Silver Anniversary 1990; Western Heritage Awards 1990 Cowboy Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary 1990

On the crest of a ridge at the edge of Oklahoma City stands a unique monument to the American spirit. In an age when information flashes around the globe in a microsecond and mankind rise across the frontiers of tomorrow on the fires of technology, this is a place where yesterday lives. Amid the quiet dignity of a place called Persemin Hill is a lasting salute to the men and women who cross their frontiers not on wings but on willpower and to an age when a country was built with tools no more complex than courage and determination. Hello everyone I'm Tom McNamara and I'm James Row welcome to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Western Heritage Center.

Flags of the 17 Western States fly over a museum complex carefully designed to reflect its purpose. Chosen from a national architectural competition the buildings glass walls and open galleries echo the spaciousness of Western prairies. The gentle peeked roof suggests a frontier encampment and pools and streams on the ground stretch the importance of water to the early pioneers. But it isn't the structure or the landscape that makes the hall a priceless national treasure. It's the heritage which it preserves. It's a heritage that holds us even today. The times and the great

branches were measured in miles not in acres and the acreage went into the hundreds of thousands and it was the cowhand that made it all work. The days before jeeps and helicopters and the man and the horse were the rulers of the range. By the 1920s though the big branches were being broken up in the cowboys were at the beginning of their twilight. Organizations like the Cherokee Strip Cow Punchers Association were formed to recognize the old timers and the cowboys skills were kept alive in the wild west roundups the beginnings of rodeo. Still there was no memorial to those days and those men. But that day was coming. November 11th 1955 and not too far from the old Chisholm Trail horsemen are

riding again. It's a grand day indeed dedication day for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Oklahoma City has chosen for the site of the National Shrine and the city donates for seven hill 37 acres along Route 66. This is the realization of a lifelong dream for Kansas City and CA Reynolds the chairman of the board of governors to the hall and thousands listened as Dr. G Raymond Campbell of West Minister Presbyterian Church set the hall on a high course. If sometimes someone should imagine up here on this hill that he has caught just a width of the smell of bacon frying over an open fire or the bubble of coffee boiling over onto the cold or the creek of a tired battle and the evening loing of cattle off in the distance. We'll thank you Lord. But progress comes slowly. A fundraising program begins all over the country and the search is launched for a design for

the hall. The one that is chosen is quite controversial. There's some criticism that it's too modernistic but in reality the peak groups represent a circle of tens. Ground breaking takes place in January 1958 with actors Glenn Ford and Jack Laman on hand. Representatives from 17 Western states turn the first shovelfuls of dirt and soon the dirt is being turned by bulldozers. It was 1965 though that the hall finally opened its doors as a place to remind us of the ways and the values of the West. Frontier history is preserved in many ways here and one of the most fascinating for folks

of all ages is this recreation of the Old West. Along this winding street you'll find a chuck wagon, a stagecoach, and an old telegraph office that was the only rapid means of communication in Frontier days. There's even a replica of one of the gold mines that fuel the Westward boom. And on a nearby street there's downtown or uptown, Old West. Of course these buildings are recreations but the artifacts inside are the real thing. Whether you browse the gun shop, check into the hotel, look over the wares in the saddle shop, or drop by the general store where you can shop for just about anything. You'll find history coming alive at every turn. And just around the corner a special gallery honors the

heroes we all grew up with. They may have only been fictional characters but their performances shaped our images of the people who shaped the West. Last year's inductee and to the Western performers hall of fame is better known for the job he got after his movie career was over. Didn't the kind of a patient forget Mary? No. This beats getting in that first Western that I finally managed to get into with Warner Brothers. This beats it all to be here and honored as you have honored me today. Soon the president's portrait will hang along with an elite group of 29 others. These are the real McCoy's painted by some famous artists. The people behind the portraits are some of the greatest. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Jimmy Stewart and Glenn Ford. Those who perpetuate the ideals traditions and romance of the American West. Story to the old West. Stories of hardship and adventure of dreams and courage. Oklahoma Dale Robertson wrote that 20 mule team for Death Valley Days into the hall back in 1984 but no

television show has more cast members honored than the five who starred on Gunsmoke. Doc Festus Marshall Dillon Miss Kitty and Chester have an entire wall dedicated to them. They can have the Emmy and they can have the Oscar they can even have the Hollywood wax museum. But I'll take the Wrangler and the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Yeah. This year there'll be two inductees into the Western performers Hall of Fame. What is James Garner better known as Brett Maverick? This straight shooting fast-talking star of the television series Maverick. While Maverick might be considered the traditional Western, Garner was also considered for his portrayal of Murphy Jones, a pharmacist in a small Arizona town. Now the younger crowd may not recognize the name of the second inductee whose character lived during the days when the sidewalk down Main Street was made of wood. But if you remember those thrilling days of yesterday year, you're not the lone ranger. Well time will I must be on our

way. How do you feel? Good to thank you boys. You know when a person meets a man like that you just have to believe in the future of the West. You can't very well mention the history of the West without talking about rodeo. One of the most famous at the turn of the century was on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch near Ponca City. The brothers preferred calling them roundups, not rodeos. But the results were the same. Ranchans became folk heroes with their skills at taming the wild beast. The south end of the Cowboy Hall is dedicated to preserving their memory. Here rodeo is traced from informal contest between Cowboys in the 1860s to Tex Austin, the daddy of rodeo, who even promoted a championship at Bianchi Stadium. You're one of the best if you make it to this wall. There's Henrietta-born Jim Shoulders, the 1958 All-Round Champion. Here he is in one of the biggest rodeos in the world. Cheyenne Frontier days. Then there's the Calgary Stampede, a rodeo that attracts 20,000 spectators. Let's bring in here the many times state senator in Oklahoma. Clem McSpatton and our

