June 11th, 1936

As we recover from our trip to an incredibly good Howard Days (and will be filing a report post haste), we are reminded of today's infamous date in Howard History.

Bob Howard died on June 11th, 1936, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Accounts of this tragedy can be found elsewhere.

Here, we have just finished a fine few days of celebrating his life at his restored home in Cross Plains, Texas. Howard Days 2024 was a smash hit with all who attended! The nearly 300 people who attended this year talked about his life and works in panels, while eating hot dogs or chicken fried steak or brisket, sitting under the Pavilion, reading his poetry aloud right outside the room where he wrote it (on his newly acquired original writing table) or while hoisting a drink to his shade under the crescent moon that rose each evening.

Ol' Two-Gun was looking upon us, I'm sure - maybe even wondering what the fuss was all about. He must have cracked a grin when he heard why so many folks made a concerted effort to be at his home, honoring his legacy.

Like we do at any family reunion, we have stories of our departed relatives. We can be grateful that Robert E. Howard left all of us with so many stories.

Thanks, Bob.

See You at Howard Days!

Robert E. Howard Days at the REH Museum in Cross Plains, Texas, will kick off for a brief time on this coming Thursday, June 6th, when Bob Howard's Writing Table will be introduced to the world, back home where it belongs! Then on Friday and Saturday, June 7th & 8th, The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom will be presented for all to enjoy!

Your intrepid reporter will be away from this website for the next 10 days, as the vacation trek to Texas lies ahead. But all the info you need about Howard Days is here and Cross Plains is all ready for Howard Fans from all over the world!

We will be posting updates and photos over on the Howard Days Facebook page, so look there for up to the minute info. We'll post as much as we can during Howard Days, but what a busy time that is!

We hope to see y'all there! And if the mood strikes, drop everything and Come to Texas! We'll be looking for you!

Robert E. Howard Days is Next Week!

Thanks go out to Mr. Jason Hardy for this great poster!

After over a year's wait, Howard Days is back once again next week! We hope you can join us at the REH Museum in Cross Plains, Texas, on June 7th & 8th (and maybe squeeze in June 6th as well) for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!

Project Pride of Cross Plains is the community organization that organizes Howard Days every year. They maintain the House and grounds and give tours by appointment all year long, but Howard Days is the big event that keeps them charged up! And it makes a visit to Cross Plains ever so enjoyable!

Arlene Stephenson, President of Project Pride, told us today that the House is all ready to welcome visitors from all over the world. Staale Gismervik and his wife will be here from Norway, Terry and Kay Allen are popping over from the UK and Patrice Louinet will be stateside from France, among others. And of course, the hundreds of fans from all corners of the U.S. will make for a great international "family reunion"!

As we make our last minute preparations to head to Texas, don't forget the little bits of information that will help you enjoy yourself even more. The Howard Museum Gift Shop and the Silent Auction are only set up for CASH (or checks). (There are several convenient ATM's around Cross Plains).

Texas in June can be brutally hot and the weather can change on a dime, so remember to keep hydrated! Water and Gatorade are your friends; there will be water available in the big public cooler at the Pavilion. There should also be bug spray available there too, but it never hurts to bring some along. Same goes for sun screen - there's no sun like the sun in Texas!

Dressing cool will help as well and you can put your sombreros, fedoras and cowboy hats to use, too. Fortunately the Pavilion is well shaded, as is the yard surrounding the House and we can hope for some nice winds to blow our way.

So, to y'all who are heading out early next week (like we are here from NW Indiana), safe travels! We'll be seeing you right quick now!

Less Than Two Weeks Now!

The days are getting longer and the anticipation is getting stronger! Howard Days will be here right quick, so let's go over some details.

Most importantly, Howard Days is happening June 7th & 8th (with some limited activity on Thursday the 6th) at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas. All the information you need is available on this page, just by pushing the tabs above. Or is it? 

Here are some little bits and tips that will hopefully make your Howard Days even more enjoyable.

• On Thursday the 6th, the Museum is open from 2 to 4. No docents are on duty but the Gift Shop is open. CASH (or checks) ONLY. Several ATMs are around town.

• Also on Thursday, there will be an informal installation ceremony for Bob Howard's Writing Table, fully restored and back in the place where it belongs.

• The Pavilion adjacent to the Museum will be open all day Thursday, too. Early comers gather there to meet & greet, maybe make plans to travel to the Howard grave site in Brownwood, have dinner or just get a start on the weekend's Howard Fellowship.

