you care about is not having fun too.
The Osage Valley Vigilantes rode the roads of Western Missouri setting up our portable towns (over the years we have gone through 3 or 4 of them.)and entertaining young and old. Demonstrating the damage blanks do to empty pop cans, and swearing the kids in as Junior Osage Valley Vigilantes with the oath, "If I see a gun or a bullet unaccompanied by an adult I'll run and tell an adult and they'll buy me ice cream for supper." We did it for a dozen years an swore in an awful lot of kids. We all hope we were instrumental in keeping al least one kid from making a serious mistake with a firearm.
In addition to a certificate with the oath and affirmation of Junior Osage Valley Vigilante status we gave out badges and for a time small American flag pins. The badges ranged from the big round metal ones with the big pin on the back, to plastic then to shiny bronze ones.
