Eddy Akridge

Contestant, early years

Born on Jan. 8, 1929, at Pampa, Texas, Eddy Akridge began rodeoing in 1945 and joined the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1948. His RCA member permit card number was 376. Akridge was the Chief Joseph Days All-Around Cowboy in 1948 and 1949. He was the bareback and saddle bronc champion of CJD in 1948, 1949, and 1950.

Other rodeo accomplishments included All-Around Champion Cowboy in 1949 at both the Pendleton Round-Up and the Calgary Stampede. He won the world championship in bareback in 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1961. Throughout his illustrious career, he won numerous bareback riding championships and all-round championships in addition to the International Rodeo Association Bareback Riding Championship. He was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979, and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1999.

In the early 1950s, he sustained a potentially career-ending knee injury. Ignoring his physician’s advice to retire from rodeo, he went on to have his best season ever. He then reinjured his knee and was forced to retire. At the same time, he resigned from his position as bareback riding director on the RCA Board of Directors.

He went on to pursue a music career after retiring from rodeo in 1970, moving to Las Vegas and becoming a regular on the strip. He headlined at numerous hotels, such as the Hilton, Stardust, Desert Inn, Tropicana, and Hacienda, with the “Gold Buckle Band.” They played at the National Finals Redeo Welcoming Committee party from 1985 to 1994. He also became a casino baccarat dealer, and later a casino host for over 15 years with the Golden Nugget, Frontier and Sahara hotels. Akridge died on July 25, 2011.

George & Lorraine Dawson

Early years 

George and Lorraine Dawson were mainstays in the Joseph Chamber of Commerce for many years.  They were owners of Dawson Lumber in Joseph for 28 years.

With their business located on Main Street, it was fitting for them to oversee selling rodeo tickets out of their business for about 25 years. 

Lorraine was treasurer of the chamber from 1952-1959.  She also spent many Saturday nights helping chaperone teen dances held at the civic center.  They were a part of the Flying Chamber, promoting Chief Joseph Days in the early 1950s.  George was also very active in local government as he served as Joseph’s mayor three times, twice as a councilor and 15 years on the budget committee.  Not only did they dedicate their time to the rodeo, they also belonged to Eastern Star. George belonged to the Masonic Lodge and the Elks Lodge.  George was honored to be the 1978 Chief Joseph Days grand marshal. 

George and Lorraine loved Joseph and Chief Joseph Days and worked very hard to help the town and the event thrive.

Clyde Longfellow 

Contestant, later years

Clyde Longfellow was born in 1942 and raised in Lewiston, Idaho. As soon as he could, Longfellow started working at the Old Lewiston Round Up Grounds in North Lewiston. He was cleaning stalls, walking hots, and whatever it took to get to ride someone’s horse. Before long, he was an exercise boy for some of the racehorses there. At the old Lewiston Round Up Grounds, he met and learned from Idaho rodeo legends such as Clint Roberts and Jack Carson. They both became mentors and ignited his rodeo dreams. 

While pursuing his dreams he met Edie Gottschalk. Edie boarded her horse at the Roundup Grounds. They married in 1965 and moved out to the Grande Ronde country to work on the ranch of Shirly Bothum. At one point, Shirly told Clyde that he had to decide — either he was going to work, or he was going to rodeo. Clyde quit his job and headed to Cheyenne, where he won the Cheyenne Frontier Days Permit Saddle Bronc competition in 1965. 

Clyde and Edie spent most of the first years of their marriage on the rodeo trail. Their first daughter, Crystal, arrived in 1967, and the family lived on the road in a travel trailer most of the year. In 1972, the family moved to Kendrick, Idaho, and in 1973, welcomed another daughter, Kelly. In his travels Clyde met and welcomed foster son, Paul Bass, into their family.

