Cowboy Museum Blog

Save The Dates

2010-06-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 24, the Cowboy Capital of the World will be celebrating the National Day of the American Cowboy with a Rancher’s Day competition at the Oakdale Rodeo Grounds beginning at 9am. Events include a rope & sort, sorting, calf branding and a working dog class, to name a few. There will also be a BBQ with lots of cold drinks! C’mon out and join us. Entery Forms will be up soon for download.

In addition, on Saturday evening July 17, the Cowboy Museum will sponsor a movie night at Cottles Wood Park, part of the “Movies Under the Stars” program with the Oakdale Parks & Rec. This is a FREE family night and everyone is encouraged to come and enjoy the fun. BYOC…Bring your own chairs and relax with us. The movie starts at dusk!! For more information, please call the Cowboy Museum.

Tom Orvis Joins Board

2010-01-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

At the end of December, the Cowboy Museum said goodbye to three directors who completed their board term; Liza Gilbert-Cotton, Ron Grohl, & David Zwald. We welcome new board members Dave Brown, Doug Murdock and Tom Orvis who began their terms on January 1.We will introduce you to these gentlemen in the next few issues.
New Director Tom Orvis, is the Governmental Affairs Director for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau in Modesto, CA. He has been involved in Farm Bureau for over 12 years as an officer, director and now a staff member. Tom covers all areas of governmental relations from the local level to the national level and has been involved in many natural resource issues covering air, water, land and endangered species. He also is very involved in Farm Bureau rural crime and political action activities and is frequently contacted regarding Agricultural Mitigation issues.
Tom was raised on a family cattle ranching operation located in northeastern Stanislaus and western Calaveras counties. His family has been on their ranch for over 137 years and Tom is part of the 5th generation to operate the Snow Ranch, established by his Great-Great-Grandfather William Snow in 1873. Tom is a graduate of Oakdale High School and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While at Cal Poly, he majored in Agribusiness with degree concentrations in Sales & Marketing and Agricultural Policy.
Following Tom’s graduation from Cal Poly in 1990, Tom started his career in agriculture with ConAgra/Butterball Turkey Company in Turlock, CA. Tom has experience in production agriculture management in poultry and beef. He also has extensive experience in sales and marketing of nutrition and animal genetics in the dairy industry. Tom joined SCFB in 2008 following three years at the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation as Program Director.
“I’m excited to serve on the Cowboy Museum board and look forward to educating not only the public, but he children about the ranching traditions of our area and how this all ties into their food supply. Food doesn’t come from the supermarket it starts on a farm or ranch.”

2010 Scholarship Program Deadline

2010-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

The Cowboy Museum is proud to announce that our 2010 Scholarship Program will offer four $1000 scholarships. Three that will be given to graduating seniors in Stanislaus County and one will be given to a graduating senior whose family is a member of the Cowboy Museum. Deadline for Scholarship Applications is February 26th. Scholarship and membership applications can be found on our website at www.oakdalecowboymuseum.org or by calling the Cowboy Museum. at (209) 847-7049.

Cowboy Museum Gets More Hands On

2009-09-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

For the past two years the Cowboy Museum has been laying the groundwork to provide an entertaining way for visitors to experience our local western lifestyle but in a new age way. “We have embraced technology wholeheartedly and what we’re about to unveil is very impressive” said Executive Director, Christie Camarillo. On September 19, during the Annual Dinner and Auction Fundraiser, the Cowboy Museum will unveil a new interactive Computerized Touch Tour. This device will allow us to store information digitally and be available at the touch of a button. Similar to kiosks at many museums, the touch screen will enable visitors to search for people or ranches that are currently displayed in the Museum’s Collection and be able to read and see more detail or listen to a narrator.
“The mission of the Cowboy Museum is to inform, entertain and educate. We have taken that mission and put it all together with photos, videos, audio and games in a hands on way that everyone will understand and want to interact with.” said Kevin Fox, who has been designing the Touch Tour for the last two years.
“We’re really running out of space, says Camarillo so the Touchscreen Computer now gives us much more room to expand. Children will enjoy the special pages created especially for them too!” This new way of learning will assist Museum docents to give personal tours about our unique ranching and rodeo history. We see this as a way to enhance our Museum and offer something to a whole new age of visitors, said Bill Sanguinetti, President of the Cowboy Museum Board. What we’ll be introducing at the dinner is no way finished – it’s just the beginning. We are still seeking information on many ranches, ranches and rodeo cowboys that we would like to include in this project. We’re very excited.”

