Plans set for 136th Doan’s Picnic at historic Adobe

On Saturday, May 4, the 136th Doan’s May Picnic will be celebrated as visitors from near and far gather on the grounds of the historic Doan’s Adobe north of Vernon.
Reigning over the festivities will be the 2019 King and Queen, Eli Lynn Wilson and Caylee Olivia Streit and their courts. A highlight of the event will also be the recognition of this year’s Doan’s Picnic Man and Woman of the year, Dr. J.C. Parmer and Elsie Mae Goins Ashby.
Registration will begin at 10 a.m. The morning’s entertainment will feature The Eagle Flats Brats Dulcimer Group. The welcome will be given by Mayor Doug Jeffrey with Rochelle White Beam, 1975 Queen, and Randall Mints, 1982 King, serving as masters of ceremonies.
The flags will be presented by the Santa Rosa Palomino Club. Pledges to the American and Texas flags will be led by Kimberly Dawn Bria 1992 Queen, and Joe Don Wilson, 1988 King. Halie Mae Hilburn will sing the National Anthem, and Joe Dale Wilson will offer the invocation.
The Man and Woman of the Year will be presented and gifted with plaques.
The 2018 Royal Court will be presented with King Jackson Creede Stafford and Queen Marlie Faye Morris, crowning this year’s King and Queen.
The Picnic Proclamation will be read by the parents of the 2019 King and Queen, Jason Mitchell and Shelley Cato Streit and David Lynn and Rhemy Lark Wilson.
Following the ceremony, a lunch fundraiser by the Northside Junior Class will available.
Since 1884, the Doan’s Picnic has offered a time of celebration, heritage and tradition. On the first Saturday in May, hundreds of visitors gather beneath the tall trees on the lawn of the Doan’s adobe north of Vernon for the oldest continuous celebration of its kind in Texas. The adobe, which still stands and serves as the site of the event, is the oldest structure in Wilbarger County.
The Doan’s picnic grew out of a time when the pioneer Doan’s family celebrated May Day with a picnic in nearby Watts Grove. The group repeated it the next year, and the picnic then became a tradition.
The late 1880’s was a time of cowboys and cattle drives, Indians and pioneers when land was being settled, homesteads were carved out of the wild country, and thousands of longhorns were taken down the Western Trail through what is now Vernon. The cattle were taken across the Red River near Doan’s Crossing, so called after the establishment of the Jonathan Doan’s trading post nearby. Although the once thriving community is gone, the picnic continues as a tribute to early-day settlers, cattle drivers and pioneers. The picnic for many years included a variety of event and activities including horse racing, carnival rides, political speeches, music, food and even airplane rides. Crowning of a queen began in 1911, and a king was added in 1939. In 1968, the Doan’s Picnic Association began honoring a man or woman of the year, which changed some 10 years later to honoring both a man and woman.
Below is a brief synopsis of the history of this year’s Doan’s king and queen. Photos and information on Parmer and Ashby, the Man and Woman of the Year, are on Page 2B of this addition. Additional information as well as photos from the 2019 Doan’s Picnic will be featured in upcoming editions of The Vernon Record.
Doan’s King
King Eli Lynn Wilson is the nine-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. David Lynn Wilson of the Northside Community. His mother is the former Rhemy Lark Davis. Eli’s family has resided in Wilbarger County for generations. Paternal grandparents are Ronnie Lynn and Vidue Ann Word Wilson of the Northside Community. They are a lifelong resident of Wilbarger County where they farm and ranch. Ann worked for many years as a schoolteacher at Northside School before retiring. Eli’s uncle Joe Don Wilson was king in 1988.
Eli’s paternal great-grandparents are the late Roy Denton Jr. (R.D.) and Nona Nickel Wilson of the Northside Community and Patsy Shelton Word, 2016 Woman of the Year, and the late Billy Joe Word of Vernon.
Paternal great-great-great grandparents, T.H. and Texana Harvey Holloway, came by train to Wilbarger County in October 1888 from Limestone County, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Holloway gave the land to build the present town of Odell. A daughter, Ada Virginia, married Claybourne Dean Shelton and together they homesteaded and accumulated lad in the Odell area. Thirteen children were born to them. A son, Darrell Rufus Shelton, married Vidue Lytle, daughter of G.L. and Martha Lytle, also Odell citizens. Vidue Shelton died in 1973 and Darrell Shelton died in 1994. Eli is the great-great grandson of that union.
Great-great-great grandfather, Isaac Word, settled in Hardeman County in 1889. One son, Earnest Word, Eli’s great-great grandfather, homesteaded a section of land east of Chillicothe. Half of that land is still owned, farmed, and the homestead lived in by family members. Earnest married Willie Powell of Lebonon, Tennessee.
