Bonnie Tucker Blankinship – 1914 - 1989 – Anna Louise (Bonnie) Knapper was born in Joseph in 1914. Behind every good man is a good woman. Bonnie married Harley in 1939. Harley had been putting on a few rodeos on his own. After they were married, she joined right in with the production.

Bonnie was the rodeo secretary for all the rodeos the Harley Tucker Rodeo Company produced. This was a huge and important job. Bonnie would go to the rodeo event a few days prior, open the rodeo office, and take entries over the phone. There was no PRCA PROCOM in those days so she would do the draw then make up the judge’s sheets. Finally, she had to organize and print the rodeo program. The job entailed lots of bookkeeping, answering questions, collecting fees and winnings payouts. The rodeo office she used at the Pendleton Round Up is still used today and is referred to as the “Bonnie Tucker Booth.”

On a side note, Bonnie cooked for the ranch crews every day they were at the ranch. It was said repeatedly that Bonnie was a great cook!

After Harley’s death in April of 1960, Bonnie, with the help of her crew and friends, produced the remaining summer rodeos. In 1961, the Harley Tucker Rodeo Company was back on the road in full force, with Bonnie at the helm. It might be safe to say, she was the only female stock contractor in theNorthwest at the time. In the spring of 1962, the company held a dispersal sale in Walla Walla, WA ending an era.

Bonnie Tucker Blankinship, was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame in 2008.

Harley Tucker 1908 - 1960 – the most famous cowboy and stockman in Wallowa County’s history -certainly the most well known in rodeo circles. He owned and operated the Harley Tucker RodeoCompany and provided rodeo livestock to events across the Pacific Northwest.

Dedication to the well-being of his livestock made Harley Tucker one of the most respected and admired men in business. Born on a ranch near Joseph, OR in 1908, Tucker began with a small bucking string in the 1940’s and built one of the finest rodeo companies in the Pacific Northwest.

At their peak, Tucker’s buckers, Brahma bulls, steers and calves gave even the sharpest cowboy a real challenge. Tucker owned the infamous saddle broncs, PDQ, Smokey, and Brown Bomber, as well as the bareback bronc, High Society, and the bulls, Black Smoke and Bluebell Wrangler.

A marvelous showman, Harley Tucker produced fast-actioned rodeos, with added attractions like covered wagons pulled by oxen for parades and matching white horses for the grand entry. His company worked twenty-five venues a year and furnished stock for San Francisco, Salinas, Fort Worth, and the National Finals Rodeo. The Harley Tucker Rodeo Company brought the largest amount of stock to the first National Finals Rodeo held in Dallas, TX in 1959.

To help Chief Joseph Days get off the ground, Harley supplied the stock free of charge for the first few years. Harley and wife Bonnie provided the stock for Chief Joseph Days for sixteen years.

In 1960, while flanking bucking horses in Vancouver, Washington, Harley Tucker died suddenly of a heart attack. However, his legacy continues as he was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up Hall of Fame in 1980, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in 1997, and the St Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1999.

Walter A Brennan – 1894 - 1974 – Three-time Academy Award winning film actor and star of three television series, most notably The Real McCoys, Walter Brennan, was a part-time, but active, resident of Wallowa County from 1941 until his death. Walter loved Joseph and her friendly, accepting people. He came to the county after purchasing the 12,000 acre Lightning Creek Ranch in 1940. He became a Joseph businessman when he built the Indian Lodge Motel and a movie theater (currently the Baptist Church) and opened a dry goods store on Main Street. Martha Lozier, who ran the dry good store for him, stated, “He was such a character and loved to prank me by showing up disguised and being an obnoxious customer!”

