Jim Houck can’t help admiring the arena at the Lyon County Fairgrounds. Especially the fence. That would have been nice to have 50 years ago when he took his wild ride.
“They had a racetrack and a snowfence ... and the snowfence wasn’t quite high enough for the steers,” said Houck, a steer riding champion in the first two Lyon County 4-H rodeos in 1957 and ‘58. “My steer got out of the snowfence and went bucking up and down the track. It was kind of a crowd-pleaser at the time.”
Thursday night, both Houck and the 4-H rodeo were recognized as the event officially hit its golden anniversary. And while the facilities may be better than they were once upon a time, the spirit is the same. Many volunteers have worked with the rodeo for years, supplying stock, family or a spare pair of hands to get it through another year.
“A lot of people have worked hard to keep it going,” said Debbie Miller, who has helped out with the rodeo one way or another for about 25 years.
That first year’s rodeo brought families together in more ways than one. In 1957, the top cowboy at the rodeo was Bill Martin while the top cowgirl was Bonnie Wheat. The two ended up marrying.
Houck left steer riding to go to college at Kansas State, but he kept a few family ties with the rodeo. Twenty years after taking the first and second steer championships — the second time with a better fence — his son Jimmy wound up winning the title as well.
Still, you never forget the first time. Particularly when so many get to share in the experience. Houck, who now lives 15 miles northwest of Allen with his wife Jean, recalled that his was far from the only steer to make an abrupt getaway that year.
“The country boys would have to go after them, rope ‘em and bring them on back,” said Houck, who called it a “Wild West” experience. “It was a lot of fun. It still is.”