Slinging cow chips in Oklahoma

(CNN) -- The small town of Beaver, Oklahoma is celebrating the days when the West was wild, cowboys roamed the range, and the state's panhandle was the kind of place where men could end up in a showdown ... over cow dung.

The Cimarron Territory Celebration, which ends Sunday, is named for what settlers called the panhandle before it was incorporated into the state. In those days, the region was informally known as "no man's land," and cow patties really could spur a gunfight.

"A man doing research found out that there was a shoot-out over cow chips," says Rita Marshall, Secretary of Beaver's Chamber of Commerce. "Apparently one man kept taking them from the other man's field and made him angry."

"Wood was an item that was so needed -- for houses and things -- that they couldn't burn it. So they used cow chips instead," she explains. "And cows can only produce so many."

These days, residents exchange chili recipes over cow chips, instead of bullets. The Cow Chip Chili Cook-Off is a highlight of the eight-day festival. Marshall is quick to point out that the cow chips go under the chili pots, not in them.

"One thing about cow chips is that when you burn them, they are very, very hot, and they produce no odor at all," she says.

The celebration also features the World Cow Chip Throwing Contest, in its 28th year. Last year's winner tossed the cow patty 177 feet. But there's more to winning than slinging dung. The cow chip pitching contest is an "international organic sporting event," with stringent rules and regulations.

"The arena is laid out by the Beaver Fire Department," explains Marshall. "Each contestant is allowed two chips. They have to be at least six inches [across]. If the chip breaks up in mid-air, they measure to the piece that went the farthest. But if it breaks when it falls, they measure from where it hit the ground."

Less pungent activities include stories from the Christian Cowboy Fellowship, a Karaoke contest, horseshoe pitching, and an old-time shoot-out (pretend, of course -- there are plenty of cow chips to go around these days).

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