North Texas State Fair and Rodeo Read online

  TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION NO. 6. The first Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Denton County, Station No. 6, was established in 1910 west of Denton on J.N. Rayzor’s land. The State of Texas established experiment stations to conduct research about crop and livestock management. According to the historical marker pictured at left, “because of soil issues, the state bought the J.T. Luper farm five miles northwest of Denton in 1913 and moved the station there,” where “many farmers depended on the station for advice on their farming operations but after 62 years, the station was closed in 1972 and activities were moved to a regional agricultural research center.” Farming, ranching, and agriculture formed the basis of the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo. (Both, courtesy of DCOHC.)

  DENTON COUNTY FAIR IN SANGER. The Denton County Fair moved to Sanger in 1915 and remained there until 1917. The aerial photograph shown below is the only known image from the time when the Denton County Fair was held in Sanger. Although little is known about this three-year span of the Denton County Fair’s history, the Dallas Morning News reported that 28-year-old Grace McMurtry was chosen as Queen of the Denton County Fair in 1916. That year, about $2,000 in prizes and premiums were given away, and the event spanned six days. There is no recorded evidence that the fair was held in Sanger for more than those three years. (Right, courtesy of DMN; below, courtesy of Sanger Historical Museum.)

  BACK TO DENTON: CARROLL PARK. Since the former fairgrounds had been sold for residential lots in 1903, Denton did not have a location for the fair until 1920. In 1920, the Denton County Fair and Livestock Show was most likely held at Carroll Park. This park was an airfield located near the present-day Denton Independent School District Administration Building on University Drive. The first carnivals of the Denton County Fair and Livestock Show, featuring an assortment of rides, sideshows, and games of chance, were held in conjunction with the showing of livestock. (Courtesy of NTFR.)

  AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK FAIR IN CITY PARK. In November 1921, the Denton County Fair was held in the new City Park, where the African American community of Quakertown had formerly been located. In 1922, the name of the fair was changed to the Denton County Agricultural and Livestock Fair, with exhibits held in temporary buildings and tents erected in the park. The fair was held in City Park until 1924. (Courtesy of DCOHC.)

  FAIR AT TEACHERS COLLEGE. In 1924, the Denton County Agricultural and Livestock Fair moved to the North Texas State Teachers College’s athletic grounds and the gymnasium between Avenues A and C and Chestnut and Highland Streets. Denton businesses were closed for one day during the fair. In addition to large exhibits of livestock, the main attraction was a rodeo offering $1,200 in prizes provided by the chamber of commerce fair committee. The Friday night draw was a football game between the North Texas State Teachers College Eagles and the Southwest Texas State Normal School Bobcats. Sometime between 1925 and 1929, the Denton County Agricultural and Livestock Fair moved back to City Park. (Courtesy of UNT.)

  FAIR AT EXPOSITION STREET. Although the Denton County Agricultural Fair Association (DCAFA) was inaugurated in 1928, the Denton County Agricultural and Livestock Fair was officially incorporated and chartered in 1930 and relocated to 13 acres bordered by East Hickory and East Oak Streets at Exposition Street. (Courtesy of NTFR.)

  BEEF COWS TO DAIRY CATTLE. Dairy cows replaced trail-driven beef cattle as the predominant area industry after the 1881 arrival of the Texas & Pacific Railroad in Denton. Denton County’s 1930 Census reflected a total of 34,000 cows. Cattle-raisers throughout the county brought their stock to Denton for sale and trade, as shown in this 1950s photograph of a field near Exposition Street. (Courtesy of DCOHC.)

  RAMPING UP THE ENTERTAINMENT. Fair entertainment took on a more important role in the early 1930s. Denton played host to acts like the Gainesville Community Circus (right) and the Light Crust Doughboys (below), a group sponsored by Burrus Mill owner (and future governor of Texas) W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel. Denton celebrated its diamond anniversary in 1932 with ’Fessor Graham’s North Texas State Teachers College stage band treating crowds to performances equally as entertaining as those of the more well known groups. (Right, courtesy of Jim and Tricia Bolz; below, courtesy of lightcrustdoughboys.org.)

  LINE UP TO RODEO UP. In the above photograph, rodeo contestants at the 1934 Denton County Agricultural and Livestock Fair line up before competing. Some of these cowboys would become members of the Cowboys’ Turtle Association—so named because they were slow to form but unafraid to stick their necks out to get what they wanted. The association, a result of a 1936 cowboy strike in Boston (below), was the forerunner to the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) and the current Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). (Above, courtesy of Weldon Burgoon; below, courtesy of Western Horseman.)

