HISTORY +
SCHEDULE
A Brief History of Chief Joseph days
Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
C
hief Joseph Days began July 26-28,
1946. It was conceived by the Joseph
Chamber of Commerce to cele-
brate the opening of the new Joseph
Municipal Airport and dedicate it as a
memorial to the veterans of World War II.
In April, 1946, the Chieftain reported:
“The celebration will be known as
Chief Joseph Days with a theme of the
history and spirit of the Nez Perce Indians
and their leader Chief Joseph and is being
planned along lines which will bring out
all the color of the old and new West. … If
the show is well-received, it is hoped that
it can be made an annual event.”
The first Chief Joseph Days included
a parade, carnival, horse sale, air show,
baseball games, and a Nez Perce Indian
band that played at a local dance hall.
Importantly, local rodeo livestock contrac-
tor Harley Tucker organized a rodeo on
Sunday, July 28, in the Lake Hill arena on
Wallowa Lake’s east moraine. The rodeo
included “bronc riding, roping, and bare-
back” according to the Wallowa County
Chieftain. The “do-it-yourself” arena had
been built two years earlier by community
volunteers, and donations of materials by
local ranchers and merchants.
In a 2005 interview with Tucker’s
friend, Les Masterson, the Chieftain noted:
“The antecedent to Chief Joseph Days
was a do-it-yourself rodeo that took place
atop the moraine in 1944. At that point,
“there was just no place to do it,” Mas-
terson said. “Joseph wanted a rodeo and
came to Harley. It wasn’t a one-man job,
so the town pitched in. The whole commu-
nity jumped in and dug post-holes,” Mas-
terson remembered.… The arena, once
completed — more or less a rail fence
with some chutes and little else — had no
access road. Stock couldn’t be trucked to
the site, it had to be driven or led. Mas-
terson remembers leading groups of six or
eight bucking horses on horseback up to
the arena. “And some of them didn’t lead
very good,” he recalled.
The initial rodeo, which included
calf-roping, also included a bit of creative
acquisition.
“The arena was just pole fences and we
went up on Sheep Creek road and, well, stole
a bunch of snow fence from the state high-
way to keep the calves from crawling out,”
Masterson said. Tucker and Masterson had
to leave Joseph immediately after the rodeo
to get stock ready for a rodeo in Weiser,
Idaho, and the fence remained behind.”
The present rodeo arena and grounds in
Joseph were built in 1947. The first logs to
be milled for the new area were hauled to
the present site in early June, and the arena
was completed just in time for the rodeo.
The Chieftain reported:
“The new rodeo arena, built under the
direction of George Grandy, was dedi-
cated to Chief Joseph by a grand nephew
of that great Nez Perce warrior. The rodeo
grounds, with a seating capacity of 5,000
have been completed after prodigious
efforts by the men of Joseph who have
turned out in a body for weeks to volun-
teer their services in helping out the regu-
lar working crew. Volunteer workers from
Enterprise have also lent a hand. “
The first rodeo in the new Chief Joseph
arena featured a cow-cutting contest, along
with roping and bronc riding. Renowned
contestants in the arena’s first few years
included Rodeo Hall of Fame All-around
Cowboy and Bronc Rider Ross Dollar-
hide. Harley Tucker continued to provide
top-notch rough stock each year.
Attendance and events grew. In 1956
the Chieftain noted that the parade was 3
miles long and took more than an hour to
pass the grandstand. The rodeo was sold
out for the Saturday performance. An esti-
mated 12,000 people attended the rodeo.
SCHEDULE | 2019 Chief Joseph Days • Activities July 23-28, Rodeo performances July 24-27
TUESDAY, JULY 23
1:30 p.m.
Bucking Horse Stampede
down Main Street,
Joseph
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24
9:00 a.m.
CJD Little Buckaroo
Rodeo for special needs
children & adults
2:00 p.m.
Rodeo Slack at Harley
Tucker Memorial Arena,
Joseph
7:00 p.m.
Family Night Rodeo
Performance, rodeo
arena
9:00 p.m.
Family Dance, Thunder
Room, rodeo grounds
THURSDAY, JULY 25
9:00 a.m.
Miles for Mammogram
Walk, starts at rodeo
arena (register at 8 a.m.)
2:00 p.m.
Rodeo Slack, rodeo arena
7:00 p.m.
Rodeo Performance,
Tough Enough to Wear
Pink night, rodeo arena
FRIDAY, JULY 26
5:30 a.m.
American Legion
Breakfast begins, Main
C4 | Chief Joseph Days 2019
Street, Joseph
Community Center
night), rodeo arena
7:00 a.m.
SATURDAY, JULY 27
Early morning
Shrine Breakfast, rodeo
grounds
10:00 a.m.
CJD Grand Parade, Main
Street, Joseph
12:00 p.m.
Friendship Feast,
Encampment Pavilion
2:30 p.m.
Rodeo Slack, rodeo arena
3:00 p.m.
Traditional Dance,
Encampment Pavilion
7:00 p.m.
Rodeo Performance (final
9:00 p.m.
Golf Tournament signup
at Alpine Meadows Golf
Course, Enterprise
10:00 a.m.
CJD Junior Parade, Main
Street, Joseph
2:00 p.m.
Rodeo Slack, rodeo arena
7:00 p.m.
Rodeo Performance,
rodeo arena
9:00 p.m.
Adult Dance (after
rodeo), Thunder Room
9:00 p.m.
Teen Dance, Joseph
Adult Dance (after
rodeo), Thunder Room
9:00 p.m.
Teen Dance, Joseph
Community Center
11:00 p.m.
Cowboy Breakfast begins
(continues through
night)
SUNDAY, JULY 28
Morning
Cowboy Breakfast
continues
9:00 a.m.
Cowboy Church Service,
rodeo arena