Colin Harvey Annual Dinner & Auction Memorial Recognition Recipient

2009-08-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Oakdale Cowboy Museum is proud to announce the honorees for our 2009 Dinner & Auction Fundraiser, which will take place on Saturday, September 19, at Rocha’s Valley Enterprises. Our memorial recognition will be Colin Harvey, a long time Oakdale resident and local rancher. Our special tribute for the evening will be the Rosasco Ranch and Family of Jamestown. In the next two issues of our monthly newsletter, you’ll learn more about our honorees.
Colin Harvey was born on Sept 15, 1909 in Sonora, California. He lived off of Wards Ferry Road on his father’s 150 acre ranch. He worked for his father in the Sonora area until age 13, when shortly after that he left home to work in the mountains tending sheep and cattle. He worked for many local ranchers such as Ellenwood, Woods and Sanguinetti. When he turned 15, he and Curly Sardella quit working for Joe Sanguinetti and hired on with the government, shooting deer during an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease. There are stories told of shoot outs between Curly and Colin. The two also roped a bear. Colin had the bear snubbed up to his horse, when Curly poked the bear with a stick. The bear jumped and Colin’s horse bucked him off. At which point she kept bucking until she bucked off the cliff.
In the 1930’ and early 40’s Colin had a pack station and riding stable in Pinecrest. He would pack fishermen and deer hunters into the Emigrant Basin country. He was also one of the first to pack trout, and stock some of the lakes in the back country.
On July 2, 1941, Colin married Jean Sundborg of Sonora. Miss Sundborg was a graduate of Sonora High and San Francisco State, where she earned her teaching degree in 1937. She later became a teacher at Sonora Grammar schools. Colin and Jean had three children. Bill was born on April 22, 1943 in a military hospital in Monterey, CA. John was born December 22, 1944 in Sonora, and daughter, Judy was born January 17, 1951 in Oakdale.
When WWII broke, Colin was called up and had six months to sell his pack outfit. He served as a sergeant in the signal corps. During the invasion of Attu in the Aleutian Islands, he was shot in the belly by a Japanese Sniper. After he recuperated the Army made him a teacher in the Signal Corps.
Colin returned from the war in 1945, and he and Jean bought a small ranch in the Oakdale area where he worked for the H. Moffat Company.
In the 1950’s he leased the Barnett ranch and started running cattle. He partnered with Phil Stadtler and ran yearlings and also partnered with Bill Rodden and Bill Cook.
In 1968, at the ripe age of 60, he returned to his beloved mountains where he started another pack station and riding stable in the Bear Valley area, eventually turning over his leases and pack station to his sons in the early 70’s.
As a young man Colin entered many local rodeos entering the saddle bronc riding or anything that bucked. He also entered the wild cow milking and team roping. He roped with local cowboys such as Tony Amaral, Johnnie Bonavia, and George Lake. He was also a member of the Sonoma County Trail Blazers.
Colin’s favorite hang out was at the H-B with good friend and owner, “grandpa” Dave Bachi. “They were pretty good friends said, Mike Bacigalupi and they had some pretty good times. There were a lot of cattle deals that were made in here.”
Colin passed away July 1982. His wife Jean passed away October 31, 2005.

Sign of the Times

2009-07-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Visitors entering Oakdale from the South entrance will notice a new welcome sign that is scheduled to debut by mid July. The sign will be at the same location as the original sign – on South Yosemite near the Oakdale Recycling Center. The Cowboy Museum received many suggestions following the Cowboy Capital of the World Contest last year stating that Oakdale should have a sign indicating that we’re (still) the Cowboy Capital of the World. A committee was formed and in February of this year, Director/Chair Lana Casey started meeting with City Officials, Booster Club members, and various service organizations to learn more about the ownership and upkeep of the current sign. After reviewing sign design and costs the Cowboy Museum Board of Directors unanimously approved the project at the June board meeting. Signs by Randy will construct the sign. “This is something that we feel the community wanted to see after winning the contest, said President Bill Sanguinetti. It will be a beautiful sign and it will be installed just in time for our 5th Annual celebration of the National Day of the American Cowboy on July 25.”

