On May 5 the Marauders made the grand opening of the new Medicine Park Self-Serve Library. Madam Olga presided over the ceremonies since she had foreseen it all happening. The Law (Marshal Payne, Deputies Elmer Fudge & Pack Mule) came with the Marauder Comic Book. “The Great Stagecoach Holdup” for the first book. The Seth Wright Gang (Seth, Rattlesnake, Little Britches & Tex Critter) showed up with the Marauder Comic Book, “The Great Train Robbery.” The Law argued the Train Robbery was just a bunch of lies as it depicted the Gang getting away with the Gold. The Gang said the Stagecoach book was all wrong as they had never been caught doing anything wrong. While both side argued Little Britches tried to peddle fake library cards to unsuspecting citizens. Thing escalated into a gunfight. Madam Olga held both books while the bullets flew. Soon all were out of bullets and things were still not settled. Madam Olga declared it a draw and that both books would go into the new library at the same time. Tow of our fine ladies, Mrs Linda & Pistol Annie, wished everyone could just get along. That thought lead to a sing-along and we all joined in with the Possum Song lead by deputy Odie.

Little Britches fake library card.

]]> http://medicineparkmarauders.com/2012/05/06/medicine-parl-library-opening/feed/ 0 http://medicineparkmarauders.com/2012/04/20/oklahoma-arts-council-show/ http://medicineparkmarauders.com/2012/04/20/oklahoma-arts-council-show/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:11:03 +0000 http://medicineparkmarauders.com/?p=446 The Oklahoma Arts Council rode into town on April 18^th fer a two day meeting and to have a look around our fine camp. On the 19^th they went a wanderin’ round scountin’ what the town had to offer. Seein’ how they’s a bunch of tenderfeet about this here parts the law decided twas best to go out a let them know about how wild it still was here. You never know when that Seth Gang, or some other wild cowboy, might decided to ride into town and cause trouble. Marshal Payne, Calamity Lee, Pack Mule and Cactus Jack set out to find they before the outlaws did.

Sure e-nuff the law no sooner started to warn them when Miz Linda and Pistol Annie came a running up shoutin’ fer the law. The Marshal settled them down so’s to figure out what they were so riled up about. Miz Linda related that she was accosted by some varmint and robbed of proceeds of her shop on her way to the bank. It happened right outside Pistol Anne’s shop as witnessed by Miz Annie herself. Nether one know the name of culprit, but both got a good look and could describe him.

The Marshal figured they best be getting a wanted poster out quick before that varmint could get out of the territory. The law needed one of them composite drawin’ done from the description those two fine ladies could give. The Marshal figurin’ there must be an artist in that crowd, asked, “Is there an ar-teest in the house?” Unexpectedly the notorious Little Britches step forward sayin’ she was a good quick drawer. Seth Wright was with her and the law was ready to arrest them, but both Miz Linda said it wern’t them that done it.

Seth agreed that Little Britches was a real good fast drawer. He said she could clear leather and sling lead faster then anyone he knowed. Little Britches said this time she was a talkin’ about a lead pencil, not hot lead. The Marshal figured this might be one the outlaw’s tricks and ask her were she’d learn to draw anything besides a six-gun.

Little Britches explained that when she was a youngin, “knee high to a grasshopper,” she found some of them dime novels stashed under her pappy’s mattress. (She taught herself to read usin’ them novels.) One time she found one with a coupon in the back fer learnin’ how to draw. She figured she could use some fancy gun work, sos she sent it off. Turned out to be a correspondence course fer drawing pictures but she took it anyway. She summed things up statin’ she was good at quick drawing in more ways then one.

Since she and Seth were cleared this time, the Marshal agreed to let her have a go at drawing up a picture of the culprit from Miz Linda & Pistol Annie’s description. When they described the villain as having long hair and a big hat, the Marshal spotted a woman in the Arts Council crowd that fit that description and pointed her out. She said it wasn’t her that done it, and the witnesses said it Weren’t her.

After a working on the drawin’ a bit Little Britches realized it was Rattlesnake, one of the Seth Gang and tried to hide the pictures from the law. Deputy Pack Mule was behind her and saw the drawing. He pointed out Rattlesnake who was trying to hide in the crowd. Rattlesnake quickly passed off the bank bag evidence to Miz Denise, who was local trail boss of the art herd, and an innocent by stander in this outlawin’.