Many people credit the early success of Chief Joseph Days to the presence and efforts of the movie star. Walter contributed to widespread awareness of the new celebration by arranging for newsreel footage and promotional airplane tours, flying the rodeo court, local businessmen, and fellow cowboy actor Chill Wills all over the northwest. He also frequently appeared in the parade. Early in CJD planning, Walter said he “figured the Chief Joseph Days Parade couldn’t be a parade without a marching band,” so he recruited numerous local musicians and formed the “Chesnimnus National Marching Band.” He led the band in the parade dressed as a hobo holding a toilet plunger! One year, disguised as a clown, he brought up the end of the parade as a “pooper-scooper.” In later years, he served as Grand Marshal or simply rode in the parade. Advertising the appearance of the then wildly popular “Grandpa McCoy” in the 50’s and 60’s drew many spectators to Chief Joseph Days in general and the parade in particular.

Jack Carson – 1930 – 2022 Born in Burns, Oregon, Jack Carson served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a high-speed code operator and was discharged in 1953. For 17 years, he competed as a professional cowboy in rodeo events including saddle bronc, bareback, and bull riding. During his rodeo career, he won numerous events at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo. He was the Bareback Champion in 1953. The Saddle Bronc Champion in 1958. The Bull Riding Champion an astounding 6 times in 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1964. Jack won the All-Around Cowboy Championship in 1959. Jack also won the bull riding competition once and bareback riding three times at the Lewiston Round Up and the all-around title at the Omak Stampede.

Jack was game for anything. At the Union Stockshow Rodeo, they’d always tie a wristwatch or something between a bull’s horns and turn him out and let any of the cowboys, except the clowns, go out and get it if they could. One time, Daryl Hobdey said to Carson, “Jack, my watch quit. I’ll give you twenty-five dollars for that watch.” He just vaulted over the chutes and took off and pretty quick he came walk-in up and handed it to me.

Jack made his home in Clarkston, WA, died March 3, 2022.

Young Chief Joseph was born in 1840, probably in the Wallowa Valley. He grew up to become a chief. In his manhood, he came to be known to the white men as “Young Joseph”. When “Old Joseph” died, leadership became his burden.

Young Joseph was not a war chief. He was a statesman and an orator, and according to record, he counseled his people to keep peace with the newly arrived settlers. His wisdom held for five years, from 1871 to 1876. After the death of a Nez Perce brave, at the hands of a couple of white men, Joseph and his band sought justice, but found none. The two men were tried for the killing and acquitted. In May of 1877, Young Joseph did what he vowed he would never do – he led his people away from the Wallowas toward Idaho and the Lapwai Reservation, which was to be their new home. This was the beginning of the infamous trek to Canada and the military chase.

Young Chief Joseph died in exile at the age of 64 on September 21, 1904. Today, he is well remembered throughout Wallowa County. The town is named after him, as is a hotel, a rodeo, and a mountain. His picture is displayed in businesses, the post office, restaurants, vacation rentals, and may other places to honor a man who wanted nothing but peace for his people. Thousands of faces and names have faded into the past, but his endures, and will continue to endure as long as we honor factual history and remember the suffering of Native Americans.

Often called “rodeo’s Walter Cronkite,” James C. Cy Taillon was the first announcer to make his entire living behind a rodeo microphone. Born in 1907 in North Dakota. Taillon was a law student, a professional musician, a bareback rider, a trick rider and roper, and a radio personality in his early years. He also worked as a Hollywood stand in for actor Robert Taylor in “Billy the Kid”. Taillon announced his first rodeo in Butte, Montana, 1939.

For 40 years, Cy Taillon’s rich voice called the action at every major rodeo on the national circuit. His personal goal was to present the rodeo cowboy as a professional athlete. Taillon’s superb delivery was distinguished by precise grammar and clear description. His career included 33 consecutive years at Denver, 30 years at the San Francisco Cow Palace, and 9 years at the National Finals Rodeo. He is a member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and earned their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cy announced Chief Joseph Days in 1961, 62, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75; totaling 11 years. “The golden voice of rodeo,” Cy Taillon retired from the arena in the 1970’s and died in 1980.

