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 ,
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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.
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541-422-7180
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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 ,
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