The Montrose Rodeo of 1947 – Part 2

We continue the story of the multi-year annual Montrose Rodeo, focusing on the 1947 version. Last week we heard about the plans for the big parade to precede the rodeo, but there were other aspects of the celebration worth hearing about.

The beard-growing contest seems to have been a big hit with most of the Montrose merchants (the men mainly) growing beards and donning cowboy clothing and hats. The contest was dubbed the “Whiskerino.”

On Friday and Saturday morning before the big parade, squads of rodeo organizers roamed Montrose looking for merchants who hadn’t grown beards or that weren’t appropriately attired in cowboy clothing. The offenders would be grabbed by the posse and escorted to a water-filled horse trough located at Market Street and Honolulu Avenue. In a display of good humor, lassos were placed over the smooth-faced businessmen and they were lifted up and plopped into the cool water. Some of the men had to be chased down though the busy Montrose streets while others donned fake beards. Many victims were had before the posse turned on itself and dunked one of the posse-men for not looking “cowboy enough.”

The parade on Saturday was preceded by a raid by “Jesse James and his gang” (a group of Montrose store owners). The masked gang rode in on horseback and held up Scanlon’s, a clothing store on Honolulu. They escaped with a heavy moneybag filled with steel washers. They were chased (at a walk) by the sheriff’s mounted posse and brought back tied up, much to the delight of the kids gathering for the big parade.

The parade, led by film star Jackie Cooper and a 24-member motorcycle drill team, was huge with half the town marching in it and the other half watching. On a reviewing stand erected at Market Street, the head sheriff of LA County, Sheriff Biscailuz, gave a speech congratulating the valley on its recovery from the ’34 Flood, less than 15 years before.

Then on to the presentation of the rodeo queen Miss Caroline Bowers. Film star Jackie Cooper crowned the new queen with a custom-made cowboy hat, and gave her a kiss. Other awards were given out such as “oldest cowboy” to 71-year-old Frank Urquidez, a descendent of the Verdugo family, and “youngest cowboy” – a horse mounted 3-year-old. There was also a children’s rope-spinning contest, which must have been hilarious!

The parade was followed by a big dance that Saturday night. There were two locations offered for a single ticket purchase. Those with traditional “barn dance” sensibilities could opt for the Trailsmen band with hoedowns and ballads at the American Legion Hall, or head across the street with the other hep-cats to the Woman’s Club for some Texas swing music.

The next morning the big rodeo was on tap. The Montrose Cab Company offered “old folks” free rides to the rodeo grounds at Onandarka Ranch (today’s Oakmont Woods at Shirlyjean Street and La Crescenta Avenue). Thousands gathered in the natural bowl of the small canyon there. In the afternoon, the grand entry began led by Jackie Cooper. Color guards were provided by the sheriff’s mounted posse and the Shadowettes drill team while bands played the Star Spangled Banner. They were followed by the rodeo queen and her attendants, and hundreds of Onandarka riders and rodeo contestants. The rodeo was the classic bull riding, bronc busting, calf roping, etc. while the rodeo clowning was provided by Jess Kell and his trained mule Cuff. It was a professional rodeo featuring top ranking cowboys.

These rodeos were ostensibly to fund a war memorial building to be built on the campus of Clark Junior High (today’s CV High). I don’t believe if that ever happened, and maybe instead the money was put toward the memorial at Two Strike Park a few years later.

The local paper summed up the non-monetary benefits of the event to the youth of the valley: “If the young people of the valley were shown the advantages and possibilities of clean, outdoor fun … then the combined energies of the many individuals and organizations in the staging of the rodeo have been well spent.”