Breckenridge American (Breckenridge, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 108, Ed. 2 Sunday, June 7, 1953 Page: 1 of 6
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Attend Your
Own Rodeo
BRECKENRIDGE AMERICAN Et!2.S
UNITED PRESS Wire Scrric*
Devoted To Home Town News and Building Breckenridge and Stephens Comity
NBA Feature Service
VOL. 33 NO. log
BRECKENRIDGE. TEXAS—SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 1953
PRICE 5 CENTS FEB COPT
w
a. i
*
RODEO TIME WILL OPEN IN BRECK WEDNESDAY
AMTEII SHOW T# OFFEI
FLOCK or
RIDING CLUB OFFICERS ARRAY—Here are Shown directors of the Breckc-nridg • Buckaroo Killing
Club. Left to right they are Albert Tuck, A. R. Knight, Joe Rogers, Tommy Gordon, Johnny Cope,
Weldon Rogers, Jess Offield, C. W. Wulfjen Jr., Irvin Lewis. Bu>*l Whiteside, IVtr Lohun and Grady
Slaughter.
AT RODEO GROUNDS—Here is a group of members of the Breckenridge Buckaroo Riding Club at
chow, this past week after a practice session for the 1953 rodeo. Some of them look pretty solemn for
chow tiiio'. The arena Is shown in background.
Rodeo Spirit Same
After Forty Years
Although tin- year'.- rodeo is of-
ficially railed the Tilth Annual
Stephen- County Rodeo, it actually
could b> labelled about the .'to or
40th annual r«!• •>.
Long hff'iir thi* polished, organ
iied i-i d :o show of today w as even
thought of, th<■ folks who had set-
tled around in this section of rh>
country tifod to stage their own
rodeo. Entertainment back in those
days was limited to say the least
and it was a big event when some
cf th - eowboy.- from the neighbor-
ing ranches got together to rope
and iid> . Everybody brought then
picnic lunches and the whole day
was devoted to a playful display of
wh it was actually their everyday-
work chores. All of the ranchinif
was done by h'r e back then and
the skilled cowb..y was the Qiost
important figure in the picture
with his favorite, well-trained
horse coming next.
With the coining of the machine
a**, much of that picture changed.
Tn discovery of oil altered it
Children's Pony
ShowToBeBig
Rodeo Feature
The children's pony show will he
he'd on Thursday night during the
rodeo performances. It is open to
anv rhild uml"r 1 i years of ag.'
and there is no entrance fee.
Th" children will be judged on
basis of 501f for horsemanship and
50'r. for dress and equipment. First
prixe for the show will be a pair
of shop made boots. Local merch-
ants aiii contributing other prizes.
Entries so far include Carolyn
Whiteside. Jean' Whiteside, Steve
Wood. Connie Wood, Mike Cope-
land, Sharon Copeland, Johnny
Deaton. SmokeRobbins, Janet
Wright, Gary Eambro. Sammy
Farnhro, Cindy Liu Slaughter, and
Smokey Eppler of Eliasvill.-,
New Trial Asked
For Atom Spies
NEW YORK, June 'U.P
Emanuel Bloch. defense attorney
for convicted Atom spies Julius
and Ethel Rosenberg, is expected
to file papers in federal court
Saturday notifying the U. S. at-
torney he will mo*e for a new
trial.
even ni"re. Today, Stephens Courr-
ty getn its income from both cat-
tle arid oil. Cars, radios and tele-
vision have filled the entertain-
ment spot.
Old Spirit Remains
But the old spirit of the West
still remains. Once a year it i.-
brought to the center of the stag"
and all of Stephens County is re-
minded once again of the gay old
times ami excitement of Rodeo at
its best.
The Stephens County rode'
didn't just happen, though. For a
while back in the .'Ills too much
interest in oil and other activities
failed to leave time for the rodeo.
Then in 1941), the boys organiza-
tion, known as the Future Farm-
er* of America, decided to promote
an oldfnshioned rodeo. They put
on a big barbeque and rodeo a>
the old Jones place, on the north
side of the Albany highway just
west of the golf club.
That got the interest started a-
gain and in 1941. the Stephens
County Fair Association was or-
ganized. The non-profit organiza-
tion was made up of business-
men and ranchers who put up a:
least $500:00 each. They held a
regular County fair that year in
'he old rodeo grounds on South
Miller. It was the good old-fash-
ioned county fair and rodeo with
exhibits of prize quilts, best jams
and jellies, biggest vegetables a-
long with champion milk cows,
pigs, steers and other livestock.
