Robert E. Howard's home town celebrates his 100th birthday

CNN.com has a nice article about Cross Plains, Texas and their yearly Robert E. Howard celebration. Howard, the creator of such wonderful pulp characters as Conan the Barbarian and (my favorite) Solomon Kane was a brilliant mind and a great writer.

According to the article,

The first Howard Days was in 1986, the 50th anniversary of Howard's death, a year after Burke and some friends first visited Cross Plains. The next event was in 1989 and has been held every year since with help from Project Pride, and attendance has grown from a dozen to nearly 100 people.

At first, the farming community of mostly retirees didn't know what to make of the self-proclaimed "sci-fi geeks and fantasy fans," some with long hair and tattoos. But the town realized how much the event helped the economy and now welcomes the guests -- who include teachers, doctors and businessmen.