On December 24th A. O. “Monk” Carden, the oldest living rodeo clown, took his last breath and left this world from his hometown of Pendleton, Oregon. He was 100 years old and had kept friends and family, in the east Oregon town, laughing for most of those years. This centurion had the face of an Emmett Kelly clown but whether he was wearing greasepaint or not his clever dialogue and expressions could keep any audience in giggles and guffaws.
Monk was born February 2, 1909, in Pendleton and grew up in and around the community. After high school he and good friend George Moens, performed at various venues around town as acrobatic gymnasts. A slip of Moen’s foot during one of their routines, copping Monk on the chin, caused the audience to regale in laughter. The sound of the heehaws appealed to the two and they developed the routine to be burlesque gymnastics which included many pratfalls and humor.
In 1928 Tommy Douglas the rodeo clown hired by Pendleton RoundUp broke his leg just prior to the big rodeo. Finding themselves without a rodeo laugh-getter the rodeo committee hired locals Carden and Moens to entertain the rodeo crowd. They were so successful in the arena they kept being invited back for years. They even did other rodeo clowning stints in the state.
During this time he met the love of his life, Vivian, and asked her to marry him. Her answer was, “When you quit being a rodeo clown!” By 1938 his arena clowning days were past, but he never quit ‘hamming in up’! They had two daughters, Candice and Jo. Life was good.
Monk’s professional business assignments were always positive and promoting. He worked for Pendleton Grain Growers, the Rose Festival in Portland, then a stint in Hawaii where he was head of advertising for department store, Liberty House. But the lure to come home to Pendleton overshadowed it all and the family returned. Monk was President of the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. He was the perfect public relations idea man.
Monk was born on the eve of the very first Pendleton RoundUp. Through the years he and his family were there to witness some of the most historic events that happened during this famous rodeo. The lady bronc rider, Bonnie McCarroll’s tragic buck-off that eventually took her life and the fire that burned the grandstand to the ground just prior to the 1940 RoundUp were witnessed by Monk.
In addition to his rodeo clowning, and other volunteer positions including Happy Canyon, RoundUp week was very important to the tall lanky humorist. It brought thousands of people from across the nation to their community. In 1954 he became a RoundUp Director in charge of advertising. He was also involved in the formation of the Main Street Cowboys, which was formed to keep spectators busy and in town between Happy Canyon and the rodeo performances. He also performed in Happy Canyon and was chosen in 1993 as the Grand Marshal of the famous Westward Ho! Parade and was inducted in to the Pendleton RoundUp Hall of Fame.
Monk was always an active attendee in the Rodeo Clown Reunions that began in1974 and was often selected by various reporters in a variety of locales across the country to be interviewed during the Reunions. A young lady reporter in Colorado Springs was once told by Monk that he always traveled with his pall bearer, Bill Shaw.
His sense of humor never left him. While still active he played golf and afternoons were spent at the Elks Club involved in a ‘friendly little game of cards’, and once a month you could find him at Liars Club. In the last few years when he was unable to travel he has been asked to visit with audiences at “Coffee with Monk” and at a program at the Heritage Station where he told stories of his life.
Monk lived 100 years with a mind and sense of the ridiculous that could still entertain audiences. He could also draw cartoons which he would send to friends across the country with comical captions of his own creations, mainly about rodeo clowns. He was the oldest living rodeo clown and there are many retired rodeo arena funnymen and bullfighters across the nation that are mourning the loss of their wonderful friend and colleague. Services will be held on December 29th, Tuesday, at 1 PM at the Pendleton Elks Lodge. Pendleton Pioneer Chapel, Folsom-Bishop is in charge of arrangements.
Monk Carden was a legend and I am happy to say, he was my friend. I will surely miss our conversations and letters, but I will never forget him.