  TICKETS TO THE FUN. One of Denton’s prominent merchants, the Boston Store, sponsored the printing of these 1936 raffle tickets. Many of Denton’s businesses supported the fair and ran special sales to attract fair attendees. Some businesses closed their doors for a short time during the fair to allow their employees to take part in the festivities. (Courtesy of Jim and Tricia Bolz.)

  PONDER RODEO. According to the Town of Ponder website (www.pondertx.com), the Ponder Rodeo began in 1939, “with everyone pitching in to help build the arena and local women’s groups selling refreshments. Admission was twenty-five cents. The rodeo remained in Ponder until 1942, when it was moved to Denton because of gas and rubber rationing during World War II.” In 1946, the rodeo moved back to Ponder and into a new 3,500-seat arena. These three unidentified cowboys participated in the Ponder rodeo before it moved to Denton, which started its own rodeo in 1950. (Courtesy of DCOHC.)

  A NEW ERA. An October 1, 1940, Dallas Morning News article announced that R.J. Edwards (right), publisher of the Denton Record-Chronicle, was elected president of the Denton County Agricultural Fair Association. That year, several buildings and a temporary amphitheater were constructed on the fairgrounds. A mile-long parade circled the downtown square—in front of 20,000 spectators lining the streets—and ended at the fairgrounds. Fair activities included a pioneer pageant depicting the history of Denton, with pioneers over 70 years of age receiving free season tickets to the fair. The first swine show was held since the Depression, contributing to a successful way to end the decade. Edwards and Otis Fowler, manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and secretary of the fair association, served into the 1940s. (Courtesy of DMN.)

  Two

  GOING THROUGH THE MILL

  WARTIME AND POSTWAR (1940–1950S)

  The advent of World War II created some of the most trying years that the fair would face. The Dallas Morning News reported in 1940 that a gala parade opened the Denton County Agricultural Fair with a “battalion of Texas Defense Guard and a State College for Women float featuring the Goddess of Freedom as the key motif of the parade.” All of Denton marched in “picturesque procession” to the delight of “thousands of spectators lining the sidewalk. Freedom was depicted by Miss Joy Miller, a graduate student at TSCW, made up to represent the figure which tops the dome of the Washington Capitol.”

  From 1941 to 1945, World War II had a devastating effect on the United States. Denton held war drives for scrap metal and kept busy wrapping bandages. Cattle, poultry, hogs and pigs, and grain were shipped off to feed the troops. The town sent many of its young men to war. The Ponder Rodeo moved to Denton in 1942, even though the Denton fair was cancelled during the World War II years. The Ponder Rodeo moved back to Ponder in 1946 and remained there until 1950, when it permanently closed.

  In 1946, the Denton County Agricultural Fair Association reopened with a two-mile-long pioneer parade. The fair was cancelled again in 1948 when the expansion of the eastern part of the city created a lack of adequate parking at the Exposition Street site.

  The fair was back on track in 1949 after a gift of land from Dr. W.C. Kimbrough to the Denton County Agricultural Fair Association. This gift introduced a new era for the fair
, as it provided it with the permanent home where it remained for the next 67 years and is still held today.

  Men such as Weldon Burgoon, R.J. Edwards, Otis Fowler, Earl Foreman, and H.M. Pitner took leadership roles on the fair association board, striving to keep the fair afloat.

  In 1956, the association’s name was changed to the Denton County Fair Association, and in 1958, fair stockholders voted to change the name to the North Texas State Fair Association. This change allowed the event to accept funding from and showcase the Shetland Pony Association.

  MADELINE MURPHREE, COWGIRL BEAUTY. Madeline Murphree was selected by the junior chamber of commerce to represent Denton in the Arlington Downs Western Beauty Revue in August 1946. In September 1946, Murphree represented the Town and Country Roundup Club in the Pioneer Parade that opened the Denton County Centennial Fair. She is pictured here leading the Town and Country Roundup Club around the downtown square. (Courtesy of DCOHC.)