longtime colleague of the rodeo broadcast. Jim is good to be in Calgary. Today of course kind of put the icing on the cake after. The icing for Clem had to be his induction into the hall last year. ABC's wide world of sports brought rodeo into non-Western homes and even made Larry Mayhanna household name. Wrestling rib roast on the run remains a favorite rodeo event. Just one of the accomplishments in the arena that made stars of Cowboys and the rodeo hall of fame keeps those stars from fading. The halls of fame devoted to Western performers and to rodeo are only two of three halls of fame here. The great Westerners hall of fame is devoted to the real men and women who built the West and who continue to uphold its traditions. But possibly the most dramatic exhibit in the museum is in the South Wing where you'll find a piece of sculpture where the story is grand as its size. Inside the pain Kirkpatrick Memorial Wing at the Cowboy Hall of Fame stands a towering figure and India non horsebacked both of them exhausted at the end of a long journey. How

the end of the trail statue came to Oklahoma City as an epic in itself sculpted in plaster by James Earl Frazier for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. It was intended to be cast in bronze for a location overlooking the Pacific Ocean but World War One halted the project and for 50 years the statue stood abandoned. It was discovered rotting away in a park in Viselia, California. Cowboy Hall officials decided to move it 1500 miles to a new home. A Jean Delahay went along to capture that move on film. He arrived with the flu after a long days travel and got his first glimpse of the statue. I awake out of this feverish stupor and here's this great white apparition just visible by car lights and I didn't know if I was having some sort of illusion or it was real or what but I grabbed the camera and jumped out

and shot pictures of it. Moving the 16 foot statue was no easy task. The rider would have to be taken off his mount. The big sweat was what was gonna happen when they made the incision to take the Indian off the back of the horse was it gonna be like a cream puff and just disintegrate. When they cut into it they found that it was very well constructed inside with two by fours and steel rod and chicken mesh wire and all kinds of things to stabilize it. For the first time in over 50 years the Indian and his horse were separated and then packed into separate crates for the long trip to Oklahoma City hoping for the best it was anybody's guess what condition the statue would be in when it got to the hall. When it arrived and the uncreated the small crate the head of the Indian hand disintegrated just in a million pieces. The head was restored by artist Leonard McMurray. Moles were made sent to Italy and a bronze casting was made

to replace the original statue in Viselia. Dilla Hay says being a part of the biggest horse trade ever was a thrill he'll never forget and it was worth it so others won't forget either. All these things available especially to young people who are trying to find their own identity are stabilizing forces they need to spend a lot of time out here studying their heritage. Despite the attraction of the halls of fame the recreations the design and landscape those are not the cowboy halls greatest claims to fame. The biggest attraction here and justifiably so is the greatest collection of Western art and existence. From the awesome oils and bronzes of Remington and Russell to a famous face painted by Norman Rockwell the fierce beauty of our Western heritage almost jumps out of us. Come on with me and let's see. Well there you have it but there are more than 1300 works in this collection so

that really was just a peak. Of course the best way to appreciate it all is to come here and spend some time yourself realizing what a jewel we have in our own backyard. In addition to the incredible permanent collection there's an endless succession of temporary shows and exhibits some by practicing artists some on loan from other fine museums and private collections. There's always something interesting to see and it's always different. Every day is a special one at the cowboy hall. But there's a very special day and that is a day of the annual Western Heritage Awards it's kind of like the Academy Awards of Western Heritage. I was looking for a place where men and women could stretch out their minds and their hearts. You call it your Western heritage. It was a moment filled with promise January 30th 1961. That night Oklahoma City looked like Hollywood.

The old Skurvin Tower was a warm host to some of Hollywood's best. The cowboy Hall of Fame was still under construction then. Oklahoma and Dale Robertson star of Tales of Wells Fargo, Don DeTecito is Master of Ceremonies. The Alamo took top honors that year for John Wayne as best Western motion picture. John Wayne would sweep the Heritage Awards in the early 60s with the Common Cheros, the man who shot Liberty Valence. That year 1963 ceremony officials had to give tickets away at the last minute. They worried the ceremony wouldn't catch on. But you're doing with that piece of sheep dip. I'd like a blowy steven head off just for riding through my town. The American Western rode through town and took no prisoners. Western authors like James Missionor and Louis Le Mour last owed several Wrangler awards for their literary work. Charlton Heston flew here from Europe to pick up a Wrangler for

the film Will Penney. By the end of the 60s TV shows like Gunsmote or Classics movies like True Grit made legends of Hollywood stars. I mean to kill you in one minute net or see you hanged in Fort Smith the Judge Barker's convenience. Would you let me? I call that bowl talk for a one-night fat man. Fill your hand you son of a bitch. The ceremony moved to the hall in 1970 by 71 tickets were hard to come by. Oklahoma's were lining up to see stars accept their Wranglers. Stars like Lee Majors from the Big Valley and Amanda Blake Miss Kitty. I've had the pleasure to play an awful lot of Indians in the last 15 years. Hollywood has a tendency not to write a great deal of latitude when you're playing Indian. Usually you have a feather stuck in your head and you

look very old for an hour and a half. Oklahoma's also got an early look at an unknown who would later become a big star. This is the one of the most beautiful museums I've ever been to and I'm just so proud that dad's going to be here forever. Then I'm just so proud I'm just all swung up like a great big old old. Oklahoma's swelled with pride in 1972. The Cowboys won another Wrangler award for John Wayne. Masters of ceremony, Joel McCray and Walter Brennan tip their hats to Gene Autry and Jimmy Stewart. The entire cast of Gunsmoke filled the stage to accept a special award of recognition. Years later James Arnes who played Matt Dillon reminisced about the heyday of the Good Old Western. Just going through this museum made you kind of nostalgic for the thought of doing a Western. You know they don't seem to be too going over to get these days on television but I wish they were because it'd be great to get back to those old times you know and do. The Western was replaced by science fiction