Another one was held in 1942 but
by this time World War II was
underway and the Association re-
luctantly shut down for the war.
Building Planned in '4.>
In late 1944 plans were made for
the building of the new rodet
grounds east of the city on high
way 180. By 1946, the new grounds
were ready and the rodeo was
scheduled for the fall.. Amazing as
:t seems now, the show was rain
ed out that year. A steady down-
pour with water running nearly a
foot deep in front of the shoots
finally made cancellation of the
•thow that year inevitable.
From that time on. the show has
been held in the spring and each
year has proved more successful
than the last.
This year the rodeo grounds are
freshly painted in green and white,
•hesen colors of the Buckaroo Rid-
,ng Club. They maintain th<
grounds in return for use of them
is a meeting place.
The FFA boys still have their
hand in the rodeo and they are
given full charge of the soft drink
concessions. The highschool shop
boys have the other concessions.(
*
COMOY IEGALIA ASKED WITH
lOHE PIECE HELD GON ENOUGH
COWGIRLS TO PARTICIPATE
Betty Baker. Ann Slaughter, and
will represent Breckenridge this y
Lions Will Usher
For Rodeo; Bays
Are Announced
— Left to right here are shown
Mrs. Clark Moon. Miss Slaughter
ear in the cowgirl contests.
* * * *
Cowgirl Raoe
One Exciting
Part Of Rodeo
The Breckenridge Lions members
will act as ushers for the rodeo
this week. President Jim Rominget
has appointed committers to work
on certain days, the chairman nam-
d first in each instance :uj follows:
WEDNESDAY
Bill McCoy, John Culwell.
George Hannon, V. C. White, J. E.
Douglas, Howard Swanson, W. C.
Maner, H. H. Satterwhite, Jerry
FerrelL
THURSDAY
W. B. McGaughy, T. L Isbell,
Murrell Brown, Ross Elliot, Joe
Gracey, Blake Johnson, Jr. Earl
Trammell, Bob Whitman, George
Jordan.
FRIDAY
Henry Nahm, H. L. Alexander
Preston Davis, P. M. Faulkner,
Charles Groseclose, Jack Merrill,
Berniee Trammeil, J. M. Thurmon,
W. R. Plapp.
SATURDAY
W. W. Emmons. I>mg Anderson,
Bill Black, Alf Chastain, Frank
Harrell, Mac Machen, Joe Hannn,
Bill Tucker, O. A. Gilmore, Lester
Clark.
I
fi
Reds Plan Serious
Riots On June 19
VIENNA, June fi <U.R: _ Thr
Communists are expected to stag'
'serous" demonstrations at U. S
■mbnssies and legations in Red
dominated Eastern Europe on Jun*
19 if atom spies Julius and Ethe'
Rosenberg are executed on sched
uh. it was reported here Saturday
Trouble is expected in the cap-
itals of Poland, Hungary, Roman
•a and Czechoslovakia—the Sovie'
satellite states where the Uniter
States is represented-—and perhapf
in Soviet-surrounded Vienna.
The Communists have systemat-
ically used the case of the Rosen
bergs to whip up anli-America!
sentiment, apparently hoping ti
duplicate the leftist-inspired fur©
that accompanied the execution o!
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Van
zetti in Massachusetts in 1920.
OFFICIALS OF RODEO—Alex Fambro again is serving as presi-
dent of the rodeo. He is shown cn the left with Fat Boy Wright
center, and Grady Slaughter, manager. Wright is arena director
11! S • - / • ■
LANGFORD GETS REPRIEVE
AUSTIN, June « a:.R>—Ben. H
Langford, serving a 99-year-torrr
on conviction of murdering his di
vorced wife at Wichita Falls April
13, 1949. was granted a 90-day em-
ergency reprieve by Gov. Allnr
Shivers Friday "in order to at-
tend to business mutters petlain-
ng to his property.
One of the most exciting events
in the Annual Rodeo is the cowgirl
sponsors race. This year the event
promises to give the spectator?
plenty of thrills. Entries have be-?n
coming in from all over West Tex-
as.
