SPECIAL FAIR & RODEO SECTION
The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Ore., Thursday, August 18, 1977 ELEVEN
RCA Gold still in his blood...
A
J 5VS y
Vern Evans sits
atop Brother
Rat at Sisters
in 1946.
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...Grand Marshall Evans
will ride from stands
Funny thing about those
Rodeo Cowboy Association
gold cards. All you need to
earn one is to remain an RCA
member for at least 10 years.
But the fact that there are so
few card holders around tells
you there's something special
both about the man who
carries the card and the
occupation he chose to pursue.
Vern Evans carries one of
the cards certifying him a
lifetime RCA member and is
the only man in Morrow
County to still do so.
He'll be at the rodeo next
week, just as he has been for
the past 20 years he's lived in
Heppner. But this time he'll be
carrying an additional hon-oraria-onc
not quite so per
manent but one every bit as
rewarding and deserved. Vern
Evans is the 1977 Grand
Marshal of the Morrow County
Fair and Rodeo. ,"
"This is all something new
tome," Evans said. "I'm sure
I'll stay pretty busy all week."
Despite the schedule, Evans
plans to be in the stands for
the rodeo sessions watching
a sport that has seen a lot of
changes since Evans broke
into the pro circuit in 1938.
The rodeo way of life isn't
the easiest way to make a
buck but most hands probably
wouldn't give it up without a
fight. Like everything else, it
has been through some tran
sitions, some for the better,
some for the worse.
"Rodeo has become much
more businesslike these
days," Evans said. "Every
thing is in and out on a tight
schedule and the cowboys are
flying back and forth and
traveling all the time."
Evans was a bronc rider by
trade, mainly because that
was the only event a lot of the
contests had. Some of the
bigger shows had some roping
and dogging but broncs were
the staple and Evans rode his
share. He competed mainly in
the Northwest with a few treks
into California. The shows
were steady during the sum
mer but the day of the year
round rodeo circuit was still
ahead.
"In those days, a hand
would have to travel all
through the South to find
shows other than during the
summer," Evans said. "We
just didn't travel like they do
now."
Along with the commercial
ization of rodeo came the
demise of one practice which
Evans calls ,"a lost art",.
Snubbing, or readying a bronc
in mid-arena with only a rope
and saddle horse, has given
way to packing the animals
into chutes before the ride.
"Sure the chutes are faster
and probably more efficient
but when snubbing went out,
the rodeos lost a good event
for the crowds," Evans said.
Another change he has
noticed has been the increase
in programs for the younger
competitors. "PeeWee,
Junior and High School rodeos
let the kids get an early start
on things," Evans said. "Be
fore, the kids just had to wait
until they were older to
compete with the men."
Evans said he enjoys the
' Junior competition as much as
the full-blown action. "It's
nice to see the younger kids
coming up," he said. The
oldest son of Evans and his'
wife, Fern, tried his hand at
rodeo for a while and now a
grandson is just entering the
Junior age group.
"Sure things have chang
ed," Evans said. "But some of
us oldtimers still show up at
some of the shows to rehash
the way it was."
Even if you can't have it
both ways, Vern Evans, this
year's Fair and Rodeo Grand
Marshal, still has the best of
both worlds.'
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