  WALLACE CALVIN (W.C.) KIMBROUGH, PHILANTHROPIST. Dr. Kimbrough (1875–1952), a pioneering Denton physician, sold 22 acres of land to the Denton County Agricultural Fair Association for $5 in April 1948. This parcel of land is located in Denton on Highway 24 (now University Drive) at Beaumont Street (now Carroll Boulevard). On opening day in 1949, the fairgrounds were named in honor of Kimbrough. Kimbrough remained active on the fair association board for many years. The fair has remained at this site for the last 67 years and is currently still held here. (Both, courtesy of NTFR.)

  FAIR HALL, 1940S. Fair Hall was on the fairgrounds property at the time that Dr. W.C. Kimbrough sold the land to the fair association. The building was originally used at Camp Howze, an infantry replacement training center and World War II–era German prisoner-of-war camp adjacent to Gainesville in Cooke County. When the camp was dismantled in 1942, Denton County acquired the building and located it on the Kimbrough tract of land to use for a GI school. Denton County donated the building, a desk, a wooden file cabinet, and four chairs to the fair association at the time of the Kimbrough sale (in 1948). (Courtesy of NTFR.)

  FAIR HALL TODAY. The renovation of Fair Hall has been a work in progress since the 1940s. Two new porches, carpet, paneling, and a refinished floor made the facility a more attractive income-producing space where people could hold reunions, birthdays, wedding receptions, and corporate functions. Due to tornadic activity, Fair Hall was strengthened with a steel frame and received a new roof. During the fair, the building is partitioned into spaces for the photography exhibit and the VIP/green room for dignitaries and musical artists. (Courtesy of NTFR.)

  WELDON BURGOON, A COWBOY’S COWBOY. Weldon Burgoon got his start at age 11 competing against senior ropers. In 1946, at age 16, he won $64 and the tie-down roping title. Burgoon earned his living on the rodeo circuit for several years before opening Weldon’s Saddle Shop. From 1957 to about 1987, he operated a commercial booth, which had a sawmill lumber facade, in the fair exhibit building. It was the last permanent structure that remained in the commercial exhibit building at the fairgrounds. (Both, courtesy of Weldon Burgoon.)

  WELDON BURGOON, HALL OF FAMER. Burgoon has served as rodeo and fair chairman, still sponsors the Mutton Bustin’ event, and helped spur the chamber of commerce farm and ranch tour. He started the Denton Junior Stampede and the Denton County Youth Fair, Rodeo, and Horse Show. Burgoon—a legendary cowboy, businessman, youth sponsor, and ambassador—was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2010. (Right, courtesy of CVB; below, courtesy of NTFR.)

  DENTON COUNTY RODEO ASSOCIATION (DCRA). The DCRA sponsored its first rodeo in June 1950 at the Denton County Fairgrounds. DCRA owned all its own livestock and produced between 18 and 20 Saturday night rodeos each year, also producing outside rodeos under RCA sanction. Earl Foreman, Doc Pitner, Claude Castleberry, Mark Hannah Sr., Jack Skiles, and Lyle Montgomery served on the board of the rodeo association, and Marjorie Pitner served as secretary. Events included bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, saddle bronc, barrel racing, and bull riding. Seventeen-year-old Tommy Calvert Sr. (left) scored 68 on Bull 101 and took third place in this junior rodeo. Buster McNatt is riding a rank bronc in the 1950 photograph below. (Left, courtesy of the Calvert family; below, courtesy of DCOHC.)

  FORT WORTH STAMPEDE. Denton, Weatherford, Cleburne, and Dallas sponsored a four-city horse race to celebrate the 1951 world premiere of the movie Fort Worth. Each city selected a horse and rider who would travel 10 miles on their respective highways to the Worth Theatre. Madeline Murphree Sullivan represented Denton. The first rider to arrive at the theater won a $250 prize and a custom-made saddle from Leddy’s of Fort Worth. An event held beforehand at the Denton County Fairgrounds was filmed as a newsreel to be broadcast in all theaters showing the movie. Anyone who showed up at the Campus Theatre premiere opening in Western garb and on horseback received a free pass to the movie. (Both, courtesy of DCOHC.)

  FAIR PARADE. The fair parade has been a tradition in Denton since the first documented one, which was held in 1956. Under the leadership of Joe Evans, the 1956 parade committee consisted of H.M. “Doc” Pitner, Jack Vanderhoff, and the Sheriff’s Posse. Kathryn Davis Williams is shown driving the lead Shetland pony wagon past the original Brooks Dairy location on Locust Street near downtown Denton. (Courtesy of DPL.)