Source National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Dallas Gene Williamson was born in Jim Town, Oregon on January 30, 1929. He graduated in 1947 from Joseph High School in a class of five. He spent his summers as a guide packing in campers to the High Lakes. He started working in the milk business in 1953 becoming part owner of the Wallowa-Union Dairy.

He was active as a volunteer fireman and a member of the American Legion. His love of horses permeated every aspect of Dalla’s life, but it was especially apparent through his involvement with Chief Joseph Days.

Just out of high school, Dallas dug postholes for the first Chief Joseph Days Rodeo on the Wallowa Lake moraine in 1947. He was elected to the Joseph Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 1967 where he served until 1970. He served on the rodeo board from 1970 until 1981; and as arena director between 1973 to 1981.

In those days, the arena director was responsible for getting everything done at the rodeo grounds before rodeo week. They worked for weeks every night, after work and weekends, to make Chief Joseph Days happen.

Dallas spent many hours helping with maintenance and improvements to the rodeo grounds. He helped to build the new rodeo stands in 1967-1968. He assisted in the development and construction of the new community center in Joseph. It was Dallas who suggested in 1977 to pay the Chief Joseph Days rodeo court a commission for selling rodeo tickets. Dallas was Chief Joseph Days parade grand marshal in 1987. Dallas died on February 13, 2016, at the age of 85. goes here

Frank McCully

Frank McCully was born in 1914 in the building that is known as the Wallowa County Museum. He attended school in Joseph and college at Oregon State Agricultural College, now Oregon State University.

Frank became very active in the Joseph Chamber of Commerce as he sought to promote the City of Joseph. He became the President of the Chamber in 1946 when the first rodeo was held on the East Moraine. That same year he worked tirelessly to help promote the building of the Joseph Airport. In 1947, he was elected mayor for the City of Joseph. Frank was presented Joseph’s Outstanding Citizen award in 1949. During McCully’s years working for the Joseph Chamber, the membership grew from 30 to 130 and was known as the “biggest little chamber in the world.” They were also known as the “Flying Chamber” because its members traveled in planes around the northwest promoting their rodeo. When the Joseph Chamber was trying to pick the weekend for the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo, he asked his father and grandfather (pioneers of Wallowa County) to research past weather patterns to pick the best time of year to hold the celebration. Which turned out to be the last weekend in July.

Frank’s family owned a stagecoach, an Ole Concord-Made Mudder, which made many trips hauling passengers and mail from Elgin to Joseph and back until the first rail line made its way to the county. The stage was given to the Chamber in the early 1970’s and is the same stagecoach used today to promote the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo.

Frank was named the parade grand marshal of the 40 th Chief Joseph Days Rodeo in 1985. It seems appropriate that this man who, contributed to the betterment of the City of Joseph and helped to establish and promote the rodeo be inducted into the Chief Joseph Days Hall of Fame.

Ross Dollarhide Jr. was born at Burns, Oregon, in 1921 and grew up on a nearby ranch. Perhaps symbolically, his father was riding saddle broncs on the day of his birth. After service in World War II, the younger Dollarhide worked with his father on the famed MC Ranch and commenced rodeo competition as a saddle bronc rider and steer wrestler.

Dollarhide rodeoed all over the far West, winning 17 event titles in saddle bronc riding, 18 event titles in steer wrestling, 8 in team roping and 4 in calf roping between 1947 and 1955. He took the saddle bronc title three consecutive years at the San Francisco Cow Palace (1948-1950) and parlayed his consistent steer-wrestling talents into both the CRA and IRA national titles in 1953. Over the years, his versatility resulted in more than 20 all-around cowboy venue awards. At Chief Joseph Days, he won the all-around titles in 1950, 1951, and 1952. He won the calf roping in 1950, the saddle bronc riding 1951 and back- to-back titles in the steer wresting event in 1950 and 1951.

