B10
Wallowa County Chieftain
CHIEF JOSEPH DAYS
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Volunteers:
Continued from Page B6
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Rachael Eschler spruces up the interior of the Harley Tucker Arena’s north grandstand area
with a new coat of white paint in preparation for rodeo crowds.
First & Storie, Wallowa • Phone 541-886-3691 • Fax 541-886-3239 • Fast Frendly Service!
the head groundskeeper and
also ran the head gate for
timed events for many years
at the Bremerton Rodeo.
“I’ve worked with the
livestock here in the past,”
he said. “Then Terry (Jones)
asked me if I’d drive the
water truck, and of course I
said ‘yes.’”
Many local volunteers
have rodeo in their blood.
Gary Prout and his brother,
Max Prout, grew up in Wal-
lowa County. As Cub Scouts
and Boy Scouts, they helped
clean up the rodeo stands
and grounds after each
show. Their uncle, Wick
Prout, was president of the
Chief Joseph Days Board of
Directors, and was also the
grand marshal in 1975.
“We never thought of not
volunteering,” Max said.
“We don’t come here to
work. We just come here to
have fun in the sun and the
smoke.”
Max Prout volunteers
as rodeo grounds caretaker
during the summer.
Gary Prout and his wife
care for the vintage red
Chief Joseph Days stage-
coach and also keep and care
for team of horses that pulls
it. From 1886 to 1908 this
stagecoach carried passen-
gers from Elgin to Joseph,
making it a part of Wallowa
County history. The Prouts
transport both coach and
horses not only to the arena
for CJD and to Joseph for
the CJD Grand Parade, but
also to about a dozen events
around the Northwest where
the CJD stagecoach appears.
Gary and Max also apply
their considerable carpen-
try skills to maintenance
of the Harley Tucker arena
and other facilities. When
the new bathrooms had to
be completed in time for the
rodeo four years ago, Gary
and Max fi nished the job.
This year the two brothers
constructed a major renova-
tion to the beer garden and
spectator stands at the east
end of the arena.
The complex job of orga-
nizing the big Saturday
morning Grande Parade falls
on volunteer Pearl Sturm’s
shoulders.
“I love doing it,” she
said. “But sometimes it gets
real hard, getting every-
thing laid out, keeping it all
organized.”
Strum said she expects
this year’s 75th Chief Joseph
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Gary Prout installs a sprinkler to help keep dust under control
in the livestock pens at the east end of the Harley Tucker
Arena.
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
CJD director and volunteer grounds manager Mike Warner
tugs a sprinkler into place to control dust in the Harley Tucker
Arena on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
Days parade to be one of the
biggest — and, of course,
best.
“I’m still getting entries,”
she said on July 19.
Always a need
There’s plenty of room
for more volunteers to help
make next year’s Chief
Joseph Days another out-
standing success, CJD Presi-
dent Terry Jones said.
“We’re always looking
for people to help, including
people to help with ticket
sales or taking tickets at the
gate, or something like that,”
he said.
People with special skills,
whether with livestock or
carpentry or other things, are
always welcome, he noted.
“We all get paid the
same,” Jones said. “It’s
pretty easy to write out the
paychecks for the staff when
it’s all over.”
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Rachael Jones spruces up the livestock pens that will hold sheep for Mutton Busting and other
livestock.
We’d like to
recognize three
of our employees
who are past
members of the
Rodeo Court:
Lea Ganos Harris
- 2001 Rodeo Court
Maddi Tracy Mallory
- 2017 Rodeo Court
Caitlin Robb
- 2017 Rodeo Court
603 Medical Parkway, Enterprise
Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Behavioral Health Care
541-426-4502
507 S River Street, Enterprise
Winding Waters
2021
Chief
Joseph
Days
Joseph
401 N Main St, Joseph
Walk-In Care & Long-Term
Healing Relationships
www.windingwaters.org