  CENTENNIAL PARADE. Denton began celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city on April 22, 1957, with a parade around the downtown square. The tradition remains in place today with the fanfare of the North Texas State Fair Association parade held each August. Horses and wagons have always played an important role in the parade through this growing North Texas town. (Courtesy of DPL.)

  A BRAVE BARREL RACER. In this 1950s photograph, an unidentified young woman (third from left in the above image) participated in the grand entry prior to the rodeo performance. Despite her handicap, she heroically competed in the barrel racing competition. Protective safety belts attached to the saddle enabled her to ride a cloverleaf pattern around the barrels. She was a true representative of the brave and resilient spirit of cowgirls. (Both, courtesy of NTFR.)

  H.M. “DOC” PITNER. Homer Melton “Doc” Pitner was among a group of Denton businesspeople who helped create and organize the Denton County Rodeo Association and served as a longtime member of the North Texas State Fair Association board. Pitner raised champion Pony of the Americas (POA), medium-sized ponies with the coloration of the Appaloosa, the muscle and bone of the American Quarter Horse, and the refinement of the Arabian. In addition to being a board member, Pitner served as a rodeo announcer at the fair. (Both, courtesy of Pitner Collection at DCOHC.)

  THE LEGACY OF MARJORIE AND DOC PITNER. Marjorie Pitner, wife of H.M. “Doc” Pitner, was equally involved with the DCRA, serving as its secretary. She shared her husband’s passion for raising and training POAs and Shetland ponies and is shown at right with her three-time championship Shetland pony, Gray Cloud Superior. Doc and Marjorie instilled their love of raising ponies and the rodeo in their daughters, Patsy Pitner Kelsoe (at left in the below image) and Linda Pitner Riley (at right in the below image). Both daughters were selected as North Texas rodeo queens in the 1950s. The work ethic handed down to the girls from their parents served them well as they took over the family business, Roselawn Memorial Park. (Both, courtesy of the Pitner Collection at DCOHC.)

  CENTENNIAL QUEEN AT THE FAIRGROUNDS. Patsy Pitner earned the title of Centennial Queen in 1957 during the city of Denton’s 100th birthday celebration. She is shown above (first row, center) among Denton Roundup Club members. Her sister Linda is also pictured (at far left in the third row). The members of the club are dressed in traditional garb, and the men are sporting bow ties and Brothers of the Brush beards. In the below photograph, members of the fair board and their wives are gathered for the fair’s centennial celebration picture. Pictured are, from left to right, (first row) Earl Foreman, Lynn Mallow, Francis Mallow, Laura Wilson, Alice Pockrus, J.T. Wilson’s daughter, Vita Hamilton, and Clarence Phillips; (second ro
w) two unidentified men, H.M. “Doc” Pitner, Lane Grissom, Dutch Lor[r]ance, Bud Watson, Pete Pockrus, Paul Hamilton, and two unidentified men. (Both, courtesy of Pitner Collection at DCOHC.)

  EARL FOREMAN. Earl Foreman (1900–1963), a county commissioner and president of the Denton County Agricultural Fair Association from 1958 to 1963, was one of the more influential members of the fair board of directors after serving as a board member on the Denton County Rodeo Association. Foreman, a stock contractor for the rodeos, is pictured above in front of the fair office building. In the below photograph, Paul Gallo (left) and Foreman are holding the poster for the official opening of Denton’s rodeo in the early 1950s. Gallo owned Paul’s Western Shop, which was located on West Hickory Street and was noted for its landmark large red horse, Levi; the shop specialized in “saddles, tack, western wear, and boots for the entire family.” (Both, courtesy of the Foreman family.)

  RAFFLING OFF CARS. The earliest car raffle at the fair occurred in 1936, when three lucky fair attendees won Ford V8 Tudor sedans. In 1957, the Frank Wallace family, from Justin, Texas, won a new 1957 Chevrolet. Seven-year-old Laurence McClendon (right) won a 1954 Packard Clipper Deluxe in 1961 with ticket No. 1,000, which his father purchased for him at a country store. Although McClendon never drove the car, it was stored in his family’s barn until recently. Bill Allen, president of the fair association, is shown in the 1970s photograph below spinning the raffle barrel, about to make someone the lucky winner of a new car or truck. (Left, courtesy of Donna and Laurence McClendon; below, courtesy of DRC.)