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ON
DOWN THE
RODEO ROAD
AGAIN
Recently
I went out west to visit with some of the
rodeo ‘greats’ that live around the
Oakdale,
California
, area.
The purpose of my trip was to do
interviews for the Oral History Project of
the Rodeo Historical Society.
I am dedicated to this program.
The purpose of the project is to
capture first hand information from rodeo
cowboys and cowgirls and learn how they
got in to the sport of rodeo, who
encouraged them, what they experienced in
their era, and more.
We have captured some great stories
and histories.
Christie Camarillo, who is Director
of the
Oakdale
Cowboy
Museum
, and happens to be the sister to World
Champion Team Ropers, Jerold and Leo
Camarillo, set up the interviews for us.
Chuck Rand, Archivist of the
National
Cowboy & Western
Heritage
Museum
, manned the camera and I did the
interviews with the following cowboys; Ace
Berry, who held the title of being the
youngest National Final Rodeo competitor
during his career.
He was fifteen years old at the
time.
Bob Ragsdale, bull riding and
roping competitor and former President of
the Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Bob Eidson, National Finals
bareback competitor and RCA Administrator
during the building of the ProRodeo Hall
of Fame in
Colorado Springs
, and many other responsibilities.
Jim Charles, many-time National
Finals bull rider and friend of mentor,
Harley May.
Bill Martinelli saddle bronc rider
who went to National Finals numerous
times.
The following day we interviewed
Jerold Camarillo, team roping world
champion, who also held many team roping
schools across the country when team
roping competitions were becoming popular
and spreading from the
California
area east.
Jim Wheatley, a National
Finals team roper, whose son Wade is
presently following in his father’s
footsteps as a team roper currently; Jim
Rodriguez, Jr., who began team roping with
Gene Rambo and became the first 18
year-old to become a world champion.
He also worked with the RCA as a
director for many years.
Ed Hirdes, a National Finals
Team Roper and son of World Champion Team
Roper, Les Hirdes.
Joe Murray, three time National
Finals team roper and active horseman who
puts on a horse sale, with Jim Wheatley,
in the Oakdale area each November.
Their sale is mainly Driftwood bred
horses.
Oakdale is called “The Cowboy
Capitol of the World” as there are so
many rodeo cowboys who have lived in the
area over the last sixty-some years, and
still do.
The
Cowboy
Museum
is a former Santa Fe Railroad Station and
is housed in two rooms brimming with
memorabilia including saddles and honors
bestowed on many of the area’s
competitors.
An annual banquet and induction of
cowboys and cowgirls to the Oakdale Cowboy
Hall of Fame will be held September 15th.
After my time in Oakdale I went
back to the
San Francisco
Bay
area and spent time with Sandy Roerdan and
Gail Gandolfi.
These two dear friends, who are
twins, were my college roommates back at
good old Colorado Woman’s College.
(Guess we put it out of business,
it does not exist today).
Gail G. is also the great
illustrator in all of my rodeo history
books.
Although the girl’s upbringing
did not include rodeo Gail G. seems to
capture the essence of any story I send
her to illustrate.
Her drawings, always a great
illustration, conveys exactly what is
expected.
In fact, we even did a children’s
rodeo book together called, CHARLEY & AMANDA MEET RUSTY THE RODEO CLOWN, directed at
children, ages
four to eleven
, about rodeo in a fun way.
Gail G. and I traveled to many
rodeo events through the years; Rodeo
Clown Reunions, Pendleton RoundUp, the
rodeo in
Chester
,
California
, as well as the Rowell Ranch Rodeo, near
Hayward
,
California
. She
never misses the rodeo at the
Cow
Palace
and truly has a love of the sport.
In fact, although she is confined
to her home ‘turf’ these days she
still is tuned in to rodeo.
When she heard that Levi Strauss
was opening a museum, about the history of
the company, she contacted them offering
to donate to the museum the ‘baggy
britches’ that belonged and were worn by
George Doak, famous Hall of Fame rodeo
clown and bullfighter, during his rodeo
days.
The Levi Strauss representative was
ecstatic as they had nothing from the
early days of rodeo when ‘Levi’ was
the primary pants worn by cowboys.
In fact, in the 1940s and 1950s
most denim trousers worn by cowboys were
called “
Levis
” regardless of their label.
The
Levi
Strauss
Museum
is located at
1155 Battery Street
in
San Francisco
. The
Rodeo Exhibit is not up yet but I will
report when it is available.
