On any given Friday morning, you can walk into the Café Texan and be welcomed by the most genuine, good–hearted group of men in Huntsville, Texas. This group goes by the name Friends of Fred. Their stories will have you laughing, crying, and living your life through their words. Their purpose is to fulfill the wishes of a dear friend, but they will influence a community along the way.
Last February 27th, February 28th, and March 1st, the first annual Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown took place at the Walker County Fairgrounds.
Questions arose as to who is this character “Shotgun Fred” and why is this BBQ cook-off taking place here in Huntsville?
A couple of old friends of Shotgun Fred, Shelby Ralston and Ben Pruitt, live in Huntsville and have the answer to this question.
Frederick Pirkle was born in San Antonio on February 17, 1947, the second child of Charles Earl Pirkle and Zutella Bones Pirkle. Fred grew up on the south side of San Antonio. Fred was known as “Little Freddy” to all his family in his early years. As a young kid growing up, life was tough. His father was a sign painter by trade, while his mother was a stay-at-home mom.
As a child, things to play with were hard to come by. His desire to have a bicycle was satisfied when a neighbor gave him one. The only problem was it needed to be repaired. This project was completed thanks to another neighbor who lived across the street. Mr. Pickett took Fred “under his wings,” and instead of doing the work himself, he made Fred do all the repairs while he instructed him. Mr. Pickett was one of two neighborhood persons who had a major impact on his early days growing up.
The other gentleman was Mr. Matthews, who inspired Fred to get an education by providing him materials and instruction on how to make things. Fred told how Mr. Matthews provided him the necessary materials to make a classroom project while in school. Fred’s project was a small working model of an “iron lung”. Iron lungs were used in the 1950’s as a breathing aid for polio victims.
Along with encouragement, Matthews provided some financial assistance to Fred while he got a college education. Later, after Fred got into business and it became successful, he went back to Mr. Matthews to pay him back for his assistance. Matthews refused to take the money and told Fred to help some other young person get an education. Matthews (who is still alive and attended the memorial service held at SHSU in May 2012 after Fred passed away) got to see what Fred committed to many young folks who will now walk on the campus where he once walked. What a great investment Mr. Mathews made! Before Fred passed away, he committed $25 million to SHSU.
BBQ cooking was a large part of Fred’s life as a child, while attending SHSU, and at work. Later, when he was manufacturing control valves, he created BBQ Guru temperature control systems to maintain desired temperatures while cooking BBQ.
Fred graduated from Harlandale High School (1964), San Antonio Junior College (1966), then had a couple of years work experience in an auto dealership in Dallas. Fred realized he wanted more out of life than what he was doing to make a living, so he began to look for a college he could attend that would give him the knowledge he needed to reach his goals.
After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Fred taught industrial arts classes at Jersey Village for two years. He left the education field to become a salesperson for a Houston company selling liner materials for chemical containers. When the company was bought out by a larger company, Fred was transferred to Pennsylvania to work with Ogontz Controls. He worked there for a few years, then left to start his own business.
Thus, began his creation of Therm Omega Tech and later an additional manufacturing unit named BBQ Guru. The BBQ Guru product line was created from his love of BBQ cooking.
Fred became world-recognized for his manufacturing of temperature control valves, for his BBQ products, and his skills at BBQ cooking.
Fred realized his success came from the years he spent at SHSU getting his BA and MA in Industrial Arts (later known as Industrial Technology) and from his professors, who taught him the skills and knowledge that provided the tools to make it happen.
Fred made a decision that would forever impact SHSU, the City of Huntsville, Walker County, and the State of Texas when he committed to create the Fred Pirkle Endowment of 25 Million dollars with SHSU a few months before he passed away. Fred’s endowment, when fully funded, will provide approximately 80 SHSU students per year a scholarship for books and tuition to study in the new department of Engineering Technology. This is a fulfillment of Fred’s wishes that our new generations will also have opportunities, skills, and technical knowledge to make the world a better place.
One of Fred’s last wishes is now being carried out by some old Friends of Fred, along with new Friends of Fred who appreciate the impact this man had on those around him. A KCBS sanctioned BBQ Cook Off will take place in Huntsville each year to raise additional funds to enhance the opportunities for more students to receive scholarships.
The First Annual Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown took place at the Walker County Fair Grounds on February 27th and 28th with the final judging and awards taking place on March 1, 2014. At this cook off, nationally-recognized cooking teams competed from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and from all over Texas.
The 2014 event also welcomed special quests from Japan, including Tamo. Tamo is a TV celebrity teaching BBQ to the people of Japan; he also created the Japanese BBQ Society.
The Second Annual Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown will take place February 26-28, 2015 at the Walker County Fairgrounds.
Come visit everyone at The Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown, support the endowment, and honor the memory of a man who paid it forward and made it all possible. The Friends of Fred website is also a good place to find out more information.