Beefman Passes

2009-07-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Oakdale Cowboy Museum would like to acknowledge the passing of Tom Connelley of Belle Fouche, SD. It was a little over one year ago that we started our conversations with the “Beefman,” about donating beef to the winners of the Cowboy Capital of the World Contest last year between Oakdale and Stephenville, TX. Why was a cattleman from South Dakota so interested in participating in a contest that wasn’t even in his state you ask? Other than being a generous (non bias) cattleman, Tom was emphatic about consumers knowing where their beef originated. He felt the contest grand prize of a side of beef to the winners would bring additional exposure to beef and the US cattle producing nation. That it did.
Born on Feb 24, 1946 at age 63, Tom “The Beefman Connelley,” suffered a severe heart attack while branding at a friends ranch in Montana and died on June 15, 2009, doing one of the many things he enjoyed.
While we never met personally, we exchanged quite a few conversations last year during the contest. He had a big voice, a big laugh and a kindhearted direct delivery. He had me referring to his website so every press release was stated correctly. “I want to assure all customers of South Dakota Beefman that I strive to produce the Very Best Beef Products available for my customers. I know my cattle and I know what it takes to produce the very best beef product available anywhere. I will do my very best to meet my customers needs. I will provide a consistently tender quality product.”
He is survived by his wife Dorothy, five children and 10 grandchilden.
Godspeed Beefman! I’m glad our trails crossed.

From the Cowboy Capital to the Nation’s Capital

2009-06-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

The Cowboy Museum received over 300 visitors during the Annual Chocolate Festival which was held May 16&17. With searing temperatures above the 100 mark, it was indeed the coolest place to be at the festival. Our guest book indicated that most of the guests came from within Stanislaus County, several from San Joaquin County and also some from Fresno County too. We were also lucky to visit with tourists from Italy and England that were making their way up to Yosemite and stopped to see what all the excitement was about.
However, one of the most interesting visits we shared was on Monday morning following the Chocolate Festival. Museum Assistant Karen Serpa, was opening for business when she greeted a gentleman named Willem Kalkman from Papa Aroha, Coromandel New Zealand. Being a fan of cowboys while growing up, he decided to stop by and learn about Oakdale’s cowboy history. He shared with Karen that he was on a bicycle trip to raise money and awareness towards the building of a Health Clinic in the rural community where he is from which is in the Northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula. Kalkman indicated there are only about 3500 people in an 80 x 15 mile length.
Kalkman started his journey in San Francisco on May 13 and plans to finish in Washington DC on August 9th. While he had planned to camp during his journey the record heat found him looking for an air conditioned hotel room for refuge once he arrived in Oakdale. If you would like to follow Mr. Kalkman’s journey, or donate to his cause, you can log on to
www.fundraiseronline.co.nz/bikeusa.
Thank you, Mr. Kalkman for stopping by the Cowboy Museum and sharing your journey with us.

BEEF CITED AS TRADITIONAL FATHER’S DAY FOOD

2009-06-12T10:29:00.001-07:00

Fathers are very special individuals, and deserve to be treated as such on Father’s Day, according to the American National CattleWomen, Inc. Therefore, the CattleWomen are again sponsoring a “Beef For Father’s Day” promotion to encourage families to serve Dad his favorite food on his special day. Father’s Day has been chosen by the CattleWomen to demonstrate the industry’s commitment to family values on an annual basis. Started in 1953, “Beef For Father’s Day” is one of the most popular promotion programs in the beef industry.
“Beef and Father’s Day are a natural tie-in,” said Merrilee Doss, President of the California CattleWomen. “Not only is beef one of the most popular foods among fathers around the country, but the industry embraces the strength, loyalty and integrity that we like to associate with fatherhood.” Doss pointed out that today’s beef is highly nutritious. She said that it is considerably leaner than it was 10 or 20 years ago, and there are now 29 cuts of beef that meet government guidelines for lean. Beef contains a high proportion of nutrients compared to calories and is one of the diet’s leading contributors of iron, zinc, protein and important B vitamins.
Locally, the San Joaquin/Stanislaus CattleWomen will actively promote “Beef for Father’s Day” by donating $250 to the Salvation Army in each county respectively, to be used toward their Father’s Day menu. The Salvation Army was founded in London England in 1865 and came to America in 1880. Major Darvin Carpenter, Stanislaus County Coordinator, has been with the Salvation Army for 40 years and says beef is a big part of their meal planning. They serve over 2.5 million meals annually to low income families, just in Stanislaus County. “The meat department is very busy the week of Father’s Day” says, Alan Borba, Manager of Oakdale’s Save Mart. “We’re delighted to be part of your promotion.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Serving “Beef for Father’s Day from Oakdale’s Save Mart, Bill Sanguinetti, Cowboy Museum President & California Beef Council member, Major Darvin Carpenter, Salvation Army, Jessie Rios, Alan Borba, Don Avey Save Mart Meat Dept, Di Kanz Stanislaus County CattleWomen Beef Promotion