The law quickly moved to arrest Rattlesnake. Seth stepped in sayin’, “You can’t arrest him. That’s not a legitimate wanted poster. That’s a poor-trait.” Every one agreed Rattlesnake has a lot of poor traits, but right now he was wanted fer stealin’ Miz Linda’s money. The law told seth they could arrest him too fer aidin’ & abettin’ a wanted man. Seth said; “Abettin’? I aint abettin’. I don’t even have a deck of cards.”

The law moved in to make the arrest. Little Britches jump in to help her fellow gang member get away. Six-guns blazed and bullets flew. Once agin the Seth Gang made a get away as everyone ran out of bullets. When the gun smoke cleared it was seen that Miz Denise had the bank bag. Miz Linda was so grateful she told her to open the bag and help herself to a reward. When Miz Denise reach in she found that those evil outlaws had taken the money and put Wilber their pet rattlesnake in the bag. She tossed Wilber out and he just lay there posin’ fer some pictures.

Meanwhile the Law is still a lookin’ fer this culprit:

Have you seen this outlaw?

We will be gathering at the Park Stomp in Medicine Park on March 18 around 3:00 O’Clock. This will be to pay a tribute to one of our star performers, Larry Morefield, aka Slim. Slim rode off to that great range in the sky last year.

For some fun and a bit of gun slinging come on out the first annual Medicine Park  MPEDA Barbecue Cook-Off on June 15 and 16. We’ll have the old chuck wagon out and the Seth gang will surely try to take over. More details on this event coming soon. Check the Medicine Park website at www.medicinepark.com.

Last year we did a Train Robbery Show in Snyder, and the pesky Seth Gang will be trying to rob it again this year. The Snyder, OK event is the first saturday in October and, even if it is another hot summer, it will be cooled down by then.

Watch for more Medicine Park Marauder events posted here and on the Medicine Park website as they are scheduled.

On Saturday, October 1st, the Medicine Park Marauders had three performances at the Southern Kiowa County Fall Festival in Snyder, OK. The Law, consisting of Marshal Payne, Odie and Pack Mule, was after Miss Floozy Coozy who was wanted for impersonating a beauty queen without an impersonating permit. She was also wanted for embezzling money from the town of Minco where she was the dormer Town Treasurer. However the Medicine Park Law was not concerned with the embezzlement charges as Minco was out of their jurisdiction. Seth Wright and gang members; Rattlesnake Bill, the Crisco Kid and Cerveza de Vaca, were out with their usual mischief and mayhem. Also on hand was Madam Olga. Doozy Floozy and Miss Stacey (another floozy).

The Marauders open their performances with Madam Olga leading the the three floozies in the marauder song on the downtown stage. Cerveza de Vaca joined them providing sound effects. While they were warbling on stage the rest of the Seth Gang harassed the audience and took an onlooker, who was not giving the floozies their deserved attention, off behind the stage and shot him. The outlaws moved up in front of the stage to hassle the singers. Upon hearing the gunshot the law came in looking for the fugitive Floozy Coozy. The Marshal lead the deputies on a search of the audience checking the women’s forearms against the picture of Floozy Coozy’s forearms on the wanted poster. The identifying tattoos on her arms were the only way they could make sure they had the right person.

One of the onlookers pointed out that one of the singers on the stage had those tattoos and the law moved in for an arrest. Pack Mule went up and made the arrest. He spotted Cerveza de Vaca from an old wanted poster and arrested him too. As the Law started to haul them off the rest of the Seth Gang confronted them. A gunfight soon started and the outlaws escaped when the Law ran out of bullets. When the gun smoke cleared Cerveza de Vaca had made a get away with the rest of the gang, but Pack Mule still had Coozy Floozy in custody.

The Law, with their horses worn out from the hard ride to Snyder, decided to take the 12:45 train back. Somehow they forgot there is no train into Medicine park. With Floozy Coozy in irons they boarded the train. Madam Olga and Doozy Coozy also caught the same train. Doozy was sporting a fancy parasol with a strange looking long handle she claimed came all the way from Paris. She did not specify if it was Paris, France or Paris, Texas. While waiting to board the Marshal picked out few able looking young men to deputize and help watch out for the outlaw gang. Once on the train Pack Mule was left to guard Foozy while the Marshal and Odie settled in at the back of the train. Meanwhile madam Olga amazed the passengers with her ability to see future events correctly forecasting that the Seth Gang would stop the train.

