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Anderson Creek Bear Pickin' |
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Evaluations of Accomplishments |
STORY OF THE QUILT SQUARE, BEAR PICKIN', BY ANDERSON CREEK EXTENSION
HOMEMAKERS CLUB FOR HARNETT COUNTY HISTORICAL QUILT, 1989 Anderson Creek Bear Pickin' It
happened in Anderson Creek in the middle of May, 1978 for the first
time. It began with 9 men and a cookout in the front yard of Kenny
Shaw's home. All the men were members of the Anderson Creek Hunting
Club. The
first try at cooking a good tasting bear failed and so each year they
try again. Now its called the Annual Anderson Creek Bear Pickin'. It
seems it becomes a community cookout where 400 to 500 total strangers
show up. Invitation travels by word of mouth. Every
year it gets bigger and bigger. Now they have a live band, and sell
t-shirts, hats and ceramic bears. The
bear is usually gotten from Maine by the hunting club members but some
have been caught in the thickets of Pender and Bladen Counties. The
men usually do the cooking of the bear. Because no one had cooked bear
before they just threw it on the grill. After attending someone else's
bear pickin', they found out you have to cut the bear fat off because
the fat makes the meat taste sour. To get it moist and tender you've got
to start early and cook it slowly between 175 and 200 degrees. The bear
meat is started about 7:]0 A. ;.1. for the 6: 00 serving time. Wives
of the members of the Hunting Club bring tons of potato salad, baked
beans, and any other things they may fix. Brownies, stewed cabbage, pies
and an assortment of other foods are brought in large quantities. Even
the wives can't keep up with the demand each year because they never
know how many will show up. People
start coming with lawn chairs and coolers about noon. The men play in
horseshoe contests, drink beer and the kids swing on tire swings. After
the food has been eaten, the band starts up and so does the dancing. The
Shaw's small trailer can't accommodate the mass of people that would be
going in and out of the trailer for the restrooms, so this year a
portable restroom was brought in. The yard is said to look like a
landfill the next day and each year they say they'll have it at someone
else's house next year but it hasn't happened yet. It
is said that 80% of the people at the Bear Pickin's last name is Shaw.
Mrs. Karen :Shaw videotapes the event as well as ) others with their
camcorder and cameras. Submitted
by: Linda Adams, Mrs. Larry) Ass.
Sec. Anderson Creek School Sources:
Newspaper Clippings Personal
knowledge from attending Parts
of this article were taken from 'The Fayetteville Times, Tuesday, May
15, 1990, Issue Quilt
Square: Row 5 Number 26 Embroidery
and applique by: Lena Stewart, -President Anderson
Creek Extension Homemakers Club |
