HISTORY of the PRCA sanctioned Western Fest Stampede Rodeo
A distant moon commands the Western sky; the Minnesota River Valley stretches across the prairie as a lone cowboy slips his boot in the stirrup, swings his body into the saddle, clutches his black Stetson and pulls it down tight to his ears, closes his eyes….
8 SECONDS
100 years of history is racing through his head. The ghost of every cowboy that has ever held the reins rides beside him, the clang of the metal gate – the rush of the night air – the shrill buzzer of an 8 second ride is drowned out by the roar of the crowd and the sound of his own beating heart.
The excitement and thrill of days of the old west and the rough and tumble reputation of the American cowboy come alive in the Lee Mar Arena during The Western Fest Stampede Rodeo and the Western Fest celebration.
The collaboration that gave birth to Western Fest and The Western Fest Stampede Rodeo dates back to the Granite Falls Centennial celebration in 1979. Elroy Bergeson and Percy Miller were the co-chairs. Committees were formed; activities including parades, dances, and a queen pageant were all carefully couched around the Minnesota State High School Championship Rodeo held at the Lee Mar Arena. The community and the volunteers had so much fun during the celebration that a decision was made to have the celebration every year. A $25 prize was offered to the person who could come up with a name for the annual summer celebration. Wayne Bush, an agricultural teacher out at Granite Falls Technical College submitted the name Western Fest and was awarded the prize.
From 1980 through 1988, the linchpin of the Western Fest Celebration was the passion, thrill and action of high school students from across the state competing with luck and skill in the sport of rodeo for championship honors and the right to compete at the National High School Rodeo finals. Lee Mar Arena hosted the Minnesota High School Rodeo for 32 years.
In 1988 the Minnesota High School Rodeo moved on and opened the opportunity to bring professional rodeo to Granite Falls through an affiliation with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) headquartered in Colorado Springs, Co. John Richter, Steve Ims and Dave Bollman were co-chairs of the early PRCA rodeos. Since 1989 – 25 years – the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo has delighted well over 100,000 fans. The number of spectators at the first rodeo was around 2,000. The numbers increased over the years with a record attendance of 4,221 in 2012.
The Lee Mar Arena
The Lee Mar Arena owned by the late Bud (Lee) and Martha Mooney has been home to rodeos for 57 years, 32 years of high school rodeos and 25 years of PRCA rodeos. Originally the site was developed as a square arena to hold horse shows in the mid 1950s. Bud and Martha’s commitment to high school rodeo led to the development of the current arena.
The First PRCA sanctioned Western Fest Stampede Rodeo in 1989 heralded a six year, $30,000 restoration of the arena. Under the supervision of Greg Vos and LeRoy Bud Sandberg, the wooden fences were replaced with 2,000 linear feet of new metal fencing designed specifically for rodeo. The six metal chutes and a seventh mounting chute are designed for optimum safety for the riders. A new crow’s was added in 1988. Permanent cement seating poured into the hill side provides fans with a panoramic view of the Minnesota River Valley. Bleachers were installed creating an additional 1,000 seats.
Over the years, both Bud Sandberg and Greg Vos have been recognized for their outstanding commitment to providing a quality, safe arena for the professional competition. Vos’s love for rodeo goes far beyond professional rodeo. As a young man he competed as a bronc and bull rider. Later as county superintendent of schools in Slayton he began promoting High School Rodeo Championships and helped form the Minnesota High School Rodeo Association. In 1956 the first competition was held in Walnut Grove.
Providing a tip-top arena where the cowboys compete continues to be a priority with the rodeo committee. John Aus works side by side with Vos, Art Mehr and dedicated volunteers who spend countless hours preparing Lee Mar Arena for the PRCA rodeo.
It has been over a half century since Bud and Martha Mooney hosted the first Minnesota State High School Championship Rodeo. The Mooney family keeps the traditions of the Old West alive each summer as they continue to support the PRCA Western Fest Stampede Rodeo held in arena bearing Bud and Martha’s name – Lee Mar Arena.
The Rodeo
Cattle ranching was the life’s blood for the working cowboy of the Old West. Many rodeo events are based on skills developed to fit the needs of the terrain and climate of the American west. Those events include bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, and bull riding.