About three miles outside of Snyder the Seth Gang struck. As the train stopped Doozy Coozy reveled herself to be Floozy’s twin sister and an accomplice of the Seth Gang. That fancy parasol she was toting turned out to have a 12 gauge shotgun for a handle which she quickly whipped out and got the drop on the law as the outlaws boarded the train. The gang relieved the law of Floozy and along with her sister Doozy they all got off the train from the front. While they were getting off the law, along with madam Olga, grabbed their guns and headed to the rear of the train where they jumped down and the gunfight was on. When the law ran out of bullets and the smoke cleared the outlaws had fled. With no extra horses Floozy and Doozy got left behind where the law quickly nabbed them.

With the two Coozy sisters in irons the law got back on the train for a return to Snyder. On the train ride back the law rewarded the temporary deputies with wooden Marauder Bucks and Madam Olga astounded the passengers with her ability to read the future. But Madam Olga missed foretelling which side of a Marauder Buck would come up when a young man flipped it. The Marshal, knowing her normal, unfailing accuracy figured it must have been due to the Marauder Buck being mad of wood which does not transmit energy like a silver or gold coin.

The Marauders were scheduled to do a third show on the 2:45 train with a robbery of a strongbox guarded by the law planned. But the train ride was changed to 2:00 without the Marauders being informed. Being as quick on ad libbing as they are are on the trigger, the Marauders went off via a van to “head ‘em off at the pass.” The train had gone by when we got to the normal stop, but it had to come back to Snyder. With all of the Marauders outside the approaching train we decided to all be outlaws and rob the train. The law removed their badges and we boarded the train. Passing back through grabbing hats, a bag of cookie crumbs and other small items the Marauders filled the loot bag. Off the train the quickly revised plot called for an argument over the loot  to lead into the inevitable gunfight, but Cerveza de Vaca grabbed the bag and took off. As he ran a zig-zag course across the field the rest of the Marauders drew their guns and fired at him until they ran out of bullets again. Cerveza de Vaca dropped the bag of loot which was retrieved by Madam Olga. She and the Coozy sisters got on the train for the return to Snyder. On the way back they decided, with these hard times, they had to return the stolen loot to the rightful owners.

Great fun was had by all even with the last train time mix up. We hope to ride to Snyder again for next year’s Fall Festival.

Rattlesnake Bill with Doozy & Floozy Coozy.

Medicine park Marauder Pulp Magazine Cover number 4. This is the Nov. 1947 issue of Exciting Western. Scanned into the computer then cleaned up & modified using Photoshop. This is the Nov. 12, 1938 issue of Wild West Weekly. I took out the Western street scene in the background and added the Medicine Park Shops where we usually hold our shootout shows. By Michael Fahrion (a.k.a. Marshal Payne)

Calamity Lee fires on the outlaws.

On October 2 the Medicine Park Marauders held a three part show in Snyder, OK.For the first show the Law was guarding a shipment of gold from the Medicine Creek Mining Company being sent by rail. About 5 miles out of Snyder the Seth Gang stopped the train. Little Britches was on board in disguise and got the drop on the law. The gang boarded and  managed to steal the strongbox. Off the train, they tried to shoot the lock off the box with no luck. The law got off the train and the Marshal shot at the gang, but knocked the lock off. The outlaws grabbed the gold and made their getaway.

With the gold gone the train & the law went back to Snyder. There Calamity Lee lead us in the Marauder Song. As the song ended the Seth Hang made a brazen appearance. A gunfight broke out which ended in the capture of Seth.

The law then took Seth, in irons, on the train bound for prison. But again the Gang was waiting. They stopped the train. Grabbing the conductor hostage they sprang Seth. The law gave a short persut, but soon ran out of bullets.

Special thanks to photographers Heather Morefield & Randy Warren for great pictures.

Click here for pictures.

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 –

The Medicine Park Marauders held a gunfight show this afternoon in Town Center. Seth Wright, Rattlesnake and Cactus Jack played the outlaw’s hand, while Marshal Payne and Sheriff Odie pinned on their badges as the law.

The show began with the outlaws going through the Riverside having fun with the visitors and promoting the gunfight. While the Seth Gang was causin’ trouble on that end of town the law moseyed into the Plantation asking if anyone had seen the outlaws. At one table sat a family with two boys, the youngest around 6. Odie pointed to his dad and ask if that guy was giving him trouble, and if we should arrest him. Odie then ask; “If arrest him do you got any money to bail him out.” The boy dug out three quarters. Marshal Payne said; “Hold on there Odie. If we arrest him the kid’s only got 75 cents fer bail and the reward is a dollar. That’d leave us short 25 cents.” So Odie decided we’d better not arrest him.