Clyde’s talent in saddle bronc riding showed with wins in 1968 at Hand Hills, Alberta, and in 1969 at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Followed in 1972 with a buckle in Libby, Montana. His victories included a shared win at the Lewiston Round Up in 1974 with Canadian icon Mel Coleman, and an individual triumph in 1980. He had great success also at the Columbia Basin Rodeo in Moses Lake, Washington, where he secured buckles in 1965, 1966, & 1984; and a trophy saddle in 1972 that remains in use today. Other significant triumphs in his illustrious career include victories in 1967 at Kennewick, 1973 at Walla Walla, 1974 at the Omak Stampede, and 1980 at Prineville. Additionally, Clyde made several appearances at the Columbia River Circuit Finals.

Some of his most treasured saddle bronc riding championships were at Chief Joseph Days on five occasions (1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1984) and earning the Harley Tucker Memorial Award in 1974.

Clyde was still rodeoing, but more at the circuit level. He now had a full family and house payments! By now he had his own truck and was making a good living with Haul Ass Trucking. He was almost too busy to rodeo.

Clyde continued rodeoing and winning, earning several trips to the Columbia River Circuit Finals. The kids grew, they started entering junior and high school rodeos. In about 1983, Clyde decided to stop entering and just concentrate on working.

But he wasn’t finished saddling broncs or tasting adrenaline just yet… In 1992, Clyde was entering rodeos again! He was still craving it! Not only was he entering, but he was winning against the younger set of bronc riders. He had competed against their fathers! He earned several more trips to the Columbia River Circuit Finals. Clyde & Edie moved to Hermiston, OR in 1993. In 1995, his first grandson was born, during CJD! And he was still riding and winning – the younger cowboys called him the Viagra Vaquero! In 1998, Clyde won the saddle bronc riding at Colville, WA, and took grandson, Rylen, on the victory lap! As a hobby, Clyde also became a successful ostrich rancher.

Longfellow continued competing in rodeos and qualified for the Senior Pro Finals in 1998. But a traffic collision in which his truck was hit head-on by another semitruck forced him to retire from riding broncs.

After many months of recovery, Clyde was able to start golfing to work his back and keep it flexible. He eventually started riding saddle horses again. He even bought a sailboat and sailed it from San Diego to Portland.

Longfellow was the rodeo director for the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union for about 10 years. 

He still enjoys golfing, riding, and sailing the Columbia River and San Juan Islands.

In 2019, Longellow received the honor of serving as the grand marshal for the Lewiston Round Up, recognizing his impact on the rodeo community. Later that same year, Clyde and Edie were both inducted into the Idaho Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Alfred & Una Makin

Volunteers

Alfred and Una Makin volunteered for Chief Joseph Days from the 1950s through the 1980s, selling tickets, serving and leading committees, working as ushers. Alfred Makin contributed untold hours on facility maintenance and serving at Chamber of Commerce meetings when Chief Joseph Days was affiliated with the chamber. He worked on the old arena on the Wallowa Lake Moraine before the first Chief Joseph Day rodeo and continued to help as the rodeo grew.

Una Makin served as advertising chairperson and chamber secretary in the 1960s. She was also the parade announcer’s assistant until 1983. She oversaw the parade judges for five years. She was on numerous other committees over the years and even helped with construction of the arena and parade floats.

In the 1960s, they were part of the team that restored the Chief Joseph Days stagecoach. The coach was the original one that Frank McCulley owned and once ran between Joseph and Elgin. It had later sat on the Boise Cascade mill property for years and had deteriorated. Alfred, Una, Roy Carter and Dr. Robert Blackburn hauled the usable remaining parts to Alfred’s shop and they began to research its history and construction features and thus began the restoration of the coach. Alfred and Joe Naughton broke the first team of horses for the stagecoach. 

Until the 1990s, Alfred and Una spent many hours, along with many other volunteers, hauling the coach, horses and equipment in addition to Chief Joseph Days royalty to other rodeos and parades promoting Joseph and its rodeo.

Alfred and Una were the 1989 Chief Joseph Days grand marshals. Alfred died on Aug. 23, 2004. Una died on March 14, 2012.