During the late 1950s, Ross Dollarhide, Jr. followed fellow rodeo competitors like Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, and Casey Tibbs to Hollywood, where he worked as a riding double and stuntman. He died in 1977 at Flagstaff, Arizona, from injuries received while on location with a television western series.

Source National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

In 1954, Harley Tucker searched the country over for white horses for his grand entries and parades and came up with six. These horses would open the rodeo and be the pivots for the rodeo serpentine. The horses were outfitted with hand tooled saddles, matching saddle blankets, headstalls, and breast collars. The riders wore Wrangler red jackets with matching leather chaps, white, yellow, green and red sporting Tucker’s brand (T with an overlay L). The riders carried colorful flags for a grand display of pageantry.

Tucker’s trademark was his fast and colorful grand entries. At one time Tucker had 10 of these white horses and rode one as his personal mount during the shows. The white horses were quite an attraction but required a lot of care before each rodeo performance and parade to look their best. Harley had to add a tack truck to his fleet to haul all the gear!

Bob Tallman is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame rodeo announcer. He is known as “the voice of professional rodeo.” Tallman has announced more than 15,000 rodeo performances in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. He has announced so many rodeos that his voice has become instantly recognizable to rodeo fans. Tallman has announced the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas more than any other announcer. He has announced the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for over 40 years. He is the spokesman for many cowboy-themed products. He refers to his voice as his “priceless gift from God” and tries to use it to touch people’s lives. Bob announced the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo a total of 15 times: 1984-1989, 2001-2009.

Carlyle Roundy, 1912-1994, was an original member of the Joseph Chamber and helped organize Chief Joseph Days in the beginning. He served as President in 1951, and traveled with the “flying chamber” on many of the promotional tours of the Pacific Northwest. He and his wife, Edna (Russell) Roundy, owned Joseph Cash Market, a grocery store and meat market on Main Street for 22 years, until the mid 1970’s. He seemed to always have time to help wherever the Chamber needed him. He served as Queen Chairman, Parade Announcer, Dance Committee Chairman, served on the Indian Pageant Committee and helped sell rodeo tickets. Carlyle was also an impressive contestant in the Beard Growing Contest when that was part of Chief Joseph Days. He helped in building the first Quonset civic center and was still helping when the new Community Center was built. He contributed many hours after work and weekends building and painting the new rodeo grounds stands. Carlyle was honored in 1981 by being selected as the Parade Grand Marshal. He often shared his great wit and wisdom with all his friends and family. He will always be remembered by the 100’s of people who attended the Ground Hog Dinner each year, sampling his and Floyd Kennedy’s tasty homemade sausage.

Jim Steen was born and raised in Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho.  After graduation he decided to try his hand at rodeoing.  In 1964, he joined the PRCA and was selected Rookie of the Year after placing third in the Bull Riding at the National Finals Rodeo in Los Angeles.  Not enjoying the heat in the desert, he decided to move his young family to Joseph, where he had competed at what was his favorite rodeo.  He continued to participate in rodeo and along the way he won the All Around at such rodeos as Caldwell, the Cow Palace, Ponoka Stampede in Canada, and Joseph.  His record at the Chief Joseph Days include winning Saddle Bronc in 1965 and 1970; the Bull Riding in 1965, 1970, and 1972; the All Around in 1965 and 1974; and the Harley Tucker Award in 1972.  As a judge for the PRCA, he worked shows like Denver, San Francisco and Fort Worth.   When he decided to hang up his spurs, he got into the logging business.  When the future didn’t look positive for logging, he bought John’s Shell Station.  He was on the Board for the Mount Howard Ski Area.  

 As he had always loved the outdoors, when a float business on the Snake River became available, he purchased it.  He also worked in the outfitting business by owning hunting and guiding permits in Hell’s Canyon.  He was President of the Eastern Oregon Outfitters Association.  Since outfitting was what he loved to do, he stayed with this work until he passed away in 1995.

