ND Cowboy Hall of Fame - Archived Articles

Press Releases - July 2005

--HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES SELECTED FOR 2005 --

The 200 Trustees of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame have selected seven individuals for induction in 2005. The seven were selected by secret ballot and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 6 in Medora.

NDCHF Chief Executive Officer Darrell Dorgan says the seven 2005 inductees include two ranchers, two rodeo cowboys (one of whom jumped off an orphan train), two rodeo producers and a world famous Lakota war chief. Dorgan notes, "The new inductees will join the more than 70 others who have been inducted since 1998. The Hall of Fame inductees are featured in the Hall of Honorees, which is the centerpiece of the Center of Western Heritage and Cultures: Native American, Ranching and Rodeo that opened in Medora this summer."

Those selected for induction by Trustees include:

Pre-1940 Ranching
Edward S. Hall was the first white man to settle in Mountrail County and started the first horse ranch in western Dakota Territory. He and his family held many July 4th celebrations at their ranch and trading post. He operated the last trading post on the White Earth River between Buford and Sanish.

Modern-Era Ranching
Raymond “Butch” Luger of Fort Yates was an entrepreneur who started raising livestock at age 12. During the 1930s, his herd grew to 1,500 head and later added race horses. He began cross breeding in the 1950s and received many honors for his ranch work.

Pre-1940 Rodeo
Joe Wicks of Cannonball arrived in North Dakota on an orphan train and began his rodeo and ranching career on the Steve Weekes ranch near Almont. Wicks, later known as the “Heart River Kid,” was an outstanding saddle bronc rider who began producing local rodeos in 1930 and later became a public servant. Joe served in the State Legislature and was a well-known auctioneer.

Modern-Era Rodeo
Alvin Gabbert of Lefor trained, rode and showed performance horses across the country and held roping schools and horsemanship clinics southeast of Dickinson. A soft-spoken man, he won six NDRA calf roping championships in the 1950s and 1960s.

Rodeo Producer
There were two nominees and both received the same number of votes. The NDCHF Board of Directors decided that both nominees were worthy and should be inducted.

Frank Wetzstein of Mandan was instrumental as a Mandan Rodeo organizer in the 1940s and 1950s. He helped round up cowboys and contract stars, often paying rodeo expenses himself. During his time, the Mandan Rodeo was known nationally to have the top cowboys. Frank will be remembered as bringing big-time rodeo to Mandan. He also had a ranch where he raised Angus cattle and Quarter horses.

Leslie “Jim” Barnhart of Medora was one of North Dakota’s early rodeo producers, starting in the early 1930s with wild horse roundups. Local ranchers around Grassy Butte would bring in their wildest stock, and local cowboys would try to ride them. Jim was also one of the first stock contractors to raise stock and lease it out to other rodeo producers.

Great Westerner
Sitting Bull of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: The great Sioux spiritual leader, was born along the Grand River in the 1840’s. One of the leaders of the Indian forces that defeated Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he became one of the most famous men in America. Following his 1881 surrender, Sitting Bull traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and spoke at the Territorial Capitol cornerstone laying in Bismarck. An opponent of government efforts to take treaty lands, he was killed during an attempt to arrest him in 1890.

Legacy Award
There will also be a special eighth Inductee in 2005. Evelyn Neuens of Bismarck will be inducted in the newly created Legacy Award category.

NDCHF President Phil Baird says, “Legacy inductees will be chosen by the NDCHF Board on a periodic basis and the inductees will be Board members or Trustees who have given at least 10 years of outstanding service to the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Neuens is the founding President of the Hall of Fame. Evelyn’s husband Walter was inducted in the Pre-1940 Rodeo category two years ago.

NDCHF President Phil Baird of Mandan notes, “Those nominees not selected for induction into the Hall of Fame this year by either the Trustees or the Board are eligible for nomination in future years.”

Formal induction ceremonies will be held for the eight on Saturday, August 6, at 1:00 p.m. MDT at the Tjaden Terrace overlooking Medora. The featured speaker will be former Rosenbluth International Travel CEO Hal Rosenbluth of Philadelphia, Penn., and Linton, North Dakota. The Bismarck High School Strolling Strings will provide special entertainment beginning at noon.

At 4:00 p.m., there will be a formal dedication of the recently completed North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame’s Center of Western Heritage and Cultures: Native American, Ranching and Rodeo in Medora, and festivities will continue in Sentinel Butte the following day at the famed Home on the Range Champions Ride.

Work on the 15,000-square-foot center in Medora is nearly complete. The facility features art galleries, a theater, a 5,000-square-foot patio, and meeting rooms for up to 100. Dorgan says, “The facility can be rented to anyone who wants to hold a meeting, reunion or wedding in Medora, and catering and beverage service is available. We are also planning extensive seminars on plains history, culture and lots of entertainment.”

The Hall of Fame is booking the patio and meeting rooms for events year around.

NDCHF has more than 1,250 members and began 10 years ago with an organizational meeting in Mandan. Fundraising for the project continues. Dorgan says the Hall of Fame hopes to raise an additional $500,000 and notes, "We are working with banks, foundations and a number of individuals in an effort to have all the money needed to pay for the project before the Grand Opening in August.”

Contributions for the project may be sent to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, 1110 College Drive #216, Bismarck, North Dakota 58501.

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