I'm working on a slide show for my presentation on the William Wade book on March 13. Wade came west to the Missouri River country working as a bullwhacker on a Don Stevenson wagon train. He joined up in Minnesota, so he more than likely traveled once, or maybe a few times, on one of the two routes between Fort Abercrombie and Fort Ransom. The longer route called the highwater route followed the bend of the Sheyenne River whenever the river ran too high to ford. The low water route followed a much straighter line between the two forts. It was from that fact that Shenford Township earned its name, originally called Shinford when the water only came up to a man's shins.
I attended the annual meeting of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame on Saturday where among other things they voted on a slate of candidates for this year's inductees. In the Great Westerner category William Wade got an official nomination along with Marquis de Mores. Voting will take place over the next several weeks and the winners in all the divisions will be inducted at a ceremony in June in Medora.
It was easy to tell that this was a gathering of cowboys. All four urinals in the men's restroom showed signs of snoose being spit into them.
The menu that night featured one mighty fine 8 oz top sirloin steak that could be cut with a butter knife. The entertainer at the banquet was Monte "Hawkeye" Henson, a three-time world champion bareback bronc rider. He sang and told jokes like this one: "Did you hear about the Indian orgy? It was intense!" I know, it took awhile for some in the audience to figure it out, too.
Before the entertainment began, the president of the group grabbed the microphone and said, "Folks, I want to call your attention over there to a Kodak moment." There the three-time champ Henson stood visiting with a four-time champ, Brad Gjermundson. I used to follow rodeo a bit, so I thought it was a big deal.
I donated two of the Wade books to place on their silent auction table. I left early, but one of them had a $50 bid and the other $39.
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The Bismarck Tribune sent me another book to review: Lady at the O.K. Corral - The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp. Here is how I started it: "This reviewer recently visited Tombstone, Ariz. and suffered through frequent 'gun battles' on the streets and walked through Boothill Cemetery reading grave markers that told of violent deaths. (Here lies Lester More. Four slugs from a .44. No Les, no More.")
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See you next week!
I attended the annual meeting of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame on Saturday where among other things they voted on a slate of candidates for this year's inductees. In the Great Westerner category William Wade got an official nomination along with Marquis de Mores. Voting will take place over the next several weeks and the winners in all the divisions will be inducted at a ceremony in June in Medora.
It was easy to tell that this was a gathering of cowboys. All four urinals in the men's restroom showed signs of snoose being spit into them.
The menu that night featured one mighty fine 8 oz top sirloin steak that could be cut with a butter knife. The entertainer at the banquet was Monte "Hawkeye" Henson, a three-time world champion bareback bronc rider. He sang and told jokes like this one: "Did you hear about the Indian orgy? It was intense!" I know, it took awhile for some in the audience to figure it out, too.
Before the entertainment began, the president of the group grabbed the microphone and said, "Folks, I want to call your attention over there to a Kodak moment." There the three-time champ Henson stood visiting with a four-time champ, Brad Gjermundson. I used to follow rodeo a bit, so I thought it was a big deal.
I donated two of the Wade books to place on their silent auction table. I left early, but one of them had a $50 bid and the other $39.
***
The Bismarck Tribune sent me another book to review: Lady at the O.K. Corral - The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp. Here is how I started it: "This reviewer recently visited Tombstone, Ariz. and suffered through frequent 'gun battles' on the streets and walked through Boothill Cemetery reading grave markers that told of violent deaths. (Here lies Lester More. Four slugs from a .44. No Les, no More.")
***
See you next week!
