600 mix, mingle, eat coon in Arkansan political rite

Cameron Mitchell of DeWitt celebrates his eighth birthday Saturday night by trying raccoon meat for the first time at the Gillett Coon Supper.
Cameron Mitchell of DeWitt celebrates his eighth birthday Saturday night by trying raccoon meat for the first time at the Gillett Coon Supper.

GILLETT -- Eating raccoon is a bipartisan affair in this Arkansas town of about 650.

For the 74th year, Arkansas politicians past and present, as well as electoral hopefuls, descended Saturday upon the gymnasium of the town's shuttered high school for the annual Gillett Coon Supper.

Partaking in some of the 850 pounds of boiled and barbecued omnivores has become one of the pre-eminent political rites of passage in a state known for drawing candidates to small towns with the promise of fried fish, watermelons, pink tomatoes and plenty of hands to shake.

Originally a fundraiser for the athletic teams at Gillett High School, the feast has supported a college scholarship fund for the town's students since the high school closed in 2009 after merging with the neighboring DeWitt School District.

For an off-election year, Saturday night's estimated attendance of 600 was "a very good success," said Gillett Farmers and Business Club President Chad Philipp, the event's chief organizer.

"There's not a whole lot around us, but here it is the second Saturday in January and you see all these state and federal elected officials," Philipp said.

While the gastric oddity of the event draws headlines, veteran coon supper attendees know to fill up at the pre-party held on the farm of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Marion Berry just outside town.

Earlier Saturday, vehicles from Little Rock and other corners of the state had pulled up to the former congressman's shop building. Before the crowd became too boisterous, a pheasant wandered about the harvested field, surprisingly close to the two large smokers already filled with meat.

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news alerts, daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

A rumor later circulated that the bird had been captured, though its fate was unconfirmed.

Moving deftly among the attendees munching on ribs, bacon-wrapped duck bites and Polish sausage at this year's pre-party was a film crew that had arrived to document the uniquely Arkansas tradition of the coon supper.

Coming off presidential elections in which he said national party politics held sway, Ben Noble, a native of nearby Ethel, said he is financing a documentary to examine the role of small-town meet-and-greets in campaign politics.

Filming the politicians and smoked meats on the Berry farm was just a first act in the movie, he said.

"It's amazing to me that there's still an interest in participation in the coon supper, and we're going to try to document that across the country," Noble said. "I'd like to capture the sense of these events that are more face to face and personal."

Gabe Holmstrom, the executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, has helped organize the pre-party since his days on Berry's congressional staff, when it began as a political fundraiser.

After the congressman retired from politics in 2010, the pre-party became a fundraiser to provide a stipend for politically oriented students at Arkansas State University who intern in Washington.

Socializing with the pit-masters, Holmstrom said civility has continued to be a hallmark of the yearly gathering, even as attendees became increasingly Republican, reflecting a change in the state's political fortunes.

"Everybody likes to communicate [on Twitter] in 140 characters, but here is an event, look at this, we're out here in the middle of a field, in a farm shop, and we have all kinds of great food," Holmstrom said, pausing to point out that Gov. Asa Hutchinson's sport utility vehicle had just pulled up in the dirt parking lot.

"This is a slice of Americana at its finest," he finished.

Arriving in jeans and a chocolate-colored sweater, Hutchinson said he first attended the coon supper about 30 years ago, recalling that back then Republicans were not invited to the pre-party in heavily Democratic Arkansas.

Showing up still meant a lot back then, as it does now, Hutchinson said.

"That's been one of the keys to my surviving in politics through three or four decades is that I have not ignored these local traditions," Hutchinson said.

Asked what role the coon supper plays in Arkansas politics after nearly three-quarters of a century, Berry said bluntly, "I don't know anymore."

"I don't think it hurts anybody to be here and be seen," Berry said. "At the same time, it gives all of us a chance just to see our neighbors and be with them."

As for his thoughts on the raccoon, Hutchinson offered the same advice he said he once gave to a friend from the North.

"I said 'It tastes like greasy squirrel,' and they looked at me like, 'well what does greasy squirrel taste like?'" Hutchinson recalled. "I said, 'you gotta come and taste it.'"

As diners dug in Saturday night, mention was made of the 1967 Gillett Wolves football team, which went 11-0 to win the Class B title. Several men on the half-century-old team were there and stood for a resounding round of applause.

One of the remaining champions, former lineman Don Shepherd, 64, said residents of the farming community are proud to host the politicians each year and teach them to add barbecue sauce to make the raccoon more palatable.

"We're passionate about our politics, but we don't let it interfere with our friendships," Shepherd said. "When you're one on one, it doesn't seem to matter."

Metro on 01/15/2017

Upcoming Events