adventure films but it never left the place it found in our hearts. The Western was family entertainment. The Western Heritage Awards will remain to encourage filmmakers to get back to the basics. You've kept looking for the better trail and I was very proud to be in your company tonight. Here is the director of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame at Western Heritage Center Mr. Byron Price. Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Tonight I'm doubly pleased to welcome you to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame as we celebrate two special occasions. The 1990 Western Heritage Awards and the silver anniversary of our institution. Since 1961 even before this facility was officially open the National Cowboy Hall of Fame annually has awarded the Bronze Wrangler Award to winners in more than a dozen categories of Western music, literature, film and television.

This evening we again honor this country's top artists in these fields. In addition we will honor three men with induction into the Hall of Great Westerners and salute two gentlemen who have contributed to the legend and mythology of the American West through their performances in American film and television. Ladies and gentlemen it's my pleasure to introduce one of the top musical talents of this country Mr. Glenn Campbell. We're the then high-crackled leather, the flashed silver, the horseman comes to me from the rest of the Sponderer. Look with me when he passes, look with me if you can't. He just might see the last American. He's riding off the border rising without fear or shame, so keep your head and don't forget his name. He's

written in cowboy hall of fame. He might be rustler or he might be though he may go down in history as quick as stole the throne or he may be a Wrangler who's bigger with the song. All you little do is get lost. You're too missed in Horn gambler's going to cheat him a little game. He'd rather take his bonk and steal the plane. On a red shoe in the cowboy hall of fame, light green or ever-own-the-unfitted snowman rain. All the way to hell upon your embassy. Keep your powder dry and never train. He's riding down in Texas. He's on the Chisholm

trail. He'll go to all new Mexico's and best to never fail. He's out in the Missouri breaks. He's down in butter rake. Look quickly because he just went that away. He's going to all the home of trail and dust and shooting planes. A bandit all begun himself contained. The hang is saddled in the cowboy hall of fame. The hang is saddled in the cowboy hall of fame. Thank you. And I want to say what a pleasure it is to be here tonight. It's a national cowboy hall of fame and this time is the master of ceremony. It's quite an

honor. The man who will present the first award is a two-time Wrangler winner himself, both times for his role as Sheriff Emmett Rocker in the television series, The Viginian. Ladies and gentlemen, let's please welcome Mr. Clue Gulliger. This is this magnificent museum. In my view is one of the great tributes to man by man. I'm very, very proud that it's an Oklahoma. And by God, I hope your piece can keep it here. The first Wrangler tonight goes to the outstanding western art book produced in 1989. This year's

selection is What Matthews of Lam's Head by Laura Wilson. In this powerful photographic essay and text, Laura Wilson captures the spirit of the fabled Lam's Head Ranch and of 92-year-old What Matthews who, except for four years at Princeton, has spent his entire life on the ranch he loves. Through evocative photographs and down to earth text, this book illuminates the American Western experience, the life of one remarkable man. Wilson has captured his traditions, beliefs, and observations which echo those of countless people who first settled a sometimes inhospitable land. Here to accept Wranglers, our Laura Wilson, a Ron Tyler director of the state, Texas State Historical Association, publisher of the book. There are certain things we say to each other so often,

we forget the power of the words. I'm thinking in particular of two words, take care. That's what my book What Matthews of Lam's Head is really all about. What Matthews has taken care of his history and his heritage. He's taken care of his land and his family. He has taken such good care of what counts most. And even now, at 91, the power of his example is strong and true. And so, to watch from all of us who know and love him, I would like to say simply, you take care. And I would like to thank Ron Tyler, who made our book possible. He's the director of the Texas State Historical

Association. Thank you. Thank you, Laura. When I first saw Laura's photographs, I realized that this book had three beautiful things in its favor. First was Laura's exquisite text and photographs. Second, I could see it designed by Eleanor Caponegro of Santa Fe, and it is designed by her. But finally, I could see it telling the story, the unique story of what Matthews of Lam's Head, a man whose story really truly stretches from the Texas Indian frontier until today. What, thank you for making this possible. It seems appropriate to follow the Art Book Award with a special recognition honoring one of America's finest artists whose beautiful work hangs tonight in the front gallery here in the museum, Mr. Robert Lockheed. Horses and writers galloping

across the canvas in pursuit of a very British sport. Native Americans dwarfed by the grandeur of the southwestern maces, a majestic elk near a pool in the Rocky Mountains. The west of Robert in Lockheed was very wide indeed. His career was marked by consistent excellence, versatility, and truth to nature. Formal training came under the great Frank Vincent Dumas of the Art Students League in New York. Under Dumas, Robert Lockheed's enormous talents were refined. Summer painting trips to Nova Scotia laid the foundation for his ability to paint his subjects on the spot, making him one of the few great field painters of the last century. Lockheed travel worldwide in pursuit of his subjects, moving easily from one medium to another, Robert Lockheed worked magic on canvas. Death stilled his brush in 1982, but his legacy will serve

as a catalyst for the works of others for generations to come. With us tonight is Mrs. Courtney Lockheed, wife of the late Robert Lockheed. Bob would be very, very thrilled with this award and the art show. Thank you. Our next award is in the category of Outstanding Western Article, published in the magazine or journal. This year's winner appeared in the April 1989 issue of American Heritage. In Powder River Country, California writer and teacher Oakley Hall turns up the true stories

