Sixteen Inducted to Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame

Cheyenne Wyoming Tribune-Eagle ^ | 09-10-05 | Dynes, Michelle

[Theodore R.]

Sixteen inducted to CFD Hall of Fame The group included volunteers and contestants who changed the 'Daddy of 'em All'

By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

CHEYENNE - Jim Tescher first got into rodeo at the age of 16.

During his career, he won the Cheyenne Frontier Days Saddle Bronc Riding Championship in 1957 and 1965. He also won the All-Around Championship in 1957 and 1966.

Tescher was just one of the 16 members of the class of 2005 inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame at the CFD Old West Museum on Friday.

His wife, Loretta, said the saddle her husband won at CFD still hangs in the living room above his rodeo trophies.

"He was very proud of the buckles he won (at CFD) and the saddle," she said.

Whenever there was a branding, the neighbors would get Tescher talking about his rodeo days, Loretta added. At his funeral in 2003, his favorite horse wore the saddle he won at CFD.

"Rodeos helped pay for our ranch," she said. "I know he really wanted to win. (Being inducted into the Hall of Fame) would have meant a lot to him."

Those inducted into the CFD Hall of Fame are honored for their significant contribution during the 109 years of CFD history.

Some are volunteers. Some are contestants. But all of them have changed Frontier Days in their own way.

CFD royalty wear buckskins with white blouses because of Sally Rand, said Bill Dubois, who was in the class of 2004.

"She said this was a first-class show, and the royalty should dress in first-class outfits," he said of the 1936 wardrobe change.

Dancing in an outfit of feathers and balloons, this 2005 inductee also spiced up Frontier Days at a time when interest was lagging, said Shirley Flynn, also a member of the class of 2004.

"She loved the cowboys, and they loved her," she added.

Dubois said 2005 inductee Warren Richardson was the first Frontier Days chairman in 1897. The successful businessman also left a legacy of scholarship money for students interested in attending Casper College or the University of Wyoming.

Concessions Chairman Darin Westby went to school on one of Richardson's scholarships, Dubois said.

The entire Powers Family was inducted into the Hall of Fame for their years of dedication to CFD.

J. Michael Powers said it would have meant a lot to his father, Jim, to part of the induction ceremony. Jim served six years on the Frontier Days Committee, three years as Tickets chairman and three years as general chairman. He also introduced the pancake breakfasts and chuckwagon racing to the celebration during the 1950s.

"(CFD) was a big part of his life," J. Michael said.

J. Michael said that being a volunteer with Frontier Days was a family tradition. He was an active volunteer alongside many of his relatives. Jim's granddaughter, Tammy, also served as Miss Frontier in 1989.

He added that his father would have been proud of the progress and expansion of CFD and Frontier Park.

Jeanette Scott said she knows exactly what her mother, inductee Lois Wade, would have to say about the ceremony. For more than 40 years, Lois served as rodeo secretary.

"We're very proud of her," Scott said. "(But) she'd say she didn't deserve it, and she was only doing her job."

CFD Hall of Fame Class of 2005

Contestants

Walter J "Buzz" Bradley

Ben Johnson Sr.

Don McLaughlin

Jim Tescher

Fred Whitfield

Contracts

Harry Knight

Historic notables

Jim Powers

Lois Wade

Sally Rand

Charlie Carey

Other notables

Denver Post

Families

Powers

Volunteers

Jerry Jessen

Ruby Mercer

Mary Weppner

[concentric circles]

[MA~Bear]

The chuckwagon races, Frontier Days is one of the things I miss from when we lived in WY.

[concentric circles]

The chuckwagon race is crazy, and who on earth but cowboys would think of a race where you have to throw a saddle on a wild bronc and try to get it around a track while other teams try to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same space?

[in the Arena]

A good friend of mine of the past 20 years is friends with the Tescher family. He showed me a copy of Jim Tescher's funeral notice...and then told the story of how Jim was injured in an ATV accident and was hospitalized...he dearly loved his horses and the family brought his favorite to the hospital for a visit. I'm not sure how quick it happened but shortly after that visit Jim passed away. From what I've heard, at 74 Jim was still as tough as he ever was.