Eli is a descendent of paternal great-great-great-grandparents, Alvis and Mellis Stuart Wilson, who came to Wilbarger County in the early 1920’s. In 1926, great-great grandparents, Roy Denton and Hattie Bryan Wilson moved to this county from Paris, Texas. They were hard-working, honest farmers who settled in the Fargo Community. Roy was an elder of the Fargo Church of Christ and a school board member prior to his death in 1950.
The Kings’ maternal grandparents are Susan Roebuck Davis of Waxahachie, Texas and the late Charles Michael Davis. Great grandparents were the late John Edward and Betty Jo Loftis Roebuck and the late Francis Charles and Mildred Marcel Johnson Davis. Both the Roebuck and Davis families have history in agriculture in Ellis County, Texas
King Eli is in the third grade at Northside School where he is an honor student. He is an active in the Northside 4-H Club and has participated in Lion’s Club kid league baseball. He has two brothers, Chainey, age 17 and Eric, age 3. Eli and his family attend the Fargo Church of Christ.
Doan’s Queen
Caylee Olivia Streit is the daughter of Jason Mitchell Streit and Shelley Cato Streit of Vernon, Texas. Terry and Donita Cato, Vernon are her maternal grandparents. Charles Glenn Cato and the late Ida Lou Waggoner Cato, Vernon; and Doris L. Caylor and the late Dan Caylor, Vernon are her maternal great grandparents. The late Charles and Vergie Sue Lockett Cato, Vernon; and the late Dow Jordon Waggoner and the late Ida Kyle Ayers Waggoner, Vernon are her maternal great great grandparents.
Queen Caylee’s paternal grandparents are Freddie and Sue Ann Streit, Vernon; and Janice Streit, Vernon. Ruth Streit and the late Otto Streit, Vernon; Johnnie Baldwin and the late Andy Baldwin, Vernon; and the late Dave and Donna Summerour, Vernon is her paternal great grandparents. The late F.A. Streit and Martha, Vernon are her paternal great great grandparents.
Queen Caylee’s maternal great grandfather, C. Glenn Cato, grew up in Lockett, Texas, on the family farm. His maternal grandparents, TJ (Tillman) and Mattie Lockett, came from Tennessee in 1888 to a section of land on Highway 70, later named Lockett after the family. His Cato grandparents, also from Tennessee, farmed on their land along the Pease River north of Lockett. Mr. Cato was also Doan’s Outstanding Man of the Year in 2018. Queen Caylee’s maternal great grandmother, Ida Lou Cato, also grew up in Lockett. Her mother, Ida Kyle Ayers Waggoner, came from Cedar Grove and her father, Dow Jordon Waggoner, from Kaufman County.
Queen Caylee’s paternal late great grandfather, Otto Streit, grew up south of Locket on the family farm. His maternal grandparents, Carl and Sophia Haseloff, came from Germany and settled in the Lockett community in 1901. His paternal grandfather, Alex Streit, came from Switzerland in 1882 with his parents Christian and Anna Streit and his five brothers. They landed in Galveston, TX, purchased a two-wheel wagon and two ox and walked their way to Wilbarger county. Queen Caylee’s paternal great grandmother, Ruth Streit, came to Wilbarger county in 1930 when her father, Herbert Pieman, took a job as preacher at Zion Lutheran Church in Lockett. Ruth Streit was also Doan’s Outstanding Woman of the Year in 2015.
Queen Caylee, along with her twin brother Caylor and other brother Cayson, lives on the farm originally established by Alex Streit in 1895. She is the 7th generation of her family to live in Wilbarger County. The homestead, located near Lockett, Texas is also where Caylee’s father (Jason), grandfather (Freddie) and great grandfather (Otto) were raised. Jason Streit farms, carrying on the family tradition, and also owns and operates World Wide Notary, an electronic notary software company; Shelley was also raised in Lockett in the old Aubrey Lockett home up on the hill. She is an active Campfire leader, serves on the Meals on Wheels board and is currently a busy homemaker.
Queen Caylee is eight years old and in the 2nd grade at Central Elementary where she is an Honor Roll student. She is also a member of Camp Fire. Among her hobbies is playing basketball and gymnastics. She loves the outdoors, swimming and cheering. Caylee and her family are members of Zion Lutheran Church in Lockett. Caylee has a twin brother Caylor Otto Streit who is serving as a Royal Plaque Bearer and a younger brother Cayson Owen Streit who is 7 years old and is serving as a Royal Gift Bearer in their sister’s royal court for 136th Doan’s May Picnic.