behind some powerful Western myths, traveling along a hundred miles stretch of interstate from Casper to Buffalo. In Northeastern Wyoming, Hall recounts the famed Johnson County Range War of 1982, when cattle barons clashed and settlers, small ranchers who challenged the open range, contrasting the somewhat unglamorous facts with the many fiction and film versions of this bit of history. I think I'm guilty of that when I played Billy the Kid. The author preserves the sense of place and the excitement that await travelers who explore America's historic trails. Here to accept, Wranglers, our author Oakley Hall and Fred Allen, editor of American Heritage magazine. I want to thank my photographer who I've been married for 45 years. I also want to thank a couple of mentors of mine. When I was a boy in San Diego, I lived next door to Stewart Lake,

who was the biographer of Wyatt Earp, and so I grew up on Wyatt Earp. Later on, I met another Western writer whose name was Walt Coburn, and when I mentioned Wyatt Earp, he said that cowboy murdering son of a... That way I came on to knowing about the ambiguities of Western myth, which... Thank you very much. I'd just like to thank the cowboy Hall of Fame and also thank Oakley Hall for writing such a wonderful article to win us this award. Thanks. For six days in early September 1989, a crew of cowboys, teamsters and cooks recall the epic cattle drives of the 19th century as they moved more than 2,000 head of cattle across 60 miles,

60 miles of the Montana range. Producer and director Bob Kane documented the thoughts of those who participated in the great Montana Centennial cattle drive in this year's outstanding factual narrative titled Billingsbound. I think it was something magic about the idea early on. They caught the imagination of the people. When we started thinking about the reality of it, you know, we're talking about something that was a fantasy in a way. People talking about the life of a cowboy a hundred years ago, and everybody wants to be a cowboy when they're a little kid. A lot of times these old cowboys said we'd had to feel in that some of these old cowboys thought this is a Hollywood deal and they didn't want to be a part of it. And I was talking to these fellas and they just made no bond about it. They said this is absolutely the best thing we've ever been on. We wouldn't have missed it for the world. I just wish my grandkids were here to see it.

Please welcome the producer and director of Billingsbound from Ontario, New York, Bob Kane. Well, there's so many people to thank and a little time to do it. Certainly the pieces was made and couldn't have been made without the people in Montana who were on that drive. All the men and women and the drovers. First, go to thanks, go to my wife, Phyllis, and a little four-year-old daughter, Teresa, who allowed me to go out there and be a drover and therefore have a childhood dream come true. Certainly all the crew at CGI, sound quest, John LeBarber's music, Rob McGowan's editing. The list is on and on and I certainly want to thank the Cowboy Hall of Fame in particular for giving us little guys a very, very big honor. Thank you very much. Competition in the Western non-fiction book category was especially fierce. This year,

author Elliott West, admirably, upholds a proud tradition in growing up with the country. The contributions of the thousands of women and children who bounced across pioneer trails toward lives of hardship and adventure finally are being recognized by historians and the public. Growing up with the country childhood on the Western Frontier explores the way children shaped and worshipped by the Western experience. Author Elliott West, as we constructed the lives of some of these children who grew up to be the first truly Western generation. Please welcome. Nancy Cox-Hall representing the University of New Mexico Press, which published the book and author Elliott West. At the Academy Awards, you're supposed to begin by saying I'd like to thank all the little people.

I mean that literally and honestly the children who my study were so compelling and so interesting that it made my job of work very easy and pleasurable to do. I'd also like to thank certainly the Western Heritage Center for this final award to thank the University of New Mexico Press, especially David Hopi, the editors of the Frontier series Howard Lamar, David Weber, and Martin Ridge. I want to thank especially for people, my teacher and friend Bob Atherin, who is here in spirit tonight, I thank my wife Suzanne Stoner and most of all my parents Dick and Betsy West. Thank you very much. We're very pleased and happy to be accepting this award, the Wrangler Award for Nonfiction. Thank you all very, very much on behalf of the University of New Mexico Press.

Our outstanding Western juvenile book winner tonight also recognizes the participation of children in the Westwood migration. When 15-year-old Christina Udora von Scholl learns that her family will leave their German homeland to seek freedom in Texas, a greatest sorrow is leaving behind her beloved grandmother. And so in a series of letters she recounts the adventure of her first year in Texas. Sometimes the letters are dark with discouragement, but more often they are bright with promise for Christina finds the Texas Frontier an exciting, if puzzling place. Here to accept the Wranglers 4, letter to Oma, a author, Marge Gorashish, and Judy Alter, director of Texas

Christian University Press. Marge Gorasik. I got it right. Thank you. I want to thank the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for this wonderful chance to stand up here and thank you all for being here. I want to thank TCU for press for publishing letters to Oma and my wise and wonderful editor, Judy Alter, for being so supportive all the way through. When you write children's books, you find out that you suddenly are in showbiz. You're expected to go around what they call school visits and talk to children about your book. It's been a total delight to meet all these kids and hear their wonderful questions and even get letters. I got a letter from a third grader

in Austin, Texas. And she said, dear Mrs. Garrosic, I loved your book. I think you will be famous by the time you're 80 if you live that long. If she were here, I'd tell her I feel famous right now and I'm not even 80 yet. Thank you so much. I just want to add my thanks to Marges. We're very proud of letters to Oma. We're grateful for the recognition to the books that we do for young readers. Thanks. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, man, that I'm a big fan of. Mr. Sam Elliott. Thank you, Glenn. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be back to the National Cowboy

Hall of Fame. Needless to say, particularly in celebration of its silver anniversary. Excuse the top of my head while I read some of these lives to you here. The legendary Pony Express existed for less than two years, but the tales of the young writers who crossed the Western Frontier still capture our imaginations. The winner of the Wrangler for fictional television drama, drama, drama. It's a new ABC series of the young writers. What is your name? Cody. William F. Cody. Billy, if you like. I don't like. Thank you. Pretty hard stuff. Don't you? Yep.