2009 Scholarship Recipients

2009-06-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Ag Scholarship program brought out another outstanding group of recipients with grounded plans for their future. Once again it was a difficult choice for the scholarship committee who interviewed 11 applicants. For the past four years the Cowboy Museum has awarded four $1000 scholarships to graduating seniors in Stanislaus County. One of those scholarships is awarded to a graduating senior whose family is a member of the Cowboy Museum. As our membership continues to grow, this year we had applicants from Tuolumne and San Joaquin Counties. We’d like our membership to meet the 2009 Cowboy Museum Recipients.
Kendra Brennan, whose family is a member of the Cowboy Museum graduated from Sonora High. Kendra has been actively involved in 4-H, FFA & High School Rodeo. Kendra is the 5th generation to grow up on the family’s working cattle ranch. Kendra is headed to West Hills College in Coalinga where she plans to receive a degree in range management. She then plans to continue her education by attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she plans to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Range Management and a minor in Political Science. After that it’s back home to the family ranch where she will pursue a law degree from McGeorge school of Law and advocate for property rights on both public and private property.
Brandon Guzman is graduating from Hughson High School where he was Senior Class President as well as FFA Chapter President. Brandon credits his grandfather Manuel Guzman who influenced his agricultural studies. A model student, dedicated leader and a mature responsible individual is what one of his teachers said about him. Brandon has been accepted at Cal Poly Pomona where he will major in Animal Science. After Cal Poly he hopes to attend UC Davis Veterinary School where he plans to become a large animal vet.
Jacob Horton-Harvey an Oakdale High graduate was raised in a ranching family and has a great appreciation for the western way of life. Jake served as the District 5 High School Rodeo President and also as High School Rodeo State representative. Academically, Jake was in advanced placement classes and finished in the top 4% of his class. He set high standards for himself and serves as an excellent role model in all areas of his life. Jake will head South to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he has been accepted into the Civil Engineering Program.
Amanda Moore another Oakdale High graduate dreamed of showing livestock. However, growing up in town the backyard served as her only pasture so she started small - with raising rabbits! She eventually moved on to goats which were housed at a friends house before her family moved out to the country, which she says is the best decision they ever made! In the past two years she has won advanced Beef Showmanship at the Stanislaus County Fair and moved on to Master Showmanship. She also won the California State Premier Angus Herdsman at the CA State Fair. Amanda served as FFA Chapter President and is an inspiration to others. Her goal is to attend Cal State Fresno, where she would like to major in Biological Sciences.
Through donations and T-shirt sales, the Cowboy Museum is proud to honor the memory of the late Eric Medlen through two scholarships this year. Eric had a passion for horsepower. As a student at Oakdale High he excelled on the High School Rodeo Team and later as a driver in an NHRA Funny Car, on the John Force Racing Team. Eric was killed during a testing accident in Gainesville, FL in 2007. The recipient of the 2009 Eric Medlen Memorial Ag Scholarship Award goes to Ryan Lang. Dependable, loyal, hardworking and self confident are a few traits that describe Ryan. He’s served as a leader in 4-H and FFA and says his greatest honor was becoming an Eagle Scout. Ryan’s plans are to attend MJC then transfer to Chico majoring in Ag Business and Economics.
Scott Steeley, an Oakdale High graduate will be receiving the Eric Medlen Automotive Scholarship. Scott’s dad told him about Eric Medlen working for the John Force Racing Team and they would watch him on TV. “I thought it was pretty cool, that Eric came from Oakdale, and I enjoyed watching how quickly those mechanics had to put together an engine.” Scott enrolled in auto mechanics as a freshman and found that he really enjoyed the technology and getting his hands dirty! Receiving an Associates degree from Modesto Jr. College is the goal Scott has set for now.

