DECEMBER 2020
Howdy Pardners!
ERHOF is not going to let this Virus keep us down. While adhering to public health mandates, we have been hard at work since the last issue of your Pony Express Newsletter. Read on!
The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame Museum is Ready! As you probably know, our opening day July 3rd was a big success. We saw old friends and met new ones, talked with ERHOF members and supporters, past inductees, artists, the Ellensburg Rodeo Royal Court and rodeo board members. At present, the Governor has shut us down, but we hope to be up and running before Christmas and in 2021. So, after the lockdowns end, stop by the Western Culture and Art Center at 416 N Pearl Street, 11am-5pm TU-FRI and 11-3pm SAT. If you are unable to visit in person, we have prepared a fun and informative virtual museum tour for you—log onto www.erhof.com, click on “Hall of Fame,” and then “Virtual Museum Tour,” https://ellensburgrodeohalloffame.com/virtual-museum-tour/
ERHOF Happenings: After our July 3 opening, we inducted Slim Pickens and Mabel Strickland into ERHOF with two front-page Ellensburg Daily Record articles and a September 2-3 Induction Press Conference and Open House at the Western Culture and Art Center. Throughout September and October, ERHOF board member Marie Smith organized a fundraising table (selling virus masks and raffle tickets) at the Ellensburg Farmer’s Market and Old Mill Country Store. Board member John Brotherton created a GoFundMe site for ERHOF (see below). The winners of our October 31st raffle drawing for the two black felt Resistol cowboy hats were Jon Woolfolk of Cle Elum and 10-year-old Wiley Dyk of Ellensburg–congratulations to you both! November and December saw a flurry of ERHOF publicity as Zora Peterson and Marie Smith arranged for ERHOF ads in ProRodeo Sports News and on The Cowboy Channel paid for with a Tourist Tax grant the two worked to secure. Meanwhile, Amy McGuffin, CEO of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce, interviewed HOF President Joel Smith on the Chamber website and Joel also appeared in a RFDTV interview. Another big development was an open house sponsored by our ally, the Clymer Foundation. Arlein Anderson and Edna Madden hosted in-person and virtual tours of the completed the Ramsay Building Restoration Project on the second floor above ERHOF and Clymer. Rentals of office and studio space there will provide a significant revenue stream to support the Clymer and thus the Western Culture and Art Center.
New Displays: Our museum committee will rotate exhibit stations and create a brand new display in memory of Frank and Charlotte Beard in January 2021. Come check it out!
ProRodeo Hall of Fame Induction and 100th Anniversary: We congratulate the Ellensburg Rodeo Board on the induction of the Ellensburg Rodeo into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. ERHOF is proud that the rodeo board has asked us to help the PRCA create an induction exhibit and video for this occasion. Because of the Virus, ProRodeoHOF will induct the Ellensburg Rodeo in 2021. Meanwhile, the Ellensburg Rodeo Board is planning a grand 2023 100th birthday party for the rodeo and ERHOF is working with them to prepare an updated version of John Ludtka’s The Tradition Lives. John, a deceased ERHOF Inductee and former editor of the Ellensburg Daily Record, wrote The Tradition Lives as a 75th anniversary history of the Ellensburg Rodeo in 1997. Stay tuned for updates on ProRodeoHOF and Centennial announcements.
Mitch Truax is our new Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame board member, replacing retiring Mary McManamy Seubert. Mitch and wife Jami (also an ERHOF board member) run Kittitas Valley Outfitters from their Schnebly Road ranch and are accomplished riders and guides with a longtime interest in rodeo and western traditions. ERHOF thanks Mary Seubert for her service on the ERHOF board.
Don’t Forget Our Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram: Our website provides historic photographs, biographical essays of ERHOF inductees, a virtual museum tour, ERHOF membership info, important links, and much, much more c/o www.erhof.com. We are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BootsOfFame and you can email Erhof97@gmail.com. And thanks to new board member Jami Truax you can give us a follow on Instagram @ellensburgrodeohalloffame. Stay up to date with our latest happenings and inductees! https://www.instagram.com/ellensburgrodeohalloffame/
We Need Your Help! As you all know, because of Virus restrictions we were unable to hold our annual fundraising banquet at rodeo time, and those funds really make a difference in our ongoing mission. We hope you will donate to our cause–any amount will be greatly appreciated. Go onto www.erhof.com and click on “Support” or write a check to ERHOF, 110 W. 6th, PMB 374, Ellensburg 98926, or go on our Go Fund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/ellensburg-rodeo-hall-of-fame?utm_source=customer&fbclid=IwAR3yDAQzjopC3-5fQyQjTCP7zqIcVAsqQYQyamNvcVnP8x-weUPsBqHe6Xw