Cowboys. Don't need to impress me, Cody. I ain't going to be chasing you. I'll hear you do not stand and fight. You run like hell. You understand? You run like hell. Here to accept their awards are the show's executive producer Jonas McCord and its creator Ed Spielman. For me, the Western has always been like a watering hole that rickindles my faith in the American dream.

A faith not unlike Ed Spielman's that's for seven years fought hard to get the show on the air. A faith taken up by David Gerber, the kind of outlawed chairman of MGMTV who then sold it to ABC's Bob Iger and Teddy Harbor. We may not be a Nielsen winner, but every week after the national ratings come in we grow four to five million households. That sends a real signal to me that we won the heart of the nation. In the name of that heart and the cast and crew and staff of our show, I'd like to thank the Cowboy Hall of Fame and one more thanks to the woman that won my heart ten years ago. My wife and a guest are our young riders Suanne Leeds. Thank you very much. I share this award with my family, my wife Bonnie, my daughters Nora and Julie, my brother Howard, my collaborator with Josh Kane and Mike Ogins, Chad Hoffman and all the people who believed in

the show. For me the Western is something enduring and classical, sure belief in a lone individual with nothing more than a good horse, a hat to keep the dust in the rain off, maybe a gun, maybe a badge, but somebody with the sure knowledge of the difference between right and wrong and the courage to act on that difference. When I was five years old in Brooklyn, New York, my mom got me a hop-along Cassidy cowboy hat. I never forgot that and I'll never forget this. Thank you. As historians interpret events that shaped the future of the West, Western poets interpreted soul.

This year's winner of the Western poetry category is Rafting the Brazos by Walter McDonald. All summer after chores we dragged out tractor inner tubes, patched black Uncle Murphy's face on Sunday and launched them on a wide flat water. So begins the title poem in McDonald's collection. These are not cowboy poems in the tradition of Curly Fletcher and Badger Clark, but rather contemporary poems that suggest the rhythms and the mystery embodied in the common place seen of McDonald's Texas birthplace. Please welcome poet Walter McDonald in Francis Vick from the University North Texas Press. I appreciate this more than I can say. So many of you this weekend have made Carol my wife and me a couple of Texas kids feel right at home. Texas Tech didn't win any games in

the Southwest Conference so fellow okis by spirit consolations and congratulations to you. I'm especially grateful of course to the judges who chose this book and to friend Vick and her buddies at the University of North Texas Press. Thank you. Rafting the Brazos is the first book out of the new University of North Texas Press so this is particularly sweet to us and thank you thank you for giving us this wonderful send off. The transformation of Indian territory to the state of Oklahoma represents a genuine epic in the American experience. Oklahoma Educational Television's Oklahoma Passage this year's

outstanding doctor drama presents the story of more than 150 years of life in Oklahoma through the eyes of one family. Here to accept their Wranglers are director Ken Meyer and executive producers Robert Allen and Bill Thrash of OETA.

Thank you very much. I was involved in the committee that produced these ceremonies for many years and I have a lot of fond memories of what happened in this room. I remember Joel McCray and Walter Brennan and Yakima Kanat and Bob Will's Texas playboys and the original sons of the pioneers. Those were over the past years and we handed out a lot of Wranglers over those years but little did I know that at that time that someday I'd be receiving one. I'm thrilled to death. Thank you very much. To me the Western Herty George has always symbolized the pioneering spirit and it's also symbolized the American West. Over the years the Wrangler has been a real source of inspiration and great

motivation to me and so I want to thank the Cabo Hall of Fame and the trustees for honoring me with this Wrangler over the years and I want to give them my special and deep felt thanks. I know most of you think I'm going to ask you for a pledge tonight. You know Oklahoma is a microcosm of the largest story of America but there's one characteristic that is not just American but is especially Oklahoma and this characteristic is the quality of resilience. The spiritual capacity to endure and rebound a determination to triumph over history and I want to express my deep appreciation for this characteristic best exemplified by our state

leaders, Governor Bellman, our OETA Board of Directors, our Foundation Trustees, our funders, our Director Ken Meyer, Executive Producer, Bill Thrasch, our Music Editor, Gene Delahay, and our very talented OETA staff who have made Oklahoma Passage possible and on a personal note if you'll allow me. I'm most thankful for my family whose love, support and understanding have been simply unending and for my father in El Reno, Oklahoma who taught me years ago that anything in life is possible if you're willing to work long enough and hard enough to reach your dream and tonight Oklahoma Passage is that dream and for this Wrangler Award, Dad, this is yours too. Thank you very much.

Fiction is a subjective art and it is rare that any panel of judges forms a solid consensus on the best Western novel of the year. This year's winner is an exception. The author Chad Oliver is a chairman of anthropology department at the University of Texas at Austin and has written several science fiction novels as well as a Western title. The Wolf is my brother which won a golden spur award from the Western Writers Association in 1967. The outstanding Western novel for 1989 is Broken Eagle published by Bantam Books. In the last half of the 19th century on the Great Plains, the Buffalo were dwindling in the world of the Indian once fading with them. Oliver's gripping novel depicts two legendary warriors, Broken Eagle, a Cheyenne, Raven War, an honorable and peace until his wife and

child perish at Sand Creek, and John Singletary, the Calvary officer whose iron will would bend to no man's not even custers. Oliver sweeps the reader into a vortex of history that led both characters to their destiny at the Little Big Horn. Broken Eagle was published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam, Double Day, and Dell Publishing Group, accepting Wranglers tonight our novelist Chad Oliver and Greg Tobin, Senior Editor at Bantam. Thank you, Sam. I don't think you need to apologize for sharing the top of your head with us. On behalf of the Bantam Double Day Dell Publishing Group, I would like to thank the judges for their unanimous choice and the directors of this great National Cowboy Hall of Fame for the Wrangler.