"Believe me, those girls can
really ride and when they come out
that gate on those horses, they've
got only on idea and that's to win,"
said Fat Boy Wright, arena direc-
tor for the rodeo. Competition is
keen in that event for more than
just glory too, because those girls J
split $100 of prize money every
night of the show.
The race this year will be around
three straight barrels and after
they pass that last one on the way
back, each girl realty gives her
horse his head. It's the only event
in which everyone clears the pas-
sage out of the arena. Nobody
wants to stand in the way of those
thundering hooves.
Many of the girls are married to
cowboys competing in the other ro-
• ieo events and as their husbands
follow the rodeo circuit, the girls
go along and enter the races.
Some of the contestants already
signed up are Betty Baker of
R recite n rid tre, Max in.' Harbin of
Eastland, Helen Emerson and Car-
ol Stephens of Graham, Mrs. Bill
Gage of Archer C.ty, Faye Ogles-
by of Jonegboro, Jo Thompson of
New Castle. Sadie Smith of Gail,
and Helen Bradford of Ranger.
Tlv race is open to any girl six
teen years of age or over.
The Rodeo committee made a
request that everyone in' town
wear some kind of western garb
during rodeo week, beginning
Monday. Any kind of western at-
tire will do, a scarf, boots, western
hat, blue jeans, boots, anything
that is western so that the whole
town will be in the spirit of the
Vent.
Grady Slaughter, 'general man-
ager of the rodeo, points out that
the town is all decorated up so why
not the citizens. "It's a lot more
fun if everybody enters into the
spirit of rodeo week and really
goes western," Slaughter said.
"We used to really make a point
of it and when we did, we all had
a lot more fun. If everybody puts
Alex Fambro Again
^President of Fair
Officers for the Stephens Coun-
ty Fair Association this year in-
clude Alex Fambro, president;
Randal Wright, 1st vice president;
T. P. Robertson, 2nd vice presi-
dent: J. G. Harrell, secretary; Bob
Padgett, treasurer; Adkins "Fat
Boy" Wright, Arena Director.
Grady Slaughter is the general
manager again this year.
To these men and all of the
others who are members of the
Stephens County Fair Association,
ail of whom serve in purely a volun-
tary capacity, the people of Breck-
enridge and the County owe a debt
of gratitude. It is only through
the hard work and effort of these
men who give so generously of
their time and energy that Steph-
ens County maintains this ama-
teur rodeo to preserve the spirit
of the Old West, it was pointed
out.
Bombers Set New
Record To Britain
FAIRFORD, Eng., June 6 TB>_
Two United States B-47 jet bomb-
ers broke the record—set only Fri-
day—for a direct U. S. to Britain
flight Saturday.
The first plane landed here five
lours and 30 minutes after leaving
Limestone Field, Me., breaking by
*ix minutes the record set Friday
y another B-47.
Shortly afterward a second B-47
owe red the record again by land-
ng five hours and 29 minutes af-
er leaving Limestone.
Both planes are part of the 30fitfc
lomb Wing which commenced ar-
riving Thursday at this newly-
•ompleted West England base
"or a 90-day training period.
The first plan..- which landed Fri-
lay was commanded by Capt. Rob-
ert D. Carlitrom, of Minneapolis,
\-tinn., with Cant. Frank Dl
Clarke, of Fort Worth, as pilot,
and Capt. Jack Nicholson, of San
Antonio, as navigator.
The second plane was command-
ed by Maj. h rank Keivneiy, of lios-
wrell, N. M.
Italian Election
Has Weak Points
ROME. June fi <U.R)—'The im-
proved political climate in Ko-
rea combined with cloudy skies
over Italy Saturday to threaten
the government's chances of a
clear-rut victory in the parliamen-
tary elections that begin Sunday.
Italian newspapers devoted al-
most as much space Saturday to
prospects for an early truce in
Korea as they did to the election,
and political observers believed
the news from the Far East might
encourage the voters to believe
communism is no longer a serious
threat.
There was strong belief that
complacency about communism
might cause past supporters of
Premier Alride De Gasperi's mod-
erate coalition either to stay away
from the polls altogether or to
throw their votes to Italy's mush-
rooming Fascist and Monarchist
parties.
on just one item of western cloth-
ing, everybody else will have just
that much more spirit."
Merchants and businessmen have
all signed up for rodeo decorations
and the town last week began tak-
ing on a festive dr. The committee
feels that rodeo week could and
should be a real occasion for eveiy
person in Breckenridge and Ste-
phen;; County to get back into the
spirit of the old West and the
pioneers that made this country so
great.