Willard “Wick” Russel Prout

Early years

Wick Prout was born May 12, 1910, to Jasper and Leona Prout on his grandfather’s homestead north of Joseph, on Dorrance Road. He attended school in Joseph graduating in 1928, and worked as a rancher and sheepherder until the early 1930s. He married Inez Morgan (Crader) in Lewiston, ID on July 7, 1950, and had three stepdaughters, Norma Barton, Gladys Nobles and Nadine Henry.

After being discharged from the U.S. Army in 1944, Prout went to work for the Bulk Oil Co. But volunteerism was in his veins. He was involved with many organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Masons, Rainbow Dad for the Rainbow Girls, he was a member of the American Legion and participated in the Honor Guard, and of course Chief Joseph Days (which at the time was affiliated with the Joseph Chamber of Commerce.)

In the first years of Chief Joseph Days, Wick and Inez were involved, as many others were, in the promotion of the rodeo. He was a good friend of the actor Walter Brennan, and they traveled around the Northwest for the betterment and continuation of the Joseph Chamber of Commerce and Chief Joseph Days. He was part of the group known as the Flying Chamber of Commerce. They made their first publicity trip in a DC3 in 1949 and visited 10 cities.

The same year (1949), that famous sign first appeared in Joseph: “THIS LITTLE TOWN IS HEAVEN TO US. DON’T DRIVE LIKE HELL THRU IT.” Prout and Wilbur Reece were the driving forces in placing the sign. 

He was a true historian and left accountings and recordings of interviews with his family and of Chief Joseph Days. Chief Joseph Days used to put on a pioneer picnic at Wallowa Lake State Park on the Sunday before the rodeo. He would take a group picture and interview all the pioneers of Wallowa County. When there is a discussion about the “old days” it is almost always asked, I wonder if there is anything in Wick’s accountings about that?”

He was vice president of the Chamber of Commerce in 1951 and president in 1952. After serving as president, he served for several years as a director, Indian chairman, rodeo grounds chairman and wherever needed. Many will remember his raising the American flag before each rodeo performance for years. Those who were teens in the 60’s might remember that Wick and Inez were at most all the civic center dances watching out, so the teens of the county could have a good time. Wick was honored to serve as the grand marshal of Chief Joseph Days in 1974. Prout stayed involved until his death. He died Dec. 23, 1984, and is buried in the Prairie Creek cemetery in the Prout plot.

Stephens Bros. Rodeo

Contract personnel

Stephens Bros. Rodeo Co. begins with a family dream to build, own and operate a rodeo company. In 1972, Barney and Eppie Stephens purchased C&E Rodeo Co. of Cody, Wyoming, and the process of growing and operating a pro rodeo company with their four boys, Bill, Fred, Bob, and Jake, had begun.

In 1962 the family moved to Middleton, Idaho, where the brothers started raising bucking bulls and broncs at their home place. Bill and Bob worked for a rodeo company owned by Ralph Stephens, no relation. They worked amateur rodeos around the region while brother Fred started his rodeo career as a rodeo clown. Advancing the company, they would purchase and/or trade stock to acquire the best they could find to own. The rodeo company subleased stock to Ralph Stephens and Christens Brothers at pro rodeos around the country.

The Stephens Brothers provided livestock to many collegiate and PRCA rodeos over the years, including the National Finals Rodeo from 1974-1978 and 1981-1989. They provided stock for 18 years for Chief Joseph Days from 1974-1991. Many people remember the flashy paint horses they provided for the grand entry during those years. Their first string of grand entry horses were palominos and later switched to the paint horses. The seed for this idea had been planted years ago, when Harley Tucker asked Billy and Bob Stephens if they would be interested in helping him with washing, grooming and saddling his grand entry white horses.

In 1980, Stephen Bros. Rodeo was asked to provide stock for the Pendleton Round-Up. They carried out this contract for 10 years. They were also asked to provide their paint horses for the Round-Up directors to ride in the Portland Rose Parade. Stephens mounted 22 Pendleton Round-Up Directors on paint horses. Getting those horses to downtown Portland and back was an adventure.