And I want to congratulate my friend Chad Oliver on his great Western novel, Broken Eagle. Chad. Thank you, Greg. Thank you, Sam. It's a particular pleasure to be receiving this award at your hands. Having received both written and verbal orders, my remarks will be brief. Unlike Custer, I tend to take warnings very seriously. So here we go, a short race at a full gallop. Thanks to Jill Lanzdale, who reminded Greg Tobin of my existence. Thanks to Greg Tobin, who reminded me of my existence.

Thanks to the regiments of scholars and writers who preceded me on this battle ground, marking the trail with such skill. To the doctors who kept me alive, when Custer's last stand nearly became Oliver's last stand, my sincerity is total when I wish my doctors continued success. My thanks to my family, my wife Beeji, son Glenn, daughter Kim, sister Betty, who helped to keep me together. My thanks also, finally, to fellow writer, friend, crowd fisherman, Howard Waldrup, who was always there when I needed him, which was frequently. Ever since I sold my first story to Tony Boucher 40 years ago, my goal has been the same

to write as well as I can, as long as I can. Hey folks, hang in there. I'm not through yet. To all of you at this wonderful rendezvous, I thank you for this distinctive honor. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. God bless you all. The Chester A. Reynolds Award, given for the first time this year, is named in honor of the principal founder of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. The award recognizes outstanding contributions by an individual, group, or institution toward the perpetuation of ideas, history, and heritage of the American West, whether a single remarkable achievement, or a body of quality work over a period of years, this year's recipient is William Harding

Martin Jr., owner and operator of the J.R. Ranch near Superior Arizona. Billy Martin is a cowboy's cowboy. For 37 years since he purchased the Martin Ranch from his father, he has successfully run hundreds of cattle in cactus and brush country. The 72 miles of pasture on the Martin spread encompasses the inhospitable but beautiful superstition wilderness area. Despite the rugged terrain, Billy Martin is one of the state's most notable cattlemen. Running a cattle operation is a full-time job, yet he's always ready to lend a hand to friend and acquaintance alike. Whether working a cattle through the sage or branding livestock, his honesty, work ethic, and management skills have earned him the respect of the cattle industry, the love of his family, and the first Chester A. Reynolds Award from the National Cowboy Hall of

Fame. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Billy Martin. Thank you. Well, it won't take you very long to find out that I haven't done this for a living, so I've been a cowboy all my life, and being accepted to Oklahoma Hall of Fame makes me proud of the never think that I have been a cowboy. I want to thank everyone that had anything to do of making it as possible for me to be here. I want to thank those that chose me, those that home that did so much, and those that came up here with us. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. I think that's what this Western Heritage Award deal is all about right there, folks.

Through the years, many outstanding productions have kept the spirit of the West alive and the and in the public eye. The recipient of a special award for continuing excellence in a television feature is such a production. NBC's series Desperado represents a well-known Western genre that of the famous outlaw on the run. I'm a journalist with the publication Western Heroes and Villains, which one am I? Well, to be honest with you, Mr. McCall, that depends on you, but not on the quality of our writing. We're known the world over as the foremost authority on this kind of subject. Here, take a look at this. You can't read, can't you, Mr. McCall? Oh, that's the most daring feat I have ever seen.

The boots will be ready in the morning. Accepting the Wranglers for Desperado, our director, EW Swachhammer, producer Chuck Celier, and actor Alex MacArthur. It's a great honor to be here tonight. I'd just like to say that by being honored by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, I feel like we've been given a stamp of approval by the very audience that we try to reach out and touch. I feel like over the years, all the debates we've had over authenticity of dialogue were being true to the period of time that had paid off.

And the very people that we tried to touch have given us their stamp of approval. You people, the Cowboys, and all the Cowboys across America. Thank you. I'd also like to thank my partner throughout all the Desperados who through his great sense of style, his endurance, has tried to make me look as good as possible through all these shows. I'd like to thank my horse, Wang. Thank you. And I want to do this with a few. I know he's up there listing somewhere because friends, John Wayne was really a man of true groups. Someday, little girl, the sadness will leave your face as soon as you want. You fight to get just a stun. Someday, little girl, you wonder what life's about. But all the time, you battle the car one alone.

So you'll go round and find someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you. And the reign of it will resolve it when we find what man of true. One day, you will ride, and you won't believe you're right. You'll wake up and see. The world is fine and free. Those summer seems far away. And you'll find the sun. One day, those summer seems far away.

You'll find the sun. One day, you'll find the sun. One day. I just have to look down at the monitors and wonder who that was. Thank you a lot. I appreciate it. I'd like now to introduce a man who is not only punched cows in Montana,

Red Race Horses in California, but who also sustains a very successful acting career with roles in the young and the restless and when Harry met Sally. What a good movie that was. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a great big Western welcome to my friend, Mr. Steven Ford. Thank you. Before I get started here with some of the awards, I want to tell a quick little story and that's how I ended up here. 14 years ago, I stood in my dad's office, which happened to be the Oval Office at the time in the White House. Told him I had a dream and that dream was to go out west and be a cowboy. And he let me go and I ended up in Montana working cattle and Idaho and Nevada and Utah. Got the rodeo with a great Casey Tibs and now have the great honor and pleasure to be on this Board of Directors here at the Cowboy Hall of Fame. And my only comment is young people out there

don't ever forget your dreams. Follow them. It pays off. Thank you. As you can imagine, I'm very pleased to be part of the effort to encourage artistic excellence in preserving the history and romance of the Old West. The film True Grit also won a Wrangler in 1974's musical score, part of which we enjoyed tonight. This year's winner, the Western musical award is quite different from the motion picture score, but it's roots in the West are unmistakable. They live a simple life within a stone's throw of Idaho's white cloud mountain range, miles from their nearest neighbor. The music of Musi Braun and his four young sons reflects their love of the traditional American West. The outstanding musical award goes to the album Musi Braun and the little Braun Brothers.

