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Show UINTAH BASIN STANDARD, Altamont Rodeos - a historic tradition It . seems like the Altamont Rodeo has been there forever. It's an event people look forward to whether they perform- - or just watch. Adults and the older generation like to watch the. children and grandchildren of their friends, neighbors and relatives perform in the various events. Teenagers like the chance to ' socialize, after . a months vacation from school. And long-gon- e residents like to come back for the 4th and. 24th of July . festivities to renew old acquaintances and pee how things have changed over the veers.. - And things have- changed. From a herd of cattle in an open field to professional riding stock, and all kinds of chutes and corrals, and the rodeo does indeed look different today. - Pete Walls first rememberance of the 4th of July celebration was held on the river in a big meadow He said they didnt ' have 4 rodeo, but they did have foot races and games, and ice cream. He said- people came from all around the area to the celebrations there. about 1918:. - . 4pm, r I i Page IS July 2, 1986, j In later years rodeos were held j in many of the towns making up the upper country area. t Mt. Emmons had a rodeo for a time in a big field south of Scotty's Store where the old town was located.. There. was a rodeo mounds built across from the old Stevensons Store in Mt. Home. Bluebell had a rodeo grounds west of the .Bluebell store. Altonah had a. rodeo grounds west of its business district and rodeos were held for a time north of Altamont Elementary. Each' town made an ' effort to schedule tfreir rodeos so . that cowboys and spectators could get to each one, with one being held on the 4th and another on the 24th, etc. ' Rodeo stock was different in those days too. Often the rodeo simply consisted of a herd of cows and calves and wild horses. The cowboys rode the cows and horses and toned the calves. If they were lucky .enough to have a .bull in the herd, cowboys drew numbers for the chance to ride it. As time went on, local farmers picked out- livestock that was particularly wild acting to use in - VV' the rodeo. There was one famous . $:- f - . ... bull Berneice Atwood remembers called "Brock's Bull" that coul- dn't be ridden for a long time. But the bulls were rare in early rodeos. . Reay Jessen used to ride in the rodeos and traveled from town to town to ride.. He remembers going with' Bill Clark to ride' in ' the Bluebell rodeo. Bill had the mumps, but .was determined to' ride anyway. He also remembers that a lot of Indians used to ride in the rodeos. One of the most memorable was Long John who in all the rodeos performed around the area. He lived. in a little cabin on the Lake Fork X A - . . . River and trapped during the winters. But in the summers he could be seen riding the rodeo .circuit or catching a bus to Pendleton, Oregon where he also would perform. In about 1945, Melwood Wall sold p piece of ground, west of Altamont City! to the LDS. Church to be used as a rodeo grounds. Over the years facilities such as corrals, chutes, grandstands, etc. were built to improve the grounds. At that time there was an Altamont Stake only it was called Moon Lake Stake Rue Miles and Bill Fieldsted were instrumental in getting the ' facilities built. Miles said they used the money from admissions to gradually build up the grounds. He remembers that Jack Allred built the grandstand. He said a lot of work and ' material were donated also. Miles remembers that in earlier years there was often a horse race down the road into the grounds, and a baseball game in conjunction with the rodeo. He said they also had a lot of horse pulling. Theyd often have a hone pull and baseball game one afternoon and the rodtio the next Reay Jessen remembers a time that there wasnt enough money to pay. the cowboys, so they rode for nothing just to put on a show. In fact, he said a $10 purse was pretty good for riding. Jessen won the wild horse race in 1947 and got a whopping $20 and a bull rig for it. He said $1.50 could not only get .you id. to the rodeo, but buy hot dogs and hamburgers and pop for the whole - . . - afternoon. have several choices, of rodeos to see. Neola has the longest. running rodeo, Altamont has the kids rodeo and Fort Duchesne has the Indian Rodeo. There are lots gf choices this weekend. RODEO TIME Spectators i The -- Altamont Roping Club Was orgStfiied'just over 20 years ago. They began to get involved in organizing the rodeos, and used the grounds for their own activities as well. Two years ago, they bought the grounds from the LDS Church and have sponsored the rodeos ever Bince. They are now in the process of trying to improve and update the grounds. But whatever the year, whether in a cow pasture, or in a fancy corral, rodeos will always be of the upper county heritage, and will always be enjoyed by those who remember as- well as those who are too young to remember. - ; RODEO ACTION Lots of rodeo action is available this weekend, details of several of the rodeos are included in this edition of the STANDARD . ... be sure to look inside for stories and details of all the Fourth of July activities. Get the show off the road! a Suzuki LT250R QuadRacer four wheeler that d rules off the mad. sport engine, new tires and primary kick starter for easy starts. Plus, fuH suspension and lightweight racing features make It a fun. Ride one leader in high-performa- ke Liquid-coole- high-tracti- in-ge- ar four-wheelin- g .today ' U LT250R QuadRacer Frandsen's Rec Center 25 E. IflSfl I SUZUKI tlADRUNNERS Hwy 40 - Roosevelt 722-227- 3 i FOREMOST IN FOUR-WHEELIN- G. 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