A BRIEF HISTORY OF

THE PORTSMOUTH WILD WEST ASSOCIATION

The association was formed in 1979, the exact date is unknown due to the destruction of early records by an outgoing secretary and there are no founder members remaining in the group. However it is believed to be in the spring of that year.

The original founders of the Association were a group of Country and western music enthusiasts who wore replica clothing of the 'wild west' whilst attending country music dances. They wanted to form an organisation to further their interest in the various aspects of the American west, to have regular meetings where they could talk about their interests and to possibly take part in shows, carnivals, etc: They also wanted to continue their love of country music by having singers or bands at some of their meetings and to organise larger dances of their own.

They then set about getting themselves organised, elected a committee, and decided to call the organisation 'The Portsmouth Wild West Association,' this name has been continually used since its inception.

The next step, which took a lot of time and effort, was to make sectional buildings to form a replica 'wild west' town, consisting of a saloon, bank, store, sheriff's office and jail, and a building for the town Doctor, who also doubled as a barber. A few extras, such as horse troughs, hitching rails and the like were added and the team were ready for action. Transportation of the scenery and props was by trailers towed by members' cars with a van being hired for shows some distance away, until the earnings from the shows was sufficient to enable the Association to purchase and operate it's own van which is still the case today, albeit with several replacement vans over time.

With the passing of the years the number of shows performed by the Association steadily increased, and towards the end of 1987 the decision was made to discontinue the country music social evenings, and in 1990 the last dance was organised; the group was to concentrate on the re-enactment shows.

The emphasis now was to improve the authenticity of the shows, making sure that all the replica clothing and equipment was as authentic as possible, that all storylines were applicable to the period being portrayed and that the correct terminology was being used.

During the early years most shows were local one day events, but as the reputation of the group began to spread, bookings came in from steam rallies, agricultural shows and similar events entailing camping at showgrounds over weekends. Events such as these now account for most of the shows the Association undertakes.

An average of fifteen venues per season have booked the group over the last few years, with some of the venues booking us on an annual basis, in one case for twenty six years and some others for twelve and thirteen years. This demonstrates the popularity the Association enjoys.

The team takes pride in the fact that they never let a client down and always turn up, whatever the weather and even with the very rare breakdown or occasional shortage of performers for various reasons, they have always managed to satisfy their clients and audiences.

The foregoing is a very brief history of The Portsmouth Wild West Association.

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