National High School Rodeo Association & 2012 National Rodeo Finals

What is the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA)? 

The National High School Rodeo Association is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the development of sportsmanship, horsemanship and the character in the youth of our country through the sport of rodeo. Created by Texas educator and rodeo contestant Claude Mullins, the NHSRA held its first finals in Hallettsville, Texas, Aug. 25-27, 1949. The NHSRA membership consists of over 10,500 members from 41 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia.

The National High School Rodeo Association is governed by National Directors (one representative from each state/provincial association). These volunteer board members are dedicated to the success of the NHSRA and the youth of North America. They also take the responsibility for the planning of the National High School Finals Rodeo each year.

The NHSRA, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, has a full-time staff that conducts the day-to-day business of the association. This professional staff is available to assist with sponsorship programs, answer questions and provide for the needs of the association's membership.

 What are the membership requirements? 

Students must be in good standing; not ruled undesirable for misconduct at school. Students must be under 20 at the first of the National High School Rodeo year, and are or have been enrolled in the 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade the year just preceding the National Rodeo the contestant is entering as long as they (minimum requirements) have made passing grades in 4 subjects or if carrying less than 4 subjects student must have passing grades in all subjects, even if they have graduated in the middle of the year or have attended school on half-days, they will be eligible to compete in National High School Rodeo through the National High School Finals Rodeo if he/she has not participated for more than four (4) years. Each State/Province Association may adopt their state/province academic policy for grade or credit requirements. Any student attending schools which apply to high school credits is eligible if he/she meets all other requirements. A graduate of High School is not eligible for membership of NHSRA after the completion of the National High School Finals Rodeo immediately following their graduating from High School. Students must include a copy of their current high school grade and age certificate with their application for membership in a State/Provincial organization.

Results from the 2012 National High SchoolFinals Rodeo at the Sweetwater Events Complex in Rock Springs, Wyo

DHS1907 Commencement Views by Jerry Bryant

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Jerry Bryant continues to share his Deadwood School history and artifacts.  

With the power assumed by me and Bill Beshara, we declare Jerry Bryant an Honorary Deadwood High School Member.  

He like Molly Frawley (Honorary DHS Member) continues to provide more active support to the memory of DHS than many of it's graduates.  

Thank you Jerry!  

Molly too for keeping Hank Frawley straightened out!

New Interpretative Sign for the Deadwood School Cannon by Michael Runge, Deadwood City Archives

Select on image for larger view

Sign Image courtesy of Deadwood City Archives, Michael Runge

2007 All Deadwood School Reunion Proceeds Report by Reunion Chairman Bill Beshara DHS1955

Bill Beshara, Deadwood School Plaque, & Dick Dunwiddie

DickD comment:

Chairman Bill Beshara and his committee/helpers of Janet Chyba Thoresen, Carolyn Johnson Dirkson, Marcia Moore Darlin, Don Gross, Jim Veitl, Karen Shockey Balderson, Roselle Stalder, Larry Ryan, Hank Frawley, John Fillmore, Dick Schlax, Yvonne Spaulding Hendrickson, Merno Stalder, Sherill Person Dunwiddie, Vince Gravelle, Dick Dunwiddie, Barbara Shedd Allen and many others helped to provide a best ever DHS All School Reunion.

This is Bill's final report.  His committee also brought the Deadwood High School roster information up to date.  There were over 900 graduates still living at that time.  The working roster for the reunion was done on MS Excel format.  No one had the time to publish the roster or keep it up to date.

I think this report represents the above-and-beyond efforts that Bill Beshara always provides in his DHS Activities.  I think we shoud grant him the title Deadwood High School Class President, Emeritus.

DHS All School Reunion Scholarship Award

July 1, 2012

Dear classmates of Deadwood High School,

After the All School Reunion in 2007 there was a balance in the bank account from our reunion and the previous all school reunion. Talking to people during and after the reunion there appeared to be no interest in having another all school reunion so the reunion committee was left with making a decision about what to do with the money.

We had several committee meetings and came up with two possible solutions that we hoped would please all those involved.

About the time of the Reunion, Deadwood/Lead schools were starting a Backpack Program. This program provides food and backpacks for needy kids in the community that don’t have food at home on the weekends. So, our committee decided what better way to use some of these funds than to help kids in need. We donated $1,139.94 to this program. They were very grateful that we could help them get this program off the ground. Thanks to Karen Balderson for this idea.

That left us with $2,400.00 in the bank. After discussing several options, our committee came up with the idea of having a scholarship in the name of the “DHS All School Reunion”. The intention was to provide a scholarship to a student who is pursuing a Vocational Program of continuing education following high school graduation. A student selected each year from the graduating class would receive a scholarship in the amount of $600.00 toward tuition costs. It was set up for scholarships of $600.00 each for four years. Preference would be given to students whose relatives had attended DHS in the past.