Thousands of professional cowboys have competed at the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo, several of those cowboys are natives of Granite Falls. Five native Granite Falls riders have competed in the PRCA rodeo among them are Tim Peterson, John Aus, Tanner Aus, Tom Richter, Jon Vos and Wade Vos. Tim Peterson was a bull rider, while Tom Richter, John Aus, Tanner Aus, Jon Vos and Wade Vos were bareback bronc riders.
PRCA Rodeo is a family tradition with several local families: the Aus family, the Richter Family and the Vos family. Father and son, John Aus and Tanner have both competed in and won championships in the bareback bronc event. John grew up in a family rich in rodeo tradition. He and his sisters competed in high school rodeo. He met his wife, Rae Ann through the high school rodeo and his son Tanner attended his first rodeo when he was only ten days old. John and Rae Ann’s twin daughters, Danielle and Braelee have been active in high school rodeo.
Tom Richter has competed as a bareback bronc rider and also served as a rodeo judge. His brother John has been the chairman of the PRCA rodeo all 25 years and chaired the high school rodeo for several years before the PRCA came to town. Tom’s nephew Zac, John’s son, currently serves on the rodeo committee.
The rodeo tradition spans three generations of the Vos family. Both Jon and Wade Vos came by their love for rodeo naturally. Both grew up around horses and rodeo. Their dad, Greg Vos was one of the founders of the high school rodeo competition in Minnesota and has been master of Lee Mar Arena since the days of the high school rodeo in Granite Falls. Vos grandchildren Jill Hins and Lindsey Brewer have both competed in PRCA barrel racing events, while grandson Pater Hins has competed as a bull rider.
The Bullfighter
Dave Bloomquist grew up in Granite Falls. Bloomquist started his professional career as a bull rider, but at age 22 he decided to stop riding bulls and started to tease them. Bloomquist has been a bullfighter. The bullfighter’s job is to get between the bull and the rider after the ride is done. Once a rider is thrown from a bull, it is the bullfighter’s job to get the bull to come after him rather than the rider. Sometimes when a bullfighter gets between the bull and the rider he has to jump on the bull to get its attention. Bloomquist, like other professional bullfighters, relies on his quickness and the fact that a man can turn faster than a bull to allow the rider to reach safety.
The Rodeo Announcer
One would think that with all the wild and woolly action at a rodeo there would be no need for a rodeo announcer. Not so. The job of an announcer is to create the atmosphere, the mood and the euphoria once the action starts. An announcer takes the audience where he wants them to go. Duane Peters, an announcer from Howe Texas, was the voice of the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo for over a decade. Peters brought not only excitement to the crowd but also had an innate ability to create a mood that bridged the span of time between the romantic past of the American cowboy and the skill and courage of the rodeo contestants. For the past 15 years, announcers for rodeo have been Randy Taylor –“The Cherokee Cowboy from Oklahoma”, Tim Fuller and Chris Pyle.
The Rodeo Clown and specialty acts
The fast paced thrills of a rodeo create an air of tension in the fans. Rodeo clowns and specialty acts are the comic relief of rodeo. For years, rodeo clown Snuffy Chancellor brought guffaws from young and old as he interacted with announcer Duane Peters. Center stage in the arena, Snuffy would call out to Peters who was in the crow’s nest. “Did you hear where that bull rider who got pommel by that bull last night is?” Peters would call back. “No.” Snuffy would say, “Do you want to know?” Peters would answer, “Of course. Where is he?” Snuffy, turning to the crowd would answer, “In the Granite Falls Hospital in rooms 201, 202, and 203. But he’ll be back as soon as he can pull himself together.”
Specialty Acts added a flare of excitement and entertainment to the rodeo. Over the years, specialty acts including The All American Trick Riders with Vicki Taylor, ropers J.W. Stoker and Jerry Wayne Olson, “A Class Act” – Blake Goode a Roman trick rider – guiding his two steeds through a ring of fire and Tommy Lucia and Whiplash, the cowboy monkey.