Banners welcome visitors to Oakdale, the Cowboy Capital of the World

2009-04-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

The new banners that drape the light poles on East “F” Street are getting a lot of attention and that’s just what we intended!

After “officially” winning the “Cowboy Capital of the World” Contest last year during the National Day of the American Cowboy celebration, The Cowboy Museum Board of Director’s wanted to do something for the community that reflected our triumph and that all could enjoy. During a Chamber of Commerce Tourism meeting it was suggested that we design banners that would dress the light poles and our visitors could see when driving to or through Oakdale. We partnered with the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce and the Oakdale Saddle Club and all three organizations contributed monetarily to make this project a reality. These flashy banners welcome visitors to Oakdale, The Cowboy Capital of the World while reminding them we have a rodeo the second week in April.
This was truly a tourism project that involved three organizations that encourage bringing visitors to Oakdale and promoting our western heritage. The banners were made by Signs by Randy so we also kept business in Oakdale too!! We hope the community enjoys the banners as much as we enjoyed this project.

Oakdale Cowboy Craftsmanship Wins Top Honors In Canada

2008-05-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan Cope has only been making custom saddles for the last ten years. While still attending his final year in the California State University Fresno, Animal Science program, he began learning his trade under the guidance of accomplished saddle maker, Forrest Shoup, in the winter of 1998. Having recently completed his 100th edition custom saddle, Cope’s custom work has been getting a lot of attention lately. Ryan was invited to compete in the Art of the West Exhibition in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada March 7th to 9th, 2008. The Kamloops Cowboy Festival, now in its 12th year, has gained the reputation of being the biggest and best festival of its kind in Canada as well as one of the best in North America. The festival organizers where happy to be adding saddle-making to the show, saying on the event’s website, “...it is our first step toward exhibiting cowboy crafts that have been developed to the level of fine art.” Making the competition particularly exciting is that festival organizers had Canadian master saddler, Chuck Stormes to judge the competition. Considered by many in the field to be one of the top saddler makers in the world. Stormes is a founding member and past President of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, a non-profit organization founded in 1998 to preserve and promote fine western craftsmanship.
Cope began working overtime on the piece and many times, long into the night, to complete the entry in time for the festival deadline. On February 8th, Ryan was notified that his submission was one of the six accepted for display at the festival. Ryan was the only American to make the finals.
In the days leading up to the festival, Ryan discreetly paid a visit to the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. He later told us that he did so because he knew that he would be representing Oakdale at the festival. “ I wanted to take a little bit of Oakdale with me ”, he said.
On March 12th Cope returned home. Not being the type of man to brag, he kept the results of the competition under his hat, so to speak. When asked how he placed at the festival, Ryan humbly replied “I did pretty well”. But it wouldn’t be long before the word got out. Rumors begain to spread, in of all places... the internet! First it was a photo of the saddle with the word “Winner”, posted by a friend on a networking site. Then a pat on the back from a Canadian saddle maker in an on line forum for leather working. A congratulatory e-mail from C. J. Hadley, Publisher of Range Magazine. Then Cope was contacted by Cowboy Publishing, producers of Western Horseman Magazine for a story about his win at Kamloops.
The winning saddle is a 16’’ Homestead Wade tree, that has an all leather ground seat and inlaid black sting ray hide, with a Guadalajara wood post horn. California half double stirrup leathers, round skirts and 4’’ Visalia Moneel stirrups. The finish is all natural, non-chemical. The saddle took more than 250 hours to complete. Ryan scribed the custom sunflower with carlos border design directly onto the leather. He left out the leaves by request from customer Jake Brown of the YP Ranch in Tuscarora, Nevada. Whom we are told had the saddle on a horse and was roping heifers the day after he took possession of the award winning work of art.
For his achievement, Ryan received a beautifully engraved silver and gold buckle with the 2008 Kamloops Cowboy Festival logo and the words Top Saddle.
Even in the age of the internet. Western American Craftsmanship is not gone, nor has it been out sourced to Mexico or China . It lives on in artisans like Ryan Cope.
To learn more about Ryan or see some of his work visit www.copesaddlery.com