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    Cheyenne Frontier Days
    Cheyenne Frontier Days
    Cheyenne Frontier Days
    Ebook194 pages53 minutes

    Cheyenne Frontier Days

    By Starley Talbott and Linda Graves Fabian

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    About this ebook

    Cheyenne Frontier Days originated in 1897 after a few individuals conceived a signature event as a way to revive the thrilling incidents and pictures of life in the Old West. Their vision included a celebration that would bring visitors from all over the world to the capital city of Wyoming. From its beginnings, Cheyenne residents valued a rural lifestyle that inspired them to create a frontier festival. For more than a century, Cheyenne Frontier Days has been the spirit, heart, and soul of the community and the cowboy way of life. Today, it has evolved into the world s largest outdoor rodeo and celebration of its kind.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJun 10, 2013
    ISBN9781439643488
    Cheyenne Frontier Days
    Author

    Starley Talbott

    A freelance author for more than forty years, Starley Talbott has authored six books and numerous columns for a variety of newspapers and magazines. Author and adjunct professor of history at Laramie County Community College Michael E. Kassel serves as the curator of collections and the co-director of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum.

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      Book preview

      Cheyenne Frontier Days - Starley Talbott

      (OWM).

      INTRODUCTION

      Near the end of the 19th century, the West had already been won and the frontier was considered closed. But the wild and wooly West still held a fascination for many people. Farms and ranches dotted the plains, and towns and cities provided culture and commodities. Some folks in Cheyenne, Wyoming, were looking for a way to celebrate the Western way of life and sustain economic growth.

      Cheyenne was founded in 1867 as a tent town along the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad’s western expansion. At the same time, Fort D.A. Russell was created to protect railroad workers from attacks by Native Americans. Cheyenne quickly became known as a hell on wheels town, catering to the whims of railroad workers, miners, gamblers, saloon keepers, and military folks. The Union Pacific Railroad designated Cheyenne as a division point but did not build shops and yards there until 1889. The Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage, established in 1870, brought a new wave of folks heading to the Black Hills. Cheyenne was also influenced by many wealthy ranchers who settled the area surrounding the city and built mansions there. Cheyenne campaigned to be the capital of a new territory called Wyoming in 1869, which gave the city permanence and led to Wyoming statehood in 1890. The stage was set for the city’s leaders to expand the growth and potential of Cheyenne as more than just a town along the railroad tracks. However, the railroad continued to play an important role in the city’s progress.

      A Union Pacific employee named Frederick Angier who was responsible for arranging excursion trains approached Col. E.A. Slack, editor of the Cheyenne Sun-Leader, with a unique idea in 1897. Angier had noticed a group of cowboys loading cattle on a railroad car, and he thought that would be the kind of activity others would enjoy watching. Angier suggested to Col. Slack that the city of Cheyenne might hold a festival featuring cowboys performing their usual ranch chores like riding and roping. Colonel Slack and others had visited festivals in Loveland and Greeley, Colorado, which had sparked their interest in sponsoring an event that would contribute to Cheyenne’s economy and bring visitors to town.

      The Cheyenne leaders formed a committee to organize a celebration, naming Warren Richardson Jr. as chairman. The committee acted quickly and set the date for a one-day event on September 23, 1897. The first program included cowpony races, a wild horse race, and pitching and bucking horse contests, with local cowboys providing livestock for the events. Folks crowded into Pioneer Park on horseback, in carriages, and in the small grandstand. The day was deemed a success, and Cheyenne Frontier Days™ was born.

      The following year, a two-day event included the appearance of Sioux, Arapahoe, and Shoshone Native Americans. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show added excitement, and a wedding ceremony was conducted at Pioneer Park. Dates for the show were later moved to August; by 1915, it was staged the last week of July; today’s celebration is scheduled near the last 10 days of July.

      Cheyenne’s festival gained notoriety when celebrities and leaders like Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, and Charles Russell came to visit. The Denver Post, in cooperation with the Union Pacific Railroad, organized trains that brought thousands of visitors from Colorado, a tradition that continues. Hollywood discovered Cheyenne and, beginning in the 1920s, sent film crews and stars to the city.

      In the 1930s, cowboys formed an association called The Turtles to make known their concerns and requests for the fair rules of rodeo, the division of prize money, and designation of champions. This organization later became the Rodeo Association of America, then the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

      The rodeo became so popular that, in 1919, it acquired the nickname of The Daddy of ’Em All, because the celebration had gained a world-wide reputation and was imitated throughout the country. Eventually, the day show was judged as overly lengthy, and in 1929 a night show was added. This became a venue for specialty acts like trick-riders and Native American performers. After World War II, big-name bands like Lawrence Welk played for dances, and entertainers including Roy Rogers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels, George Strait, and Reba McEntire came to perform.

      Parades led off the festivities from the earliest celebrations to the present time. Currently, four grand parades attract crowds to downtown Cheyenne. On alternate days, a free pancake breakfast feeds thousands, while locals host various events throughout town.

      Frontier Days moved to its present location at Frontier Park in 1908 when a new steel grandstand was erected. The grandstands have been enlarged several times. The complex, including the arena, bucking chutes, holding pens for livestock, a carnival area, vendor area, dance halls, restrooms, and parking lots, has been built entirely from profits.

      Throughout the years of both world wars, Cheyenne received the government’s permission to continue the celebration. During World War II, when 20,000 men were stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (formerly Fort D.A. Russell), the War Department felt the event would provide an incentive for the troops and commanded that the show go on. From the beginning, the military participated in parades and performed at the rodeo grounds. In 1953, the world-famous Thunderbirds flying team staged a spectacular aerial acrobatics demonstration over the city that continues to this day.

      During the Depression years, as rodeo attendance waned, local businesses

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