We're just glad we were. Gotta admit that a living appear is really something grand. We're proud to be from Idaho. It's our native land. Ladies and gentlemen, Musi Braun and two of his little brothers. Thank you so very much. It's a real honor to be here and accept this award. We'd like to accept it on behalf of our two youngest sons, also Mickey and Gary, who decided to stay home with Grandma tonight. This is Willie and Cody and we'd like to thank you very, very much. Another entry offered a diverse musical achievement that could not be overlooked. The musical Santa Fe spirit depicts the multi culture history of New Mexico from 12,000 BC to

the 1940s. Composer James Galloway's score, steeped in Western tradition, merits a special award for orchestration composition. Here to accept the Wranglers producer Arlene Markinson. Thank you very much. This is really a very proud moment for me, especially after touring this National Cowboy Hall of Fame. I had a creative image and my vision was that to hire only

New Mexicans, professionals from representing the tri-cultures, as well as letting everyone know about the blood sweat and tears that went into settling the Southwest. I wanted the natives to know about it and also the tours that came into town. It was a huge undertaking and this award really belongs to all those individuals who put forth such tremendous effort, dedication and love. I also would like to thank my husband very much for his support and understanding so that I could be here tonight in receiving this. I also want to say one other thing. This award is just a continuous reminder to always stretch for the very best that's within all of us. Thank you. Last fall, television viewers across the nation were captivated by an eight-hour mini-series centered on two old cowboys and an epic cattle drive from the Texas town of Lonson Dove to Montana.

Heard on CBS, the series garnered seven Emmys, a National Association of Television Critics Award, Time Magazine's best mini-series of the Decade Award, and a Golden Globe. Tonight, we hang yet another star on this poignant rendering of Larry McMurtry's best-selling novel. I like a shot of whiskey and so did my companion. It ain't too much trouble. Howdy, boy, you got a good game going there. You got mud in the years of what? Rire will it be old-timer? Rire will do, provided to get you here quick. During cowboys ought to broom yourselves off where you walk in here.

You know what I'm saying? We need you without the customer bringing it in. That'll be a dollar. Besides of whiskey, I think we'll require a little respect. Now, I'm Captain Augustus McRae. This is Captain Woodrow F. Carl. Now, if you care to turn around, you can see how we look when we were younger, and the people around here wanted to make a senator. Now, the thing we didn't put up with then was dawdling service. And as you can see, we still don't put up with it. With us tonight to receive Wrangler's for outstanding television feature film, our actor Tony Lee Jones, an executive producer, Bill Whitlett.

Thank you. Thank you. It's really nice to be in your company. I wish Suzanne to pass in nice and level, and other two producers could be here with me. As producers, we were hugely lucky. We got to sit between McMurtry's wonderful novel and equally wonderful cast and crew. Truly, Tommy Lee, the brilliance of your performance, Robert DuVal's, Angelica's, Diane Lane, Robert Eurick's, Danny Glover's, Ricky Schroeder, Tim Scott. They're what made the whole thing shine, and we're deeply grateful. Also, on behalf of the literally hundreds of other men and women in cows and horses, I thank you for this recognition.

And two pigs. Thank you. Don't leave for me, please. Well, my mother and my grandfather and son Angelou are going to think this is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to thank the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Western Heritage Center for this considerable and impressive award. And since acting can never be a solitary achievement, I will also thank Bob DuVal and all the actors on Lonesome Dove who played their parts great or small with a special dedication and a watchful and protective eye on the honor of the story. When we were shooting a television series, I'd get up in the morning. I would assume the character of Woodrow Call and look around me for people who had assumed the character of people who were worth riding with, and I was never disappointed. And this did impress me because I know Captain Call wouldn't ride just anybody.

I also thank Suzanne DePass, Michael Black of International Creative Managements, my good friend and fishing buddy, Bill Whitlett. Above all, I think my wife, Kimberly, and my son, Austin Leonard, for their love and friendship without which I would be worthless. Tonight, we have the privilege of inducting three outstanding individuals in the Hall of Great Westerners, the highest honor which the Hall bestows. The role of past honorees numbers more than 200 men and women whose lies and accomplishments have reflected the rich tradition of the American West. Honoree Wat Matthews runs one of Texas's most historic cattle ranges, Lamb's Head, sprawling across 62 square miles of Texas Prairie. The age of 92,

he still rides a range of the ranch he loves so well. Wat Matthews is a Princeton graduate, but his Texas roots have kept him firmly planted on Lamb's Head's soil. Wat and his sister, whose 99 carry on the proud tradition of their pioneer forebears. Honoree J. Ebett's Haley has devoted much of his life to the preservation of Western, history, and culture in addition to being an accomplished cattleman. He too is heir to a proud legacy. Maternal great grandfather, James Ebett's, fought with Sam Houston in the Battle of San Hussinto. Haley earned a graduate degree in history at the University of Texas. Among the many subjects for his books was a legendary cowman, Charles Goodnight. These and other works are considered classics of Western American literature. His superb lifetime collection of Texas and South Western history is housed in the Need a Stewart Haley Memorial Library in Midland, Texas. Monahan cattle have grazed the range around Hiannis, Nebraska since 1887. A heritage honoree