• When you arrive at Howard Days on Friday or Saturday, please register at the canopy out front and get your name on the mailing list. This gives us an idea of attendance and you can get a name badge, too.

• The Bus Tour is a Friday ONLY activity. This year it is being lead by Mark Finn and GOH Rob Roehm. Please meet AT THE PAVILION BY 9:00 AM, as the Bus leaves at 9:05! The tour lasts about 90 minutes.

• The Cross Plains Review will be open for tours Friday Only: 10:30 to 12 Noon. Come see the printing presses from Howard's era and pick up some souvenirs there, too.

• The Cross Plains Post Office will provide a unique souvenir: a postal cancellation stamp exclusive to Howard Days. It is available FRIDAY ONLY from 9-4.

• The Celebration Banquet is on Waitlist Status right now. Check at the Museum for updates, as there will be limited seating still available for $25.00. Also, the Banquet has been moved to the Cross Plains Community Center. Please pick up your dinner ticket there, starting at 5 pm. The Silent Auction viewing and bidding is next door at the American Legion Hall, with dinner at 6:30. Remember, CASH or check only at the Silent Auction.

• The Fists at the Ice House panel at 9 pm on Friday has been moved to the Museum grounds this year. So, it's Fists at the Pavilion!

• The Walking Tour of downtown Cross Plains is on Saturday ONLY, conducted by Jack Baum. Meet at the big red ICE HOUSE building on Main Street at 9:00 am sharp. The tour lasts about 90 minutes.

Howard Days is a unique gathering of REH Fans from all over the world and is unlike a "regular" convention. There is no cost for any of the activities, including the Tours, Museum admission, panel attendance, Hot Dog Lunch or Saturday BBQ. The only real cost is the Banquet fee. The "Dealers Area" is more like a Flea Market set-up and the Pavilion activities are exactly like a Family Reunion.

However, Project Pride is in constant need of your help to maintain the Robert E. Howard Museum and donations are most welcome! The continued generosity of Howard Fans from all over has kept this historic site alive!

So, for full information check the rest of this site - and for full satisfaction of being a fan of Robert E. Howard, Come to Texas! It's a very big state and there's room for y'all!

See you soon!

THREE WEEKS TO GO!

With only three weeks to go, you might be asking yourself 'What can I do until Howard Days gets here? I'm bursting with anticipation for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!' BTW: it all happens June 7th & 8th (with a bit on the 6th) at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas!

The answer is easy: get yourself over to You Tube and click yourself into videos of Robert E. Howard Days! There is a ton of stuff there that can pretty much give you a Howard Days experience right on the comfort of your computer or phone.

For years now, professional cameraman Ben Friberg has been posting videos of Howard Days to You Tube. He does it now through The Texas Center, showing all the panels, readings and activities that occur there. It's a great way to become familiar with a Howard Days experience.

You Tube is also home to quite a number of Howard stories done via audiobook and most are done very professionally, as would befit a writer of Howard's stature! Plus, a number of You Tube personalities have some excellent, informative shows based on REH & his writing.

The World of REH is one of many excellent websites devoted to Ol' Two-Gun Bob Howard, as is The Robert E. Howard Foundation site. Robert E. Howard Days is one of many websites that inform you and a search of Facebook shows dozens of sites devoted to Howard, Conan, Solomon Kane and other REH characters.

And it's not too late to sign up for the Banquet on Friday night at Howard Days, or send items for the Silent Auction. You don't want to miss either of these activities, as they are one of the highlights of Howard Days!

So, enjoy this "slow" time before Howard Days by seeing all the great places about REH on the internet. You know how to do it!

HOWARD DAYS! Less Than a Month Now!

 

All right! NOW we are getting down to it! HOWARD DAYS 2024 will be upon us June 7th & 8th at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas in a few weeks! And while it may be time for most of us to start finalizing our plans to attend, we're here to tell you that there's room for everyone on that weekend. And all of the activities at the Museum can be had for FREE!

The Howard House will be open that Friday and Saturday (and for a while on Thursday) for all visitors. You can tour the House and grounds, relax in the adjacent Pavilion and mingle with REH fans from all over the world. The well-stocked Gift Shop is open as well (CASH only). You may partake of the numerous discussion panels, enjoy a cool beverage, see original Howard manuscripts, pick up a nifty souvenir postal cancellation (for the price of a stamp!), eat a BBQ dinner for a donation, read a Howard poem aloud and just be among like-minded REH fans enjoying Howard Fellowship.