Stock Contractor
The Mid-States Rodeo Company of Kirksville, Mo. has been the stock contractor for all 25 of the Western Fest Stampede Rodeos. Mid-States provides fast-paced action with an emphasis on color and excitement. A patriotic opening ceremony, world class bucking stock, top-notch announcers, bullfighters and specialty acts have created an atmosphere of crowd-pleasing professionalism year after year. Until 2011 John and Mary Walter and their daughter Lex were the owners of Mid-States. The company was sold to Van Flaherty. Flaherty has continued the tradition of excellence that the Walters created. The company provides stock for rodeos throughout the Midwest as well as the National Finals Rodeo. The bulls provided by Mid-States are mostly Brahman crossbreds and the company maintains a herd of 40 to 50 bucking bulls and well as several fighting bulls. The bareback and saddle broncs are mostly quarter horses. Mid-States not only supplies the livestock, they also provide the announcer, bullfighter, clown, pick-up men and specialty acts.
Western Fest Sweepstakes
Funds that support Western Fest activities are raised through the sale of Sweepstakes Tickets. The tickets go on sale several months before the celebration begins. Members of organizations volunteer their time and talents to sell the tickets. Each organization keeps a percentage of the cost of each ticket. The grand prize is $10,000 in cash. Total prizes in 2012 total $22,500.
Volunteers
While the backbone of the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo is the rodeo itself, the heart and soul of the rodeo are the volunteers. From the days when John Richter, Dave Bollman and Steve Ims co-chaired Western Fest and the high school rodeo to today’s volunteer committee, John Richter, Sheila VanOverbeke, Barry Evenstad, Art Mehr, Janet Skjefte, Dawn Soderstrom, Holly Johnson and Zac Richter, the mission has remained the same: to organize and promote Western Fest, an annual community celebration, with rodeo at the center of the celebration. The philosophy of the committees over the years has remained constant: to coordinate that all aspects of the celebration to benefit the community.
Members of the committee have been asked how a community of a little over 2800 people can put on a successful summer celebration that not only draws over 4200 people to watch the rodeo, but also is financially successful year after year.
The answer is simple. Community volunteers and in-kind services.
Most communities support city celebrations through a cash outlay from the city. Since the PRCA rodeo began, Western Fest has been self supporting. The City of Granite Falls has provided In-kind services at the rodeo grounds and within the city. The city has waved the costs of providing the costs of the Heartland Express Bus for transportation from off-site parking areas to the rodeo grounds.
Over the years community volunteers have built and maintained the arena, the ticket booths, the cowboy hospitality center and rodeo office. New construction includes additional bleachers and a large concession stand.
Members of the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s office volunteer their time at the rodeo grounds. Community volunteers maintain the arena. Community volunteers work with the livestock and operate the chutes during the rodeo. Volunteers from the Granite Falls Fire Department work on the grounds controlling traffic and parking. Volunteers from the Valley Riders Saddle Club provide free pony rides for the kids before the start of each rodeo. Volunteers plan and work at “Mutton Bustin”, Volunteers from Kiwanis Club sell rodeo tickets at the gate for the rodeo. Teens and their parents from The Granite Falls Lutheran Church volunteer to sell concessions at the food stands during the rodeo. Community volunteers plan and work the Western Fest Parade. Community volunteers plan and produce the Miss Western Fest Queen Pageant. Volunteers from the YME PTO plan and promote the Kiddie Parade. Volunteers from the Ambulance Squad make burgers and brats downtown during the kick-off events. Western Fest Royalty and candidates create a fun atmosphere for kids during the kick-off events. Volunteers from Rock Haven Church serve free root beer floats during the kick-off. Volunteers from the Lions Club work at the beer garden. Volunteers from the fire department work at the Fireman’s Barbecue. Volunteers from the Kiwanis Club work at the Kiddy Tractor Pull and the Kid’s Fishing Contest. Community Education sponsors several free youth activities including the watermelon feed, face painting at Rice Park and the Kid’s Fishing Contest.
Without the commitment of volunteers year after year, Western Fest would cease to exist.
The spirit of the Old West comes to life once a year in Granite Falls during Western Fest and at the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo. For a few short days, a hundred years of history comes alive through the skill and courage of the rodeo cowboy. Baxter Brown says it best in his poem Cowboy is his name. “It’s guts and love and glory. One mortal’s chance at fame, his legacy is rodeo, and cowboy is his name.”