Earl H. Monahan still carries on today. One of the nation's leading herferd producers, Monahan has been a leader in the livestock industry for several decades. Earl Monahan has served as president of both the Nebraska Stock Growers Association and the American Herferd Association. Wat Matthews, J. Ebett's Haley, and Earl Monahan, the latest addition to the National Cowboy Hall of Fames Hall of Great Westerners. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure for me to give these medallions. Mr. Wat Matthews, J. Ebett's Haley, and Earl Monahan. In acknowledging this distinct honor, I'm reminded of events more than 25 years ago when I met here with Chester Reynolds and others from the cow countries of the West. As I recall, Mr. Reynolds

asked the governors of some 16 or 17 states, which he considered the cow country to name two trustees of what he envisioned as a cowboy hall of fame. We met here, and I had the honor of being chosen as appointed as chairman of the building committee. But I was so involved with trying to keep the affairs of our little races afloat that injustice to the cowboy hall of fame or to the idea and the event. I resigned my place to help the chorus of the Cowboy Hall of Fame. I punched cows until May 1984, when I, on a general, progressed that horse, was roping big caves, helping rope big caves from our roundups as we branded them on the range in the proven ways of the

cow man of the old West, which we still follow. When my horse blew up, threw me, trumped me up, and sent me for reasonable dictation in the hospital for reflection. And the essence of a little process that came too late. I left the range to the youngsters, and went back to living in the rocking chairs in the shade. I'm overwhelmed with humidity. These cowboys picked me out and the way they went the back pasture

when they got me, and I guarantee I don't deserve this finish. My father and uncles would have been a way better choice. But anyway, I want you to know that I appreciate the honor, and I'll do my level best to live up to it by trying to live up to this honor and the balance of my days. And thank you. You know, we've heard here to start this evening about the 17 western states, but we've heard most of those states, but we've never heard of the Nebraska Sand Hills. I must tell you a little about the Nebraska Sand Hills, because that's where I've lived for

over 90 years on the same rights that I was born on. I certainly want to thank the Kaaba Hall of Fame for this honor. I never did dream that an old digger liked me would ever come up with anything like this. Thank you. Like the stories of the Old West, the talents of Oklahoma born James Garner have worn well with time. In recent years, he's been nominated for the Oscar Golden Globe and Emmy Awards for his roles in such films as Murphy's Romance, Heart Sounds, and Promise. But it was a small role in the motion picture, Sionara, with Marlon Brando that led to his first big break. That break was a television series, Maverick. Viewers developed an instant rapport with Bret Maverick, the easy-going gambler, with a heart of gold. Maverick became a hit series, and with it, Garner became a star.

Whether in westerns such as support your local sheriff, or hour of the gun, or contemporary western bass dramas like Murphy's Romance, James Garner is truly a great western performer. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. James Garner. Thank you very much. Well, they gave me two minutes, and I'm going to try to do this. Thank you for a good Oklahoma welcome. When they told me I was going to receive this award, I told my press agent write me something. I don't think that's going to do it. So if you don't mind, I'd like to just say what I feel. You know, the song says,

my heroes have always been cowboys. Well, mine were always cowboys. When I was growing up outside in Norman, Denver, Oklahoma, which is nine and a half miles east of Norman, which is now under water. Denver had a population of five. There's my mother, my father, my two older brothers, myself. And I started riding the horse then, and I was elected sheriff in Norman. I mean, Denver. And I took that very seriously. That was the first time I ever portrayed a cowboy. Of course, when you're four years old, you got two older brothers, only two ways you ride. You ride on the back or last. But I went on to Hollywood eventually and ended up in a saddle on a set of Maverick. And people around the country kind of thought of me as a cowboy. I've done a lot of of cowboy pictures. And I was always very proud of them. I always tried to portray cowboys

the way I see them as honorable men. And the fact that I'm up here tonight, and receiving this award for me, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, makes me think, maybe I did something right. So I really am very grateful that you've seen fit to honor me this evening and put me in the company of such honorable men. All you good cowboys down there, as I say, he, by heroes, have always been cowboys and they still are today. Thank you. Clayton Moore. Clayton Moore began his career as a circus trapeze artist in a model. After service in the Air Force, he turned to acting and starred in pictures for Columbia,

Monogram and RKO. But it was his role in the classic television series, The Lone Ranger, that established him as a permanent part of legends of the Old West. I asked a similar justice, Tommy. I thought it was my chance to get a big story. Oh, so you're a newspaper man? I have. He's a fine boy. I'm a little bit over-ranked to become a newspaper reporter, but he's still a fine boy. Sorry, I can't give you a story, Tommy. If you keep your ears open, you might run into a big one before you know it. We are proud to induct Clayton Moore. All of Western performers. You know when I was a kid, I wanted to be a policeman or a cowboy. I got the white hat. And I'll always wear it. I like to thank the cowboy Hall of Fame on their super anniversary. And I know all about silver, believe me.

My pal, Tano's real name, J. Silverhills. Eleven. My horse's name was silver. My trademark was the silver bullet. But in the Lone Ranger television series, I owned a silver mine. Before I leave, I would like to do something that I've tried to live by all my life. It was written in 1933 for the radio show. It's called the Lone Ranger Creed. I believe to have a friend, a man must be one. That all men are created equal. And everyone has the power and the right within themselves to help make this a greater world. And that God put the firewood on earth.

But every man must gather and light it himself. I believe in being prepared physically, mentally and morally, and a fight when necessary for that, which is right. We're going to fight this year in the 90s to make the United States of America the greatest country there ever was. And with God's help and your prayers, we will do it. Thank you very much. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. That brings our 1990 Western Heritage Award to a clothe. God bless. Thank you.