My next road trip took me to
Lubbock
to the annual National Cowboy
Symposium,and Celebration, on
September 8, through 10th.
This event is a three day affair
with two days of western music, poetry,
seminars on papers written about the west,
as well as panels on various western
subjects including books, both historic
and fiction, about the west.
Additionally the event includes a
Trade Show of western exhibitors, West
Texas Native American Association events,
a National Chuckwagon cook-off, Craig
Cameron Horse Training Seminar and
Demonstration,
and various workshops for youth
including photography, leather braiding,
poetry writing.
A chuckwagon breakfast and a
non-denominational cowboy devotional
service are held on Sunday morning.
Friday
and Saturday evening programs are held
with entertainment of music and poetry.
American Cowboy Culture Awards are
presented to various westerners deserving
to be recognized.
Those honored were: A
Special Award given to Carl Nafzger,
former bull rider and winning trainer
of the Kentucky Derby in 1990 and
again in 2007.
R. E. and Martha Josey, of
Karnack
,
TX
, received a Special Award for all their
work with horses and students throughout
their life.
A third Special Award was presented
to Mel and Wendy Potter, of
Marana
,
Arizona
, and
Bancroft
,
Wisconsin
, for their dedication and expertise as
roper and barrel racer, plus being
producers of rodeos for many years and
work with award winning horses.
The
Durango
(
Colorado
) Cowboy Gathering was given the Cowboy
Culture Award.
Working Cowboy Award was presented
to Bill McClellan of
Sterling City
,
TX
.
The
Western
Museum
award was presented to
Desert
Caballeros
Museum
,
Wickenburg
,
Arizona
.
The Western Writing and
Publishing Award was given to Randy Witte,
of Peyton, Colorado, former publisher of
the Western Horseman magazine and a
lifetime of western writing.
The Western Art award was presented
to Gary Niblett of
Santa Fe
,
New Mexico
, for his outstanding western art.
The Ranching Award was
presented to Ms. Linda Davis, owner of CS
Ranch, near
Cimarron
,
New Mexico
. She
and her children and grandchildren work as
a team to keep this 200,000 acre ranch
working successfully.
I
was delighted to be on a panel of writers
including Elmer Kelton, Dusty Richards,
Frank Holmes, Dr. Richard Slatta, and
Moderator, Michael Johnson.
Dusty Richards, Elmer Kelton and
Michael Johnson are Spur Award winners,
the Western Writers of America’s most
prestigious honor for writers of the west.
The two days of continual
entertainment, from 10 AM until 6 PM, is
the best gathering of western creative
people of talent that I know of anywhere
in the nation. I
also enjoyed seeing many of the western
friends I have made throughout the years
who also participate, including;
Tuffy Cooper, of Monument, New
Mexico, age 82, and still roping
competitively, who can also tell great
stories and is a fine western poet.
Sylvia Mahoney, author of the
informative book, COLLEGE
RODEO, who is now working diligently
on a Rotary International project,
“Marking the Western Trail”, which is
one of the most important cattle trails
that ran from Mexico into Canada during
the 1860s through 1890s and most recently
placed a marker in San Antonio at the
Witte Museum, which was on the trail.
The next planned marker will be
placed in
Saskatchewan
,
Canada
, next summer.
Dean Smith, movie actor, stunt man,
Olympic Gold Medal winner in track and
all-round good guy, was there with Dale
Berry, actor, to talk about their careers
in
Hollywood
and the making of western movies.
Rhonda Stearns, of
Newcastle
,
Wyoming
, who writes for western newspapers and
magazines and is the author of several
books, and she is also a working
ranch cowgirl.
Dennis Gaines, the fastest-talking,
cowboy poet, with the largest vocabulary I
ever heard, kept the audience in stitches.
Alvin Davis is the ramrod of this
event and is proudly boasting next year to
be the 20th anniversary and
they have all ready booked Waddie Mitchell
the great cowboy poet; and Sons of the San
Joaquin, western band for the 2008 program
the first weekend in September..
It will also be the 100 Year
Celebration for the City of
Lubbock
. Put
it on your calendar now.
You won’t want to miss it.
The Symposium was dedicated to Ray
Owens, of
Artesia
,
New Mexico
, a cowboy poet of renown who had
participated in this event for many years
and had passed away earlier this year.
I’m home again for a little
while, but I want to say that regardless
of where my travels take me I know the
American West has the friendliest people,
and the most beautiful scenery in the
world.
God Bless
America
!
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