Special thanks to the Granite Falls Library, The Granite Falls Advocate Tribune, Western Fest Stampede Rodeo webmaster Steve Torkelson, and The Granite Falls Historical Society for providing access to gather information for this history.
Written by Kathy Velde
8 SECONDS
100 years of history is racing through his head. The ghost of every cowboy that has ever held the reins rides beside him, the clang of the metal gate – the rush of the night air – the shrill buzzer of an 8 second ride is drowned out by the roar of the crowd and the sound of his own beating heart.
The excitement and thrill of days of the old west and the rough and tumble reputation of the American cowboy come alive in the Lee Mar Arena during The Western Fest Stampede Rodeo and the Western Fest celebration.
The collaboration that gave birth to Western Fest and The Western Fest Stampede Rodeo dates back to the Granite Falls Centennial celebration in 1979. Elroy Bergeson and Percy Miller were the co-chairs. Committees were formed; activities including parades, dances, and a queen pageant were all carefully couched around the Minnesota State High School Championship Rodeo held at the Lee Mar Arena. The community and the volunteers had so much fun during the celebration that a decision was made to have the celebration every year. A $25 prize was offered to the person who could come up with a name for the annual summer celebration. Wayne Bush, an agricultural teacher out at Granite Falls Technical College submitted the name Western Fest and was awarded the prize.
From 1980 through 1988, the linchpin of the Western Fest Celebration was the passion, thrill and action of high school students from across the state competing with luck and skill in the sport of rodeo for championship honors and the right to compete at the National High School Rodeo finals. Lee Mar Arena hosted the Minnesota High School Rodeo for 32 years.
In 1988 the Minnesota High School Rodeo moved on and opened the opportunity to bring professional rodeo to Granite Falls through an affiliation with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) headquartered in Colorado Springs, Co. John Richter, Steve Ims and Dave Bollman were co-chairs of the early PRCA rodeos. Since 1989 – 25 years – the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo has delighted well over 100,000 fans. The number of spectators at the first rodeo was around 2,000. The numbers increased over the years with a record attendance of 4,221 in 2012.
The Lee Mar Arena
The Lee Mar Arena owned by the late Bud (Lee) and Martha Mooney has been home to rodeos for 57 years, 32 years of high school rodeos and 25 years of PRCA rodeos. Originally the site was developed as a square arena to hold horse shows in the mid 1950s. Bud and Martha’s commitment to high school rodeo led to the development of the current arena.
The First PRCA sanctioned Western Fest Stampede Rodeo in 1989 heralded a six year, $30,000 restoration of the arena. Under the supervision of Greg Vos and LeRoy Bud Sandberg, the wooden fences were replaced with 2,000 linear feet of new metal fencing designed specifically for rodeo. The six metal chutes and a seventh mounting chute are designed for optimum safety for the riders. A new crow’s was added in 1988. Permanent cement seating poured into the hill side provides fans with a panoramic view of the Minnesota River Valley. Bleachers were installed creating an additional 1,000 seats.
Over the years, both Bud Sandberg and Greg Vos have been recognized for their outstanding commitment to providing a quality, safe arena for the professional competition. Vos’s love for rodeo goes far beyond professional rodeo. As a young man he competed as a bronc and bull rider. Later as county superintendent of schools in Slayton he began promoting High School Rodeo Championships and helped form the Minnesota High School Rodeo Association. In 1956 the first competition was held in Walnut Grove.
Providing a tip-top arena where the cowboys compete continues to be a priority with the rodeo committee. John Aus works side by side with Vos, Art Mehr and dedicated volunteers who spend countless hours preparing Lee Mar Arena for the PRCA rodeo.
It has been over a half century since Bud and Martha Mooney hosted the first Minnesota State High School Championship Rodeo. The Mooney family keeps the traditions of the Old West alive each summer as they continue to support the PRCA Western Fest Stampede Rodeo held in arena bearing Bud and Martha’s name – Lee Mar Arena.
The Rodeo
Cattle ranching was the life’s blood for the working cowboy of the Old West. Many rodeo events are based on skills developed to fit the needs of the terrain and climate of the American west. Those events include bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, and bull riding.
