June 23, 2023 - It would be hard to find a Timpson citizen more active in civic affairs than Marilyn Corder, and that includes being director of Timpson's Annual Frontier Days celebration. The first Timpson Frontier Days was held in the early 1960s but by the mid 1990s interest had waned and the ambulance service and fire department, who had been putting it on, did not want to continue, according to Corder. In 1997, when Chamber of Commerce member Corder learned of the possibility of ending Frontier Days, she expressed her concern with then President George Frame. He said “Are you willing to do it? I said 'I've never done anything like that in my life. He said 'Are you willing to try'? I said 'Yes, I'll try'.” 26 years later, Frontier Days and Marilyn Corder are still going strong.
Corder's first stipulation was that admission be free. “I didn't want any fences. I remembered bringing my family up here to Frontier Days and it cost me over $100 just to get them all through the gate. I didn't want that. I wanted it to be a community affair where people could come and bring their lawn chairs and sit and watch and visit and not have to spend any money. If they had money to spend, they could spend it on the vendors,” Corder said.
This article is copied from Shelby County Today without permission.
“Frontier Days was originally organized by Ed Hooper and Ben Panell. The community got behind it and everyone dressed in period costumes. There was a parade, a contest for lady’s bonnets, one for the oldest person riding into town in a wagon, a horseshoe pitching contest, a washer pitching contest, a gospel singing, a street dance, a fiddlers contest, a horse show, a sack race, and the crowning of Miss Frontier Days, among other things. By the time I took it over it had dwindled and our first year it was very small,” Corder continued. “I didn't know anything about bands, vendors, or much else. But I learned and the next year it was a little bigger and has continued to grow every year since then. Each year the Chamber President came up with a few more things we could add.”
“The gospel singing had been popular under Sonny Tippett's management, but with his death, his wife took it over for a few years and then I began managing it. The Calvary Boys always performed at the singing and Aubrey King told me when I took it over that he would help us grow the singing and we didn't owe them anything for their appearance until the singing began to show a profit. One year we finally made $30 and I made them take $100 over his protests,” Corder revealed. “After a few years we moved from the high school auditorium to the First Baptist Church, where we still have it. We still feature The Calvary Boys, as well as other top gospel groups such as The Southern Plainsmen.”
“The Frontier Days gospel singing, as well as the cake sale, are among the primary fund raisers for the Chamber each year,” Corder shared. “The money goes to support Chamber of Commerce civic projects such as scholarships for Timpson High School seniors, Christmas decorations for the city, and the disc golf course in the park.”
TAGHS member and long-time Chamber officer Paul Smith added “The money has enabled Marilyn to keep the Frontier Days street activities free to the public”.
“Two years ago, we lost our carnival rides when the man who owned the company sold out. We went a couple of years with a carnival until Paul was driving somewhere on a trip and saw a carnival. He approached the owner about coming to Frontier Days and he did. They were successful and are coming back this year with additional rides. The carnival rides are one of the most popular attractions at Frontier Days, especially with the kids, and we're happy to have them back, thanks to Paul.”
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“People frequently offer suggestions or ideas they have that they would like to see brought back or added to Frontier Days, and this is great. But I'm not getting any younger and there is a limit to what I can handle, so I tell them I'm in favor of their suggestion but they will have to be the person who puts it on, because my plate is full. For example, the Miss Frontier Days Contest was brought back last year and Teri Alexander put it together and did a great job, but we only had two contestants. After seeing the quality of the contest last year, more girls were interested in competing this year and we had eight contestants. The contest is open to all Junior and Senior girls enrolled at Timpson High School and Cale Cornelius is this year's Miss Frontier Days. Robin's daughter Amy did an excellent job of putting it on this year and I think we'll have even more contestants next year. The car show will be back this year, after the parade, with the cars on display in front of the old Fox Theater competing for cash prizes,” Corder concluded.
Paul Smith added “Two important things need to be emphasized here. First, if it weren't for Marilyn Corder, there would be no Frontier Days. She starts working on the next year's celebration as soon as this year's celebration is over. Second, she needs volunteers! She works tirelessly but she can't do it all by herself.”
This year's Frontier Days kicks off on Thursday, June 29, with the carnival rides opening at 5pm on the plaza downtown and a street dance featuring DJ Berio at 6pm. Vendors will be open all day Friday with DJ Berio returning for another street dance from 7pm until 10pm. The annual Frontier Days Gospel Concert starts at 6:30pm at the First Baptist Church, featuring The Calvary Boys and The Southern Plainsmen Quartet. Admission is $10.
The Frontier Days Parade starts at 10am on Saturday with participation open to anyone who would like to join in, followed by the opening ceremonies, the car show, and a full slate of activities all afternoon. The THS twirlers perform at 7pm, followed by the annual cake auction at 8pm, and a street dance with music by Chris Wells, Trey Wilson, and Jason Pate until 11am. A community-wide church service will be held Sunday at 6pm on the plaza closes the festival. Bring your own chairs.
This article is copied from Shelby County Today without permission.
The Timpson Area Genealogical Society meets at 2pm on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in downtown Timpson. The TAGHS library is located within the Timpson Public Library and is open and staffed from 9AM until 5PM weekdays. Telephone 936-254-2966 and ask for the Genealogical Library.
