Carol Brown

This weekend, starting today (Friday) will be a busy time for Sallisaw’s Main Fry Bread Queen, Carol Brown.

Brown, who will be working alongside her Main Street friends, will make hundreds of Indian Tacos which will begin selling today (Friday) near the Pocket Park in downtown Sallisaw.

Each year during the Sallisaw Diamond Daze event, Brown and other volunteers, her Main Street friends, get “The Pig,” their concession trailer, ready to serve the people and raise funds for Sallisaw Main Street.

The group consists of several volunteers whose sole purpose is to restore and beautify the downtown district of Sallisaw. Diamond Daze has a series of events planned Friday and Saturday including a 5K-Run, vendors, concerts and many other activities for the entire family.

“We will be busy. We usually are every year,” Brown said.

As the main fry bread maker of the group, Brown said she starts early getting things together for the upcoming weekend.

“I’ve been making fry bread for about 10 years, maybe longer,” she said. “We had a meeting before we started selling Indian Tacos and we thought it would be a great fundraiser for our organization.”

Brown said she learned to make fry bread from Jackie Ross who made the bread for all the carnivals and other events for Central School.

“They were good so I wanted her to show me how she made them,” she said.

Brown and her husband Gerald moved to Sallisaw from Muskogee in 1963 because he took a job in town.

The couple has two grown sons, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Over the years she has lived in Sallisaw, she has worked for First National Bank, an abstract office and was coowner of “The Flower Cottage” for many years in Sallisaw. She still enjoys flowers and helps a friend out with her business in Fort Smith, Ark., she said.

“I also enjoy playing Bunco with my friends. We get together once a month to play,” she said, explaining the game which consists of rolling dice is played by 12 people divided into four groups.

“It’s really fun and we have a good time,” she said. Brown said her favorite part about living in Sallisaw are the people, especially the friends she has made over the years.

“I got involved in Sallisaw Main Street because I owned a business here at the time. But over the years, I just enjoyed being involved in beautifying Sallisaw and making things happen. I enjoy all the events we’re involved in,” she said.

Some of the other events, in addition to Diamond Daze, include the chili cook-off and car show in October.

“This year we’ll have a market on the first Thursday of the month beginning in June, and each month after to September,” she said.

There are also plans for the group to bring in an ice skating rink this year during the month of December.

“I just enjoy it all, the people, being with my friends and even making fry bread,” she said.

“I’m the one that will have flour all over the place this weekend,” she said, smiling.

Just Folks. Just Folks is Your TIMES way of honoring the regular people of Sequoyah County, recognizing their unique talents, personalities, jobs, abilities, etc. Your TIMES appreciates the cooperation of each Just Folks and the public’s nominations for this feature. If you know of someone you think might be a good story, contact Amie or Lynn at 918-775-4433.