Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2004)
Rod Murray, 2004 Grand Marshal Rod M u rray The 2004 G rand Marshal of the Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo, Rod Murray, was chosen for his lifelong involvem ent with horses, I re la te d a c tiv itie s and com m u n ity serv ice. An addiction to horses began with a Shetland pony when Rod was a small boy living near Hillsboro. Through the years Rod participated in calf roping and team roping, raised and schooled Quarter horses and served on the Heppner rodeo committee. Rod graduated from high school in Newberg in 1944. Following graduation he served two years in the Army w hile stationed in both the United States and A Tradition Tor Our County... See you At Tiie rfair( 4 Peterson's Heppner Jewelers/ <fj/ 676-9200 BETTY BURNS J U S T IC E OF T H E PEACE NOV 2004 PAID AND AUTHORIZED BY BETTY A. BURNS R ECY CLE T O D A Y M o r r o w C o u n t y T r a n s fe r S ta tio n a cce p ts: A lu m in u m , G la ss B o ttle s, Scrap M e tal, N e w s p a p e r, T in C a n s, T ire s. F in le y B u tte s a cce p ts: A lu m in u m . B a tte rie s, C a rd b o a rd / in G erm any. Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill th at h elp ed ex -serv ice personnel to obtain further education, Rod enrolled at Oregon State University - - then called Oregon State College. Upon graduation in 1950, Rod becam e a licensed pharm acist and held positions in Roseburg and Hillsboro, Oregon, and Longview, Washington. For several years Rod traveled extensively throughout Eastern Oregon and Idaho for Merek, Sharp and D obm e pharmaceuticals. Rod says he was impressed with the Willow Creek Valley area and he becam e weary of constant traveling. In 1957, Rod and his wife, Margaret, moved to Heppner after Rod accepted a position in the drug store, then owned by Leta Humphreys. The M u rra y ’s purchased this drug store in 1959. The c o n tin u in g Murray legacy involves an expanded and modernized drug store in the original historic building on Main Street. That business and the Condon drug store were purchased by their son John and his wife, Ann. Before their retirement, Rod and Meg at one time owned five drug stores in different rural locations. In those earlier days a pharmacist was required to be on duty w henever the drug store was opened. Therefore Rod says it was difficult to be absent during business hours, especially during the rodeo, as there wasn’t anyone else readily available that was qualified to take his place. So while on horseback in the rodeo arena he som etim es got called back to the store. That d id n ’t prevent him from serv in g on the rodeo committee for seven years, often functioning as the livestock director. “Putting on those rodeos, sanctioned by the RCA, was a lot of work,” says Rod. “We had a very cohesive group who would work extra hours to get the grounds in shape, yet we had a great deal of fun. The large aren a m ade the p e rfo rm an ces slow er. Today’s smaller arena helps make the Heppner rodeo one of the best in the country,” Rod claims. The K inzua- sponsored Morrow County c alf roping saddle was a trophy that all ropers wanted to win, says Rod. In 1959 Rod b ested his fellow c o n te sta n ts to win that saddle. In addition, his sons, Mark and Matt also became saddle winners as second g e n eratio n roping enthusiasts. A fter the M urrays moved to Morrow County, Rod was instrum ental in helping to get a local 4-H horse program started. The leaders helped youngsters to acquire better horsemanship skills long before there was a statew id e 4-H horse program. Rod served as president of the Wrangler Riding Club. During this time he donated a Quarter horse c o lt to stim u late attendance at Wrangle Club ev en ts. E veryone who helped sponsor activities or did maintenance work at the riding club grounds was eligible to win. Rod and his sons also h osted team ropings at the arena at their lone home. W hile raisin g his own horses for ranch work and ro d eo s. Rod later became interested in Quarter horse racing. Rod and Sonny Lackey trained horses on the 3/8 of a mile track built near their home that was then in lone. Those horses were consistent winners so Rod and Sonny were listed as leading tra in e rs at the Yakima race track. While Rod and Meg are now re tire d , th eir accomplishments leave an in d elib le m ark on local communities. Rod continues to raise a few Quarter horses and fondly looks back on those days when friends laughingly called him a “drugstore cowboy.” A favorite activity these days is keeping abreast of the endeavors of their extended fam ily with 15 g ran d ch ild ren and eight great-grandchildren. The M urray’s enjoy watching games and other activities involving th eir H eppner g ra n d c h ild re n . The five adult children of Rod and M eg are M ark M urray, P rairie C ity; M aralee T ro tter, S p rin g field ; Mathew Murray, California; John Murray, Heppner; and Anne Murray, Oregon City. B ro w n Bags, G la ss B o ttle s, T ire s , Scrap M e tal, T in C a n s, U se d M o t o r O il, N e w s p a p e r, lo n e (at th e P o s t O ffice ): N e w s p a p e r. H e p p n e r (on R iv ersid e): R e cy cle B in s-m o st ite m s t o be recycled. D o b y n s P e s t C o n tro l 541-422-7180 B o a r d m a n (o n N E F r o n t St.): R e cy cle Bins- m o s t ite m s t o be recycled. K ic k u p y o u r h e e ls , h a v e a w o n d e r fu l tim e ! Irrig o n (at S to k e s La n d in g ): A lu m in u m , C a rd b o a rd . G la s s B o ttle s, S crap M e ta l, T in C a n s, N e w s p a p e r. F o r M o re In fo rm a tio n , C a ll (541) 9 89-9500 M O R R O W C O U N T Y P U B LIC W O R K S *Residential *Commercial Serving Morrow County f o r over 50 years. O C C B : 79070