Heretofore two pieces of western
garb have been considered neces-
sary, and time was when those
without landed in a street cornel
"jail" if not so adorned, but this-
time it was said that one piece will
create the atmosphere if every one
joins in. Of course the more, the
merrier.
u
Clown To Show
Spanish Boll
Fight In Aet
Focal point of most rodeo per-
formances rests almost continually
on the man who i3 the rodeo clown.
This year, Standlee Davidson of
Abilene will be the clown for the
Stephens County Rodeo, opening
June Id.
Standlee has had plenty of rodeo
experience both in riding and
clowning. He was making a good
name for himself when he had to
leave his profession for a stint in
the Navy. Now he has returned
to civilian life once again and is
ready to don the grease paint and
bright costumes of the typical ro-
deo clown.
His - feature act is a Spanish
bull-fighting theme and he prom-
ises some real thrills along with
it. Bull-baiting for the protection
of the cowboys is a dangerous
job and what looks so simple to the
spectators often is a life-saver to
a cowboy trapped by a mad bull.
Standlee will wear a different
costume for each performance and
says that he wil Ido some stunts
that have never been seen in a ro-
deo arena before.
Incidentally, it was reported that
Standlee also has been retained as
a clown for the Stamford rodeo.
Grady Slaughter stated that rodeo
clowning for Standlee is a between
the acts performance while seeking
a college education.
Th? Tenth Annual Stephens
County Rodeo gets underway Wed-
nesday, June 10. Four performanc-
es will be held beginning at 8:15
p. m. each night through Saturday,
June 13. The show wiil be held in
the rodeo grounds just east of the
city.
Events include bareback bronc
riding, bull riding, calf roping, sad-
dle bronc riding, Jr. calf roping,
old timer's roping, cowgirl spon-
sors contest, yearling tie down,
and the children's pony show. In
addition, there will be both Na-
tional Cutting Horse competitions
and a Stephens County cutting
horse contest.
A mammoth parade will official-
ly open the rodeo on June 10 at
r>;30 p. in. The newly formed
Cutting Horse
Contest To Braw
Best In Norses
A contest under the auspices of
the National Cutting Horse Asso-
ciation will be held during the
Rodeo. Each night some of the
best cutting horses in this section
of the country will perform. Jud-
ges for the event will be Robert
Corbett and Gene Overcash of
Woodson.
A. R. Knight of Breckenridge
will enter his horse "Old Taylor"
in the contest. From Aledo, Texas,
Homer Dixon riding "Snipper" and
Ray Smith on "Old Paint" will per-
form. George Glascock of Cresson
will be riding a new horse this
year. He will be remembered for
his expert riding on his well-known
horse "Nigger." L. C. In man of
Abilene will be riding "Rolling
Stone." There are three entries
from Arlington none of whom
have announced which horse they
will ride. They are Bob Burton,
Andy Hensley, and Pine Johnson.
There will also be a strictly lo-
cal cutting horse contest in which
all horses must be owned by resi-
dent of Stephens County and not
entered in any other show.
Entries in this show so far in-
clude A. R. Knight riding "Miss
Way Back," Grady Slaughter on
"Amber," and Craig Miller riding
Alex Fambro's hftrse "White
Shirt." Mr. Ed Powers wilt also
ride but has not announced his
horse.
Breckenridge Buckaroo Riding
Club will make its first public
appearance at that time. Each
night a grand entry will be staged
at the start of the performance
and mentbera of the Buckaro rid-
ing club will act as pivot men for
the entry.
Special Roping Contest
Outstanding feature in this
year's rodeo will be the matched
roping between Sammy Baugh of
Rotan and Nig Wright of Breck-
enridge. "Slingin* Sammy," famous
former football player and now
full time rancher at Rotan, is well
known as a steady and consistent
calf roper. Nig Wright was the
1952 champion amateur cowboy in
calf roping and yearling tie down
for Texas. Each man will get threo
calves nightly and the winner will
be based on a 12-caLf average.
Other acts include the return of
the Lucas Troupe of Wichita Falls.
This tumbling act with five mem-
bers of one family participating
was well received here last year.
Clown for this year's rodeo is
Standlee Davidson of Abilene. His
Spanish bull-fighter act is his
highlight in addition to his other
duties of general bull-baiting.. The
ever-poular Nat Fleming will be
master of ceremonies for the show.
