Event of the Month

EVENT OF THE MONTH Celebrate a Homespun Gala at Cottonwood's Verde River Days

Somebody caught the albi-no!" exclaimed an excited Lowel Pierce, as he bounded toward his truck. "There's only one," he assured me. "They just called me on the radio." I quickly learned that Pierce's enthusiasm concerned an albino catfish. His excitement was contagious, and I hopped up into the cab beside him to get a firsthand look at this rare sight. A Cottonwood public works employee, Pierce has been doing "the catfish thing" for the past five years, a task that entails stocking some 400 pounds of channel cats in the lagoon at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood. The occasion for the stocking was the Saturday morning fishing clinic, part of Verde River Days, held each September to celebrate the existence of the cottonwood-lined stream that flows past this central Arizona town. When Pierce and I arrived at the lagoon, word of the albino catch had spread up and down the banks. We circulated until we found young Chris Brooks, who pulled a stringer out of the water and proudly produced the legendary fish. As Brooks explained, it was really a team effort. He was holding the pole when the fish bit, but pal Greg Randall actually reeled it in. "This makes it all worthwhile," crowed Pierce as we continued our survey of angler success. N.C. Williamson was sitting in a lawn chair, fishing pole by his side. He was trying the lagoon, he said, because his favorite place over on the river was being used for another Verde River Days event. "It's 'N.C.' on my fishing license," Williamson pointed out. His is a Pioneer's Fishing License issued to people at least 70 years old (N.C. had passed that 20 years ago) and residents of Arizona for at least 25 years. Even with the expert instruction of Walt Oxley, fishing instructor with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, I had no luck at the lagoon. The catfish were apparently taking a break. So I hustled back over to view the exhibits under a shady mesquite grove then strolled down to the river for a canoe ride. Passengers in red life-jackets boarded River Otter Canoes circling in the shallow stream. Dick Larson, publisher of Verde Valley Newspapers, Inc. and last year's chairman of Verde River Days, said the event started six years ago when citizens got together to stage a sort of Verde Valley Earth Day. "We wanted to focus on the river," Larson said, because "this little ribbon of water is critical. It's what's always drawn people here."

As the afternoon sun got warmer, people - kids first - did the only obvious thing. They rolled up their pants legs and waded into the cool river. Another event was about to begin the Verde Rotary Club's Rubber Ducky Race. Top duck would win $1,000. At 2 P.M. a flotilla of pink, yellow, and blue plastic ducks was launched. The duckies floated in a line down the river, as eager fans cheered on their favorite: "155, c'mon!" Two pinks and a blue vied for the lead. At the finish line, duck numbers 46, 44, and 26 took the top three places. A small chaos ensued as the trailing duckies escaped the net at the finish line and headed downstream toward Camp Verde. Everything, and everybody, it seemed, wanted to be on the river.

WHEN YOU GO

This year's Verde River Days is set for Saturday, September 30, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., in Cottonwood. Follow signs on Main Street to Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Everything's free, including entrance to the park, the traditional canoe rides, fishing clinic, Nature walks, sand-castle building, fly-fishing demonstration, music, living history, and environmental exhibits and activities. Food and drink will be available. The park is open daily, 8 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., year-round except Christmas. For information, contact the Cottonwood-Verde Valley Chamber of Commerce, 1010 S. Main St., Cottonwood, AZ 86366; (520) 634-7593.