Bitter Creek crew has fun, raises funds to fight heart disease
Published: February 15, 2006
The Bitter Creek Oatman Gang is a group of Wild West wannabes that performs mock gunfights, bus robberies - and even weddings - throughout the Tri-state area.
The group also participates in Gold Rush days in Wickenburg, Ariz., and at events in Lake Havasu City and has been asked to return to both cities, according to Steve Burch of the group.
However, the “gang” members reside mainly in Oatman.
The group formed last year. Three of the four members are veterans of other gunfighting groups.
Also, three of the four members are retired, thus making their gunfighting a profession rather than a hobby.
The Bitter Creek bunch performs mock shootouts daily in Oatman, the proceeds of which go to American Heart Association.
The group’s members are also involved with the Oatman Chamber of Commerce, and the proceeds from a recent event, Wild West Day, supported that group, Burch said.
The event, held last Saturday in Oatman, was called successful by the group and will, Burch said, become an annual event.
“We’ve already been asked to do it again next year in the middle of February,” Burch said.
The Oatman Gang is not to be confused with the Oatman Outlaws, a group that performs daily shootouts in Oatman to support the Shrine Club.
The Oatman Gang are members of the Tri-State American Heart Association, a local branch of the national group, and money they generate goes to the heart association, Burch said.
According to Tom Woodard, a founding member of the group, the idea for the Wild West Day came from his grandson, who also participated in the event.
One of Bitter Creek’s other big draws is that they perform “shotgun weddings” one of which was performed at the start of Wild West Day.
A shotgun wedding generally consists of members of the group role-playing with the wedding participants, an example being one member playing a jilted lover.
On March 22, the group will be at the Riverside Casino in Laughlin for Shop with a Cop.
“I do it because I like to do it, and I think all of us feel that way … we’re like little kids and we like to play around, especially when it goes to good causes,” Burch said.
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