The Friday night Celebration Banquet (this year held at the Cross Plains Community Center, is the only true cost of the weekend. For $25.00 you can be feasted with a real Texas chicken fried steak dinner while perusing the many Howard items at the Silent Auction.

While the seats at the Banquet are going fast, there are still some available for any late deciders (or procrastinators!) You may purchase a ticket with PayPal: ProjPride@yahoo.com or with a check to Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443. Now, the seats are limited, so don't delay!

The simultaneously occurring Silent Auction is just the place to pick up some real gems of Howard items: books, comics, paperbacks, fanzines, magazines, original art - every year there is something truly unique in the auction. This year we understand there will be some glass etching artwork done on a recovered pane from a window at the House.

But, in order for the Silent Auction to really succeed, donations are needed! Most of us have duplicates in our Howard collections or items we no longer have use or space for, so why not donate it for the upkeep of the Howard Museum. 100% of the money from the Auction goes to that upkeep. You can either send your Howard item donations to the address above or bring them to the Museum on Thursday or Friday.

And speaking of Thursday: Robert E. Howard's original writing table is finally coming home! Paul Herman, with the REH Foundation, has worked tirelessly in both acquiring and refurbishing Howard's table to its original state. We will have a short installation ceremony on Thursday at the Museum and The Table will be put in place. This magnificent Howard artifact will be back where it belongs. And you can have your picture taken sitting at it!

The schedule is set and we're looking forward to enjoying it, along with all the other extemporaneous activities that will happen. We've got some great guests coming in plus folks from France, Norway, England, Ireland and all points in the USA, Howard scholar Rob Roehm is Guest of Honor, there are dealers in the yard - and Howard excitement will be in the air.

So check out the schedule and make your plans - we'll see you soon!

ONLY 7 MORE WEEKS UNTIL HOWARD DAYS!

With a mere seven weeks to go, Howard Days looms on the horizon. Actually, it will be here before we know it, so time's a-wastin' to make plans to attend!

As seats for the Friday night Celebration Banquet at the Cross Plains Community Center are going fast, making a reservation should be your first order of business! For only $25.00 you get a delicious country-fried steak dinner with all the fixin's, to enjoy among the company of fellow REH fans, while listening to Guest of Honor Rob Roehm talk about his travels in the footsteps of Bob Howard. Registration may be had via PayPal at ProjPride@yahoo.com or by sending your dough to Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, Texas 76443.

Now would also be a good time to help out Project Pride with donations of a REH/related item or three for the Silent Auction, held during the Banquet in the adjacent American Legion Hall. 100% of the proceeds from the auction go to Project Pride for the yearly upkeep of the Robert E. Howard Museum. Please send your items to the address above or bring them to the Museum on Thursday or Friday.

The Big Deal for Howard Days 2024 will be the unveiling and dedication of Robert E. Howard's Writing Table. Thanks to the tireless work of Paul Herman, working through the Robert E. Howard Foundation, Howard's fully restored writing table is coming home at last. After eight decades, the very table upon which Howard created so many words, worlds and works of wonder, is back in the very spot where he accomplished so much. This iconic artifact will be in place at Howard Days 2024 and you may sit before it for photos, dreams and memories. (Table is shown here in its unrestored state.)

The Howard Days guest list is also growing. This year we will welcome Jim Zub, the current writer for Conan the Barbarian comics; author and editor Howard Andrew Jones will join us, as will John C. Hocking, author of Conan and the Emerald Lotus. Both Mr. Jones and Mr. Hocking have novels upcoming from Titan Press/Heroic Signatures and will appear along with Mr. Zub on several panels. Shawn Curley from H.S. will be bringing his new REH podcast and web endeavors to Cross Plains and we'll look for updates on those.

On Saturday the 7th, the Cross Plains Chamber of Commerce will have a Summer Bash Festival in Treadway Park (1 block west of the Museum). The Cross Plains Review office will be open Friday from 10:30 to 12 for a tour and some Howard Days souvenirs.

Check out the Schedule for all the happenings at Howard Days this year! There will be a lot of extemporaneous events popping up as well - one of those deals where 'ya gotta be there' to enjoy. Excitement will permeate the air at Howard Days!

So, we hope to see you in Cross Plains on June 7th & 8th for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom! Y'all come!