The rcdeo is an amateur one and
all events are open to any con-
testants. Headquarters for enter-
ing the contests are in the lobby
of the Burch Hotel. Tickets to all
performances are on sale in the
Chamber of Commerce office.
Mayor Faulkner
Issues
Invitations were being mailed
out today to the Tenth Annual
Stephens County rodeo. •
Mayor P. M. Faulkner, issued
the following invitation:
"The people of Breckenridge cor-
dially invite all of their friends in
neighboring towns to come over
and spend the day during Rodeo
week. Bring your picnic lunch and
enjoy the day in our beautiful
$250,000 Youth Center, nine acres
of park right in the center of the
city. Plan to take a swim in the
magnificent 75'xl50' pool in the
park and let the little folks play
and wade in the specially built
kiddies pool. There are plenty of
picnic tables and an 18-hole minia-
ture golf course. We know you'll
enjoy our amateur rodeo to finish
off your day. All of us are looking
forward to seeing you."
A mammoth street parade will
officially open the rodeo on June
10 at 5:00 p. m. The newly form-
ed Breckenridge Buckaroo Riding
Club will make its first public
appearance at that time. All riding
clubs are invited to participate.
Johnston Bitter
Over Conviction
SAN ANTONIO, June *> <U.fT—
"Doctor" Thomas Johnston, who
never went to medical school but
rose to the post of assistant chief
of medical service at an Air Force
hospital, was bitter Saturday over
his six-month prison term.
Johnston, 41, a former official at
the Lackland Air Force Base hos-
pital. was sent to jail Friday aft-
er pleading guilty to charges of
falsifying his Civil Service record.
He complained bitterly that he
had successfully practiced medi-
cine for 18 years in Kentucky, Mis-
sissippi and Texas.
He said he once owned a hos-
pital and had performed "all
kinds" of operations.
His attorney displayed clippings
from Tennessee newspapers de-
scribing how "Dr. Tom Johnston"
delivered quadruplet girls to Mr.
and Mrs. Jess Moore by light of
a miner's lamp in a wooden shack
near Cross Rods, Tenn., in 1947.
Reciprocal Trade
Act To Bel
Kept
WASHINGTON, June fi <U.ir—
Chairman Daniel A. Reed said
Saturday his House Ways and
Means committee may find time
soon to act on legislation to ex-
tend the Reciprocal Trade Act for
another year.
But the New York Republican
said he isn't sure the time can be
found. After all, he said, his com-
mittee is pretty busy these days,
with its current hearings on ex-
tension of the excess profits tax
and preparing for sessions starting
June 16 on a general overhaul of
the federal tax structure.
"We're busy, very busy," ha
said.
But some members of R«d's
committee said it wasn't exactly
the crush of work that was holding
up action on the reciprocal trade
bill, on which hearings ended more
than twot weks ago.
Reed's colleagues said he is
afraid that if he lets the reciprocal
trade bill out of committee, the bill
ultimately will be amended by the
Senate to include an extension of
the excess profits tax.
Anthony Eden To
Undergo Surgery
BOSTON, June 6 <U.R1—British
Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden
was in New England Baptist Hos-
Dital here Saturday to undergo
major surgery intended to correct
a chronic gall bladder ailment.
The 5fi-year-old diplomat arrived
Friday night abroad a four-engined
Royal Canadian Ait Force luxury
plane, the North Star. It was the
tame craft used by Queen Eliza-
beth II and her husband, the Duke
of Edinburgh, during a 1951 tour
of Canada.
The Eden plane landed at Logan
airport in East Boston after a 19-
hour flight from London.
Elaborate secrecy shrouded thf
news of Eden's arrival as it had
his departure. Scores of state and
city police guarded the runway?
and passenger gates to keep news-
men and otners from running out
to the plane.
YOUNC FOLKS ENJOY IT TOO—With' the young folks the rodeo also is serious business. Especially
•••hen it c'>me* to easing fim«. Left to right this reporter recognizes G?ry and Billy Sam Fambrn, and
Mr. and Mm Wilkeraon. Do you know the other two in this shot?
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Breckenridge American (Breckenridge, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 108, Ed. 2 Sunday, June 7, 1953, newspaper, June 7, 1953; Breckenridge, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth134574/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Breckenridge Public Library.