By Doug Graham
news@joplinglobe.com
HEPLER, Kan. — The only rules that apply are Hepler rules.
That’s the motto for the Hillbilly Games, a set of off-the-wall physical challenges held every Fourth of July in the farm town of Hepler, Kan., population 150.
Two teams pushed four-wheelers through a slalom course made of tall cardboard tubes. Their objective: Weave through the tubes and throw toilet seats horseshoe-style onto the poles at each end.
Doug Harris, mayor of Hepler and “Head Hillbilly,” said he came up with the idea for the toilet seat slalom just this year.
“I try to think about what we waste out on the farm and then think about what we can do with it,” Harris said.
The cardboard tubes once held netting used for baling hay, the toilet seats came from a nursing home.
More examples of farmyard recycling: There was a “chariot race” in which children rode in old cattle feeding tubs that were dragged with lariats; and an obstacle course in which contestants climbed bales of hay.
This year’s grand finale came in the form of a “hillbilly bath,” in which contestants had to grab for bars of soap hidden in a pool filled with murky brown pond water.
Harris cited family and friends as a reason for putting on the games every year.
“It’s good times, it’s camaraderie, togetherness ... if you take it too serious, we really don’t want you here.”
The winning team, named “The Ericas,” was made up of Hillbilly Games veterans, including Hepler native Matt Baker. Baker plays every year.
“This is hillbilly Christmas,” said Baker, still dripping from the bath after being presented with his prize money.
Max Forsyth came from Pennsylvania with his family just for Hepler’s Independence Day celebration. He is a descendant of the Hepler family who founded the town more than a century ago.
“The whole time I was at home, my friends would ask me and I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to Kansas ... I don’t know, some family thing,’” Forsyth said. “But I got here and I’m having a blast.”
Harris has been in charge of the games for about 10 years but hasn’t tired of them yet.
“No, because I change the game,” Harris said. “And the kids keep getting younger. A few years ago all the kids grew up, but now their kids are out here.”
Hepler is home
Bernard O’Brien, a lifelong Hepler resident, had good reason to come to this year’s games — his grandchildren, 10 of whom were in the competition.
“We’ve been out here since 1868,” O’Brien said. “Hepler is home.”
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Hepler marks Fourth of July with off-the-wall games
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