Thousands of professional cowboys have competed at the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo, several of those cowboys are natives of Granite Falls. Five native Granite Falls riders have competed in the PRCA rodeo among them are Tim Peterson, John Aus, Tanner Aus, Tom Richter, Jon Vos and Wade Vos. Tim Peterson was a bull rider, while Tom Richter, John Aus, Tanner Aus, Jon Vos and Wade Vos were bareback bronc riders.
PRCA Rodeo is a family tradition with several local families: the Aus family, the Richter Family and the Vos family. Father and son, John Aus and Tanner have both competed in and won championships in the bareback bronc event. John grew up in a family rich in rodeo tradition. He and his sisters competed in high school rodeo. He met his wife, Rae Ann through the high school rodeo and his son Tanner attended his first rodeo when he was only ten days old. John and Rae Ann’s twin daughters, Danielle and Braelee have been active in high school rodeo.
Tom Richter has competed as a bareback bronc rider and also served as a rodeo judge. His brother John has been the chairman of the PRCA rodeo all 25 years and chaired the high school rodeo for several years before the PRCA came to town. Tom’s nephew Zac, John’s son, currently serves on the rodeo committee.
The rodeo tradition spans three generations of the Vos family. Both Jon and Wade Vos came by their love for rodeo naturally. Both grew up around horses and rodeo. Their dad, Greg Vos was one of the founders of the high school rodeo competition in Minnesota and has been master of Lee Mar Arena since the days of the high school rodeo in Granite Falls. Vos grandchildren Jill Hins and Lindsey Brewer have both competed in PRCA barrel racing events, while grandson Pater Hins has competed as a bull rider.
The Bullfighter
Dave Bloomquist grew up in Granite Falls. Bloomquist started his professional career as a bull rider, but at age 22 he decided to stop riding bulls and started to tease them. Bloomquist has been a bullfighter. The bullfighter’s job is to get between the bull and the rider after the ride is done. Once a rider is thrown from a bull, it is the bullfighter’s job to get the bull to come after him rather than the rider. Sometimes when a bullfighter gets between the bull and the rider he has to jump on the bull to get its attention. Bloomquist, like other professional bullfighters, relies on his quickness and the fact that a man can turn faster than a bull to allow the rider to reach safety.
The Rodeo Announcer
One would think that with all the wild and woolly action at a rodeo there would be no need for a rodeo announcer. Not so. The job of an announcer is to create the atmosphere, the mood and the euphoria once the action starts. An announcer takes the audience where he wants them to go. Duane Peters, an announcer from Howe Texas, was the voice of the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo for over a decade. Peters brought not only excitement to the crowd but also had an innate ability to create a mood that bridged the span of time between the romantic past of the American cowboy and the skill and courage of the rodeo contestants. For the past 15 years, announcers for rodeo have been Randy Taylor –“The Cherokee Cowboy from Oklahoma”, Tim Fuller and Chris Pyle.
The Rodeo Clown and specialty acts
The fast paced thrills of a rodeo create an air of tension in the fans. Rodeo clowns and specialty acts are the comic relief of rodeo. For years, rodeo clown Snuffy Chancellor brought guffaws from young and old as he interacted with announcer Duane Peters. Center stage in the arena, Snuffy would call out to Peters who was in the crow’s nest. “Did you hear where that bull rider who got pommel by that bull last night is?” Peters would call back. “No.” Snuffy would say, “Do you want to know?” Peters would answer, “Of course. Where is he?” Snuffy, turning to the crowd would answer, “In the Granite Falls Hospital in rooms 201, 202, and 203. But he’ll be back as soon as he can pull himself together.”
Specialty Acts added a flare of excitement and entertainment to the rodeo. Over the years, specialty acts including The All American Trick Riders with Vicki Taylor, ropers J.W. Stoker and Jerry Wayne Olson, “A Class Act” – Blake Goode a Roman trick rider – guiding his two steeds through a ring of fire and Tommy Lucia and Whiplash, the cowboy monkey.