After making the rounds of all the tables the law headed out looking for the outlaws. The laws met up with them down near the Riverside where one outlaw fire off blast from a shotgun. The law drew their six-guns, but Seth claimed they were only shootin’ a squirrel fer dinner since they didn’t have money fer the eating establishments. The gunfire quickly drew a large crowd to watch the fun.

The law told the gang to get on out of town. Words flew and quickly escalated into a fast draw showdown between Rattlesnake and Odie. Now to keep things fair Seth pick young lad from the audience to start the showdown on a count of three. But since the Marauders cain’t count and would not know if the counter was right or not, we choose to have him drop a hat. The shootin’ was to commence when the hat hit the ground. But the starter did not have a hat so Cactus Jack lent him his.

Now Rattlesnake complained that he couldn’t watch the hat and Odie at the same time. The was solved by moving the starter into into the middle. Marshal Payne figured the lad was short enough that they could just shoot over him. The hat fell, Odie and Rattlesnake drew and fired. When the smoke cleared both side were claiming to have the fastest shooter. The argument quickly broke down to the gunfight. And the outlaws made a clean get away as everyone ran out of bullets.

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

Tipton Centennial Celebration became several firsts for the Medicine Park Marauders: our first grand finale, first outing for our new gold domed tent, and the first selling (and signing) of the Marauder Comic book outside the Park. Before the show some of the Marauder’s sold comics and t-shirts and other’s wandered warming up the crowd. Tipton entertainment offered some very talented ladies singers which inspired Slim, Dog & Rattlesnake who stood front and center, took off their hats and listened to “A Rose Among The Thorns” which brought tears to their eyes. However when Rattlesnake thought one might make a good wife she rebuked him with “I don’t date men over 40”. The Marauder’s were next up after the calf judging held on the other end of town, about 7:30 and the crowd drifted back from the judging. The announcer introduced us and it was Show Time. We started off with Madam Olga leading the Marauders in singing the “Ballad of the Medicine Park Marauders’. The song ended we drifted off leaving Madam Olga Seesall to start the action by reading a few palms of the fine people of Tipton. While the Slim, Little Britches, Rattlesnake and DOG cased the local banks lookin’ to make a few withdrawals.

The Outlaws arrived in the center of town and scaring the good town people away from Madam Olga. Slim insisted she read his palm. Madam Olga could barely see through the dirt on Slim’s hand until he spit on it and wiped it on his pants. His fortune was of evil doings and dark trouble. Having received only disastrous news, the gang disparaged the Gypsy’s abilities. A disgruntled Olga walked off in a huff muttering “you will have much sorry for insult”.

The law had arrived in hot pursuit of the Marauders and Madam Olga eagerly informed them of the gang doings in Tipton. The Marshals recruited young deputies from the locals handing, them wanted posters and promising them a reward. In short time the new recruits “brought them in”. Shooting was about to break out when the news that a few stray calves gotten loose from the livestock judging. (Marauders may not respect each other but they do respect cattle).

Little Britches agreed to give Odie the bank bag if he would let them go in exchange for the loot. Slim & Little Britches both grabbed a hostage from the crowd. The Law, remembering how tricky the gang could be, wanted a volunteer to stick their hand in the bag first. Odie tried to get one of the hostages to pull out the contents, but the gang stopped him. As the law suspected the bank bag held a rattlesnake. It was Olga’s missing pet, Wilber. Slim carried another bag; the Law demanded he hand it over. Slim passed the bag off to his hostage and bag was then quickly passed around the outlaws while Odie desperately tried to find out who had it. Miss Goodbody having hid the bag in her bustle, tripped and the bag fell to the ground.

Across the bag the word “Laundry” had been embroidered. The law deduced that it must mean the gang was laundering stolen money. The Law immediately starting digging through bag in anticipation of stolen loot but instead pulled out a pair of drawers with hearts on them. (Odie needed a new pair). Next was unearthed some foul smelling socks, old long johns and some mighty fancy bloomers (which they figured could attract a floozy or two). Yes, the law was tricked again; it really was the gang’s dirty laundry.

With no loot to swap things quickly broke down into a gunfight. The outlaws made a clean get away while gun smoke still filled the air and once again the law had run out of bullets. And so goes the story.

As the Marauder’s rode off after sundown it was remarked that there was never a finer audience than that in Tipton, Oklahoma. Medicine Park Maruader’s thank you for puttin’ up with us.