|
A
rip-roaring weekend, October 19th
& 20th, was enjoyed by a large crowd of members of
the Rodeo Historical Society and family and friends of
those being honored as they were inducted in to the
Rodeo Hall of Fame in the National Cowboy and Western
Heritage Museum, at Persimmon Hill, in Oklahoma City.
Rodeo’s
‘movers and shakers’ were on hand to congratulate
the Honorees and enjoy the entertainment of The Riata
Ranch Cowboy Cowgirls and the music of Don Edwards.
The organization also had their annual membership
meeting, and reported the organization is growing.
Saturday
evening, a fund-raising silent and live auction
brought in $16,000 with memorabilia such as; a 1936
group photo at Madison Square Garden during Colonel W.
T. Johnson’s World Championship Rodeo, vintage
turquoise Squash Blossom necklace, original painting
of Freckles Brown. Over 140 items were sold.
Following
the auction, Clem McSpadden, Master of Ceremonies,
introduced Mitzi Lucas Riley, daughter of Tad Lucas.
Louise Serpa, reknown rodeo photographer was the
recipient of this year’s Tad Lucas award, presented
‘to a woman who had done outstanding work in the
sport of rodeo’. Serpa, with a $26.00 camera, began
taking photos, outside the fence at rodeos, in 1950.
She eventually moved inside the arena and shot award
winning photos for many years. Don Harrington, of
Dillon, MT, received the Ben Johnson award. Harrington
did many things in rodeo, including being an
announcer, and in 1972 he announced the PRCA National
Finals, the Intercollegiate National Finals and the
High School National Finals.
On
Sunday morning the crowd listened to Clem McSpadden
introduced each inductee and while a film overhead
showed photos from their careers, he shared memories
and sometimes little known facts about each honoree.
An introduction by McSpadden is special in itself as
his passion and knowledge for rodeo and western
heritage exudes from every sentence. Honoree Ace
Berry, bareback rider and team roper, relayed that as
a 12 year old kid he had a Charter Membership in the
National Cowboy Museum & Hall of Fame. Willard
Combs, steer wrestler, won the average at the first
National Finals Rodeo in 1959, and his famous steer
wrestling horse, Baby Doll, was featured on the cover
of Life Magazine. Don Mayo, top ranked bareback rider,
remembered as a 17 year old paying his entry fee at
the Sidney, Iowa, rodeo. Jim Shoulders, roughstock
champ at that time, was entering, too, and Mayo
noticed a few grey hairs around Shoulders’ temple.
He thought to himself, “Jim, old man, you might as
well go home! I’m here to win it all!” Jimmy
Schumacher, rodeo clown/barrelman for years, had the
packed house in stitches with his short, but hilarious
comments. The consummate rodeo clown said, “Today I
hope my words are sweet and tender - for tomorrow I
may have to eat them.”
Families
of the deceased Honorees accepted the medals for their
loved ones. Benny Combs won the PRCA Steer Wrestling
Championship in 1955. He trained Red, a half brother
to Baby Doll owned by his brother, Willard, who in
1952 was the only horse that had won both the steer
wrestling and barrel racing titles. Sherry Price Combs
won the barrel racing and Tom Nesmith won the steer
wrestling. Buck Lucas was a steer wrestler, bronc
rider and Roman jumping competitor, also did stunt
work in the William S. Hart movies, and became a rodeo
judge. He originated many of the tricks his wife, Tad
Lucas, made famous. Bonnie McCarroll born in 1897 was
a bronc rider by age 17. She was the only cowgirl to
ever win Cheyenne Frontier Days and Madison Square
Garden bronc riding the same year. She suffered a
spinal injury when being thrown from a bronc and died
after developing pneumonia at age 32. Pat Scudder was
described by Clem McSpadden as the “Dr. Spock in
Wranglers”. Scudder was a roper, bull rider and
rodeo entrepreneur including being a consultant for
ABC’s Wide World of Sports for years. Clyde Miller,
of Waterloo, Iowa, produced rodeos and Wild West shows
for over 20 years. He was responsible for giving some
of the best cowboys of that era (1932 to 1952) their
start.
Also
honored for his many years of contributions, such as
stories and memorabilia, to the Rodeo Historical
Society was Don Bell, of Byron, Wyoming. Due to ill
health Bell did not attend, but sent his daughter,
Vicki Bell Abbott to accept for him. Abbott told that
her dad put a sheep wagon in his front yard, and had
the telephone company hook up a telephone in the
wagon. This was his office and where he did his
writing for many years.
Anyone
interested in becoming a member of the Rodeo
Historical Society please contact Judy Dearing at the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum at
405-478-2250, ext. 216 or jdearing@nationalcowboymuseum.org
|
