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Wednesday, June 3, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
‘Biggest Little Show In The World’ started in 1910
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
For the past 79 years,
nothing has derailed the
Sisters Rodeo 4 until this
year, the 80th. The cow-
boys and cowgirls who
travel every year to Sisters
the second weekend in June
to compete in the rodeo,
all got bucked off this
year by the toughest bronc
4 COVID-19.
Whenever early cowboys
and ranch hands gathered
to socialize, some kind of
contests with animals were
usually involved. The first
record of a rodeo in Sisters
was detailed in the local
history book, <That Was
Yesterday= (available from
the Three Sisters Historical
Society).
The authors wrote, <Jesse
Scott recalls a bucking con-
test that was held in 1910 on
Fir and Adams streets. This
used to be the old ball dia-
mond. There was no corral.
The wild horse was snubbed
up to the saddle of one horse-
man, the contestant got on
the wild horse and the horse
was turned loose& There
was no admission charge
(for spectators) and no entry
charge (for participants). The
spectators watched from any
vantage point which they
considered safest.=
In a second entry, the
authors relayed a story about
another early rodeo held in
the vicinity of Main and Oak
streets about 1922:
<This rodeo was spon-
sored by the Commercial
Club. The women of the
group served dinner in the
schoolhouse at noon on the
day of the rodeo. This rodeo
consisted of races, bucking
contests and bull riding. The
money raised by the din-
ner and the rodeo was to be
spent on promoting the town
of Sisters.=
Since the first formal
rodeo in 1942, much about
the rodeo has remained
unchanged, although
the location of the rodeo
grounds has moved a num-
ber of times. The first two
years, the rodeo was held on
the Creighton place, which
adjoined property that now
houses the Sisters airport.
Twenty head of horses
were rounded up from the
wild herds roaming the coun-
tryside, and pastured at the
original Black Butte Ranch,
for use in bareback and wild
horse riding events. Over
the years, a number of local
stockmen provided livestock
and, nowadays, professional
stock companies supply the
animals.
An added feature of the
second rodeo was a barbecue
dinner served at noon at the
rodeo grounds. In addition
to the regular rodeo crowd,
many Army soldiers who
were on maneuvers in the
area training to enter World
War II, attended both the
rodeo and barbecue.
After two years on the
Creighton place, a rodeo
association was formed
and incorporated in 1944.
Following the purchase of
ground adjoining the city
on the northwest (near pres-
ent day Hoyt9s Hardware &
Building Supply), the asso-
ciation and many of the local
citizens did the carpentry on
the grandstand and prepared
the arena. Lumber for the
corrals, chutes, bleachers,
and 2,500 grandstand seats
was donated by Maurice
Hitchcock, association board
member and owner of the
Sisters mill. The association
continued to put on shows
there until 1956.
The rodeo weekends usu-
ally began with the Queen9s
Ball on Friday night in the
high school gymnasium
when the rodeo queen was
crowned. Saturday morning
was the rodeo parade down
Cascade Avenue. In the
early years there was a horse
show for locals at the rodeo
grounds featuring riding
skills and children9s pony
races prior to the afternoon9s
rodeo. Novelties included
barrel races, relay races,
wild-cow-milking contests
and pony-express races. One
highlight was the chariot
races.
Rodeo clowns, some with
pet donkeys and one with
a chimpanzee who played
in Tarzan movies, and bull
fighters who entertain and
protect the cowboys, have
always been popular with the
fans as are the special per-
formers like the trick riders,
precision equine drill teams,
and the One-Armed Bandit.
A buckaroo dance was
held Saturday night at the
high school gym (sometimes
known to get a little rowdy)
followed by the Buckaroo
Breakfast Sunday morning.
The rodeo program Sunday
afternoon followed the same
pattern as Saturday9s.
In 1955, Sisters rodeo
fans were introduced to the
Brahma bulls imported from
Mexico. The program that
year described them this
way, <Brahmas are fast as
deer, mean as wolves, and
can jump as though their
legs were a combination of
springs and India rubber.=
Several years ago an evening
of Xtreme Bulls was added
on Wednesday night of rodeo
week. There are now four
rodeo performances and no
organized dances.
The Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post No. 8138 and their
Women9s Auxiliary spon-
sored the rodeo in 1956 and
1957 after making needed
repairs and constructing
new concession stands. The
money made those two years
went toward the purchase of
the Sisters Cascade Theater.
PHOTO COURTESY THREE SISTERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Some members of the 1944 Sisters Rodeo Association. Left to right: Lewis Luckenbill, Ellis Edgington, Maurice
Hitchcock, Pete Leithauser, Charles Boardman and Carl Campbell.
The rodeo court and
queen, usually young women
in their teens and twenties,
have represented the rodeo
since the beginning. They
are now selected based on
their horsemanship, speak-
ing ability, and presentation,
whereas in the first years, the
girls competed for the title
by selling raffle tickets for a
steer. The most tickets sold
earned the queen9s crown.
One year, in 1961, the court
was made up of Sisters girls
10, 11, and 12 years old.
Food has always played
a role in the rodeo, includ-
ing concession stands on
the rodeo grounds and the
Buckaroo Breakfast held
on Sunday morning on the
grounds. The breakfast menu
over the years has consisted
of fried potatoes, ham and
bacon, hotcakes, eggs and
coffee. For a number of
years, Ellis Edgington9s pio-
neer pan bread was always
served. In the 1940s and
early 950s, buffalo steak or
buffalo burgers were on the
menu.
With new governmental
regulations and the need for
costly improvements to the
grounds, the decision was
made to sell the property
with the grandstands and all
the buildings. Not wanting
to see their rodeo disappear,
the citizens of Sisters reorga-
nized, with Homer Shaw as
the president of a new rodeo
association. For several years
in the late 1970s, the rodeo
was held on private property
with borrowed bleachers and
temporary fences. Finally,
in 1979, the rodeo found its
permanent home on 33 acres
purchased from Carl and
Virginia Campbell who were
1940 original rodeo associa-
tion members.
From the very beginning,
the planning and execution
of the rodeo has always been
conducted by a large cadre of
local volunteers. To this day,
the rodeo is known far and
wide as <the biggest little
show in the world= because
the rodeo purse is the largest
one in the country offered on
the second weekend of June,
making it popular with the
best rodeo contestants.
For a town of less than
3,000 residents, that9s an
accomplishment 4 with
deep roots going back 80
years.
IT’S BEEN
A GREAT
RIDE!
CONGRATULATIONS,
SISTERS RODEO
ON 80 YEARS!
we look forward to supporting you in 2021!
The Nugget Newspaper