Snakes highlight annual jubilee

PHOTOS BY BILL McDONALD From carnival rides to arts and crafts booths and old-fashioned cars, the annual Lometa Diamondback Jubilee offered something for everyone.

The 38th annual Lometa Diamondback Jubilee was dedicated to Tommy Kendrick for his many years of service to Lampasas County.

The jubilee was a successful event, with 987 rattlesnakes brought in that weighed over 1,090 pounds.

Almost 280 snakes were harvested from Lampasas County.

Competition was especially tough this year with the unusual weather making hunting much more difficult than in recent years.

The three longest snakes were brought in by Bub Hooten and Steve Scarberry, measuring 65 1/2, 64 and 63 inches, respectively.

Sneed Funeral Chapel paid $2 per inch for the longest snake, and First State Bank Central Texas and Texas Best Panels paid $1 per inch for the second- and third-place winners. Lampasas County contributed $1 to the fund for each snake caught in the county.

Hooten and Scarberry also won a belt buckle for the most in-county snakes captured with 168, while Howard Ellett of Burnet caught the most out-ofcounty snakes at 243.

Visitors had an opportunity to glance at the past with old cars dating back to the early 20th century.

Belt buckles were donated by Lowell and Pat Ivey of Lometa.

All hunters got $3.10 per pound for their snakes, and in-county hunters were paid a $12.95 bonus per snake.

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In the chili cook-off, the Best Overall trophy went to Cedar Break Chili, John Long, San Saba; Best Men's Chili, Lone Star Chili, Tom Terry and Robert Butler; Best Women's Chili, Cowgirl Chili, Debora Terry, Allison Weir and Kathryn Butler; and showmanship, Butler Family Clan.

KCYL radio collected a sizeable fund toward a new PA system for Lometa Regional Park.

Booths featuring all manner of wares and a variety of foods were offered to festival-goers on the breezy Saturday at Lometa Regional Park.