Olanta Gator Festival draws appreciative crowd

The fire truck sirens were blaring and people were covering their ears during the annual Olanta Gator Festival Saturday.

But the din didn’t faze 95-year-old Nancy McFadden. She had a front row seat and was decked in a blue outfit with a matching blue hat. She was fanning away the gnats with a church fan.

“Well, it was pretty good,” she said, “except they didn’t have no music. I thought they would have some bands.”

Otis Wheeler was wearing a Barack Obama shirt. He enjoyed everything about the parade.

“I was raised up around here all my life,” he said. “I’m glad to see this thing still going on. I came out of school in 1978, and it’s still pushing.”

Rodney Poston came over from Coward with his sons Tyler and Caleb. His daughter, Emily, was in one of the dance groups.

Kirk Hill was over at the carnival. He shot a basketball, but it rimmed out. It didn’t bother him.

“I won last night,” he said. “I won me a teddy bear. I got it at my house, and I’m going to give it to my girl later today.”

Drake Matthews, 8, and his cousin Zachery Dorrell had a large time on the Flying Saucer.

“It felt kind of weird going up in the air, but it was fun,” Drake said. “It felt like going up a hill.”

But why was Drake waving his hands wildly in the air during the ride?

“I had my hands in the air because Zachery said he was going to puke,” Drake said.

Rachel Stone was walking Remington, a 14-month-old miniature dachshund mix, around the carnival grounds.

“Remington was in the parade,” she said. “He rode with my grandma. She was riding for transplant donors.”

Johnny Campbell was bemoaning the fact that he didn’t get to ride his customized bicycle in the parade because he got there too late.

Campbell’s bicycle has a car battery in the basket with a radio and CD player hooked up to it. A large speaker is under the seat.

He also has a cross with lights on the front of the bike that light up at night.

“I fixed this bike up with the Lord’s help,” he said. “I listen to gospel music all the time. I like country gospel.”

Campbell says he rides the bike about 15 miles to Watt’s Chapel each Sunday. He said the pastor is Cecil “Buster” Coker.

Meanwhile, over at the flea market, Willia Dean Orange was selling saucy church hats, toys and shoes. She even had a teddy bear sitting in a chair “just waiting on somebody to buy her.”

Laura Mae Miles was sharing a Mountain Dew with her granddaughter. She was selling shirts, pants and “anything you want to buy.” But her best sellers Saturday morning were towels and bed linens.

Joanne Ard was assisting Miles. She was puffing away on a cigarette when somebody said they would be coming back.

“They all say they’re coming back,” Ard said while gently placing the cigarette on the ground to assist a customer. “But we don’t ever seen them again.”

But David Wilson is one person who sees plenty of repeat business. His father owns Footsie’s, a popular eatery in downtown Olanta. Wilson was cooking ribs and chicken on a grill.

Asked the secret to his chicken and ribs recipe, he quipped, “A belly full.”

Frank Sistrunk, owner of Olanta’s only drug store, was the festival director.

“This was my first year at the helm,” he said. “I learned a lot the more involved I got. Everything seems to have turned out real well.”