Stock Contractor
The Mid-States Rodeo Company of Kirksville, Mo. has been the stock contractor for all 25 of the Western Fest Stampede Rodeos. Mid-States provides fast-paced action with an emphasis on color and excitement. A patriotic opening ceremony, world class bucking stock, top-notch announcers, bullfighters and specialty acts have created an atmosphere of crowd-pleasing professionalism year after year. Until 2011 John and Mary Walter and their daughter Lex were the owners of Mid-States. The company was sold to Van Flaherty. Flaherty has continued the tradition of excellence that the Walters created. The company provides stock for rodeos throughout the Midwest as well as the National Finals Rodeo. The bulls provided by Mid-States are mostly Brahman crossbreds and the company maintains a herd of 40 to 50 bucking bulls and well as several fighting bulls. The bareback and saddle broncs are mostly quarter horses. Mid-States not only supplies the livestock, they also provide the announcer, bullfighter, clown, pick-up men and specialty acts.
Western Fest Sweepstakes
Funds that support Western Fest activities are raised through the sale of Sweepstakes Tickets. The tickets go on sale several months before the celebration begins. Members of organizations volunteer their time and talents to sell the tickets. Each organization keeps a percentage of the cost of each ticket. The grand prize is $10,000 in cash. Total prizes in 2012 total $22,500.
Volunteers
While the backbone of the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo is the rodeo itself, the heart and soul of the rodeo are the volunteers. From the days when John Richter, Dave Bollman and Steve Ims co-chaired Western Fest and the high school rodeo to today’s volunteer committee, John Richter, Sheila VanOverbeke, Barry Evenstad, Art Mehr, Janet Skjefte, Dawn Soderstrom, Holly Johnson and Zac Richter, the mission has remained the same: to organize and promote Western Fest, an annual community celebration, with rodeo at the center of the celebration. The philosophy of the committees over the years has remained constant: to coordinate that all aspects of the celebration to benefit the community.
Members of the committee have been asked how a community of a little over 2800 people can put on a successful summer celebration that not only draws over 4200 people to watch the rodeo, but also is financially successful year after year.
The answer is simple. Community volunteers and in-kind services.
Most communities support city celebrations through a cash outlay from the city. Since the PRCA rodeo began, Western Fest has been self supporting. The City of Granite Falls has provided In-kind services at the rodeo grounds and within the city. The city has waved the costs of providing the costs of the Heartland Express Bus for transportation from off-site parking areas to the rodeo grounds.
Over the years community volunteers have built and maintained the arena, the ticket booths, the cowboy hospitality center and rodeo office. New construction includes additional bleachers and a large concession stand.
Members of the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s office volunteer their time at the rodeo grounds. Community volunteers maintain the arena. Community volunteers work with the livestock and operate the chutes during the rodeo. Volunteers from the Granite Falls Fire Department work on the grounds controlling traffic and parking. Volunteers from the Valley Riders Saddle Club provide free pony rides for the kids before the start of each rodeo. Volunteers plan and work at “Mutton Bustin”, Volunteers from Kiwanis Club sell rodeo tickets at the gate for the rodeo. Teens and their parents from The Granite Falls Lutheran Church volunteer to sell concessions at the food stands during the rodeo. Community volunteers plan and work the Western Fest Parade. Community volunteers plan and produce the Miss Western Fest Queen Pageant. Volunteers from the YME PTO plan and promote the Kiddie Parade. Volunteers from the Ambulance Squad make burgers and brats downtown during the kick-off events. Western Fest Royalty and candidates create a fun atmosphere for kids during the kick-off events. Volunteers from Rock Haven Church serve free root beer floats during the kick-off. Volunteers from the Lions Club work at the beer garden. Volunteers from the fire department work at the Fireman’s Barbecue. Volunteers from the Kiwanis Club work at the Kiddy Tractor Pull and the Kid’s Fishing Contest. Community Education sponsors several free youth activities including the watermelon feed, face painting at Rice Park and the Kid’s Fishing Contest.
Without the commitment of volunteers year after year, Western Fest would cease to exist.
The spirit of the Old West comes to life once a year in Granite Falls during Western Fest and at the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo. For a few short days, a hundred years of history comes alive through the skill and courage of the rodeo cowboy. Baxter Brown says it best in his poem Cowboy is his name. “It’s guts and love and glory. One mortal’s chance at fame, his legacy is rodeo, and cowboy is his name.”
Special thanks to the Granite Falls Library, The Granite Falls Advocate Tribune, Western Fest Stampede Rodeo webmaster Steve Torkelson, and The Granite Falls Historical Society for providing access to gather information for this history.
Written by Kathy Velde
