The Hashknife Posse is gearing up for its 59th annual Pony Express ride and has a host of events planned for next month.
Posse members will be visiting area schools on Thursday, Feb. 2, starting with Winslow’s Bonnie Brennan School at 9 a.m., then Jefferson Elementary School at 10 a.m. At 1:30 p.m. a mock posse ride handoff will take place in downtown Winslow as riders will travel east on Second Street from the Winslow Post Office to the 1500 block of East Second Street near the Sonic Drive-In.
On Monday, Feb. 6, riders will be visiting students at Joseph City Elementary School at 9 a.m., then at Holbrook Head Start at 10:30 a.m. At 1 p.m. riders will visit both Hulet and Park elementary schools in Holbrook.
On Tuesday, Feb. 7, a parade honoring the posse will be held in downtown Holbrook beginning at 11:15 a.m. The parade will travel along West Hopi Drive from Eighth Avenue to Navajo Blvd., then turn north and continue to the historic Navajo County Courthouse on Arizona Street. Once gathered at the courthouse, an official swearing-in of the riders will take place at 12 noon at the courthouse.
At 6 o’clock that night, a send-off dinner will be held at the Holbrook Elks Lodge. Dinner tickets are $10 each, and are available at the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce, located inside the historic courthouse, or at Holbrook City Hall, located at 465 First Ave.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8, breakfast will be served at 6 a.m. at the Holbrook Senior Center. For $6, a meal of biscuits and gravy with fruit, or hot cakes and sausage will be provided.
At 8 a.m. sharp, the mail will depart from the Holbrook Post Office. The mail will arrive at the Payson Post Office at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
The riders will leave from the Payson Post Office at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, and will arrive at the Fountain Hills Post Office at 3 p.m.
On Friday, Feb 10, the riders leave from their Verde River campsite at 9 a.m. and will arrive at the Museum of the West, located at Second Street and Marshall Way, at noon.
There is still time to send a letter to be carried by the riders. Place letters in the barrel containers available inside the Holbrook, Winslow, Joseph City and Snowflake post offices by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Each envelope should bear the correct postage and be marked Via Pony Express in the lower left corner. Special mailers are available at the Holbrook and Winslow post offices for $1 each, and each envelope will be stamped with the posse’s pony express stamp commemorating this year’s ride.