An original signatory of the Articles of Incorporation for the Joseph Chamber of Commerce and Chief Joseph Days, Roy Daggett was instrumental in establishing the location for the rodeo. Roy donated the use of his heavy equipment for building the facility on land he donated to the cause as well as land purchased from others. Roy was heavily involved in other community organizations in addition to the Chamber and Chief Joseph Days, including the Masonic Lodge, the Shriners and Eastern Star, and several churches in Wallowa County. He served on the Wallowa County Budget Committee, the Equalization Board, the Joseph School Board, and the Joseph City Council. He was a “Dad” for Maxine Assembly of Rainbow for Girls and was chosen as “Father of the Year” by the Wallowa County Cowbelles. Roy was a generous man with integrity.

Horace Axtell was born in Ferdinand, Idaho, on Nov. 7, 1924 and is descended from both the Chief Joseph and White Bird Bands. His maternal grandmother Pee Weyah Ta Ma Lilpt was born in the Wallowas in 1871. She and sister Taklahtsonmy and their siblings were very young when the War of 1877 began and they along with the Chief Joseph Band fled the Wallowas. These women helped raise Horace.

Horace and his wife Andrea began working with the Chief Joseph Days (CJD) Commemorative Dance & Encampment Committee in the late 1980’s along with Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) descendents from the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, and the Umatilla and Colville tribes and many Wallowa area friends. The annual events included showcasing the beautiful culture of the Nimiipuu people in the CJD parade and traditional dancing at the Pow-wow. Horace rode a horse while proudly wearing his warbonnet in the parade for many years. The “Lone Rider”, a young Nimiipuu man, began the parade by making sure the trail is safe for the people. Historically, this was a prestigious position given to a young, strong, able- bodied man with great horsemanship. Horace carefully selected the “Lone Rider” to begin the CJD parade each year. This committee also put together an annual Friendship Feast. These events continue today. In 2006 Horace and Andrea were honored as the CJD Grand Marshalls.

All throughout his life, his ancestors were beside him. He was a World War II Army Veteran and proudly continued his service while honoring Nez Perce ancestors at all of the Nez Perce War of 1877 battlefield and memorial sites in Idaho, Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Canada along with other tribal veterans. He was a devoted leader of the Walasat spirituality and Nimiipuu Longhouse located in Lapwai, Idaho. It is this “Way of Life” that he lived every day.

He was a traditional hunter, fisher, and gatherer. As a Pow-wow men’s traditional dancer, he traveled throughout the United States and Canada with his family. Horace worked for Potlatch Mill in Lewiston, ID from 1951 to his retirement in 1986. He and Andrea were members of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) council of Elders, Earth Ambassadors Council of Elders, and the Four Worlds Development Project Council of Elders. They mentored native students, and native people in recovery. He taught Nez Perce language at Lewis-Clark State College in the late 1980’s. In 1994 his memoir, A Little Bit of Wisdom: Conversations With a Nez Perce Elder was published. He was proud to be a co-author with the late Margo Aragon. Horace was a recipient of the University of Idaho President’s Medallion, and received honorary doctorate degrees from both the University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College. The Washington State Historical Society honored him with a Peace and Friendship Award. The Idaho Humanities Council awarded him an Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities. National recognition of his work making ceremonial hand drums came in 2008 when the National Endowment of the Arts bestowed him a National Heritage Fellowship. In 2016 after his death, he was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame and shares that honor with Chief Joseph and Jackson Sundown.

The family of Dr. Horace Percy “Isluumc” Axtell is honored by his induction to the 2023 CJD Hall of Fame. He attended CJD all throughout his life and worked hard to put on events that would bring the Nimiipuu people back to the original homelands of our ancestors to setup tipis and celebrate with family and friends. We are grateful for the friendships and dedication of the volunteers at the Encampment. He is still celebrating with us on the other side, smiling.