The scholarships were started in 2008 and the last one was awarded this year, 2012. The scholarship for 2011 was skipped because we could not find a suitable candidate.

2008 Recipient: Frank Derby. Welding.  Western Dakota VoTech. Rapid City, SD.

2009 Recipient: Eric Quaschnick: Lives in Lead. Course of study is Auto and Diesel Tech. at Western Dakota VoTech. Rapid City, SD.

2010 Recipient-----Chelsee Jacobs: Lives in Deadwood. Course of study is Veterinary Technician at Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Tech. Denver Co.

2012 Recipient: Lauren Hoffman. Lives in Lead. Course of Study is Phlebotomy. Draws blood for a blood tests. Attending Western Dakota VoTech. Rapid City, SD.

Thanks to all who attended the reunion and I hope this meets with your approval. We feel that we helped serve the needs of young people in the community and this completes the 2007 Reunion efforts.

Reading the commencement programs for the last few years I found 

there are several graduates of DHS and many others that give money towards scholarships and commencement awards. They are to be commended. Our young people today need all the support they can get.

Sincerely

Bill Beshara

Class of ‘55

Lilah Morton Pengra Visits Sarah "Aunt Sally" Campbell Grave Marker#4

Picture Credit Erika Jordan

At the 8^th Annual Galena Ghost Town Fund Raiser, Lilah Morton Pengra took the opportunity to visit the Sarah “Aunt Sally” Campbell grave site.  It is located in “Vinegar Hill” Galena SD Cemetery. 


Lilah shares the following as an update to my July 2009 article.

Picture Credit Kathy Aplan

"My picture was taken at the Sarah Campbell fourth marker by Kathy Aplan.  The date of death is now correct.  The headstone and carving was donated by the owner of Rausch Memorial. They plan to attach a plaque to the back of the monument to explain the historical context for the use of “Aunt Sally” and “colored.”

There was wonderful weather that day at the Galena Cemetery. The steady stream of people visiting the cemetery seemed willing to listen for a few minutes to my story about Sarah Campbell. It was gratifying to see so many young people interested in history. The connection I felt was not to the site but to Campbell. I wondered if she would find humor or vindication in all these white people wanting to know more about her and her adventuresome life.

I’m currently working on a short article for the journal Greasy Grass. The Lakota who were in the 1941 movie They Died With Their Boots On were never given credit. Even the repositories where the film and still photographs are archived do not know their identities.  I hope to rectify that and give proper credit. And, my other project is to finish my book about Isaiah Dorman, tentatively titled Isaiah Dorman: Issues, Answers and More Questions. That project will get started again when I am up to another long research trip."


Note:  Isaiah Dorman was an African American who perished with General Custer.  I hope to add more information about Isaiah that does not distract from Lilah article. Check back!


>>> June 25, 2012:  General Custer and Isaiah Dorman died June 25, 1876 so this is a fitting day to add Lilah's explanination of Isaiah research and book in work.

"I started researching Isaiah when two bits of information collided. First, it is widely believed that Dorman was a runaway slave who hid with the Lakota before the Civil War. This belief, when I first read it, seemed to be based on rather flimsy evidence, none of which could be verified. I reacted to that because it is a myth and stereotype that all people of African-descent were slaves. The second bit of information I ran across by accident. I found Isaiah Dorman, with his name misspelled, on the 1860 federal census. He was living at Fort Kearney, NE where he worked as a servant to Capt. Alfred Sully and reported his birthplace as Pennsylvania. Other domestic workers on the same census page were noted as slaves. There was no such indication for Dorman. That would seem to challenge the story about him running away from slavery. It has taken 12 years but I have amassed a pile of evidence, some circumstantial, some documented, that he was born free in Pennsylvania. However, there are many holes in the documentation, long periods of his life that are undocumented and some mysteries surrounding his family relationships. Hence, I am approaching the book as an open-ended investigation with some of the puzzle pieces assembled and some still in a pile to be sorted. However, a picture is beginning to emerge that will, I hope, put an end to the myth of a slave background."
~~~ Dick,thanks for posting up-to-date articles about interesting Hills history. I should add that when Custer split his forces, Dorman was with the troops led by Reno. He was killed between the woods and the river in Reno's rush (retreat?) to the high ground. Dorman's wife was Dakota so her relatives were not happy that he was with the campaign. Lilah ~~~

Picture Credit Chuck James

Select on following image for book reviews

David Treber DHS1958 Dies at Age 72

David William Treber

January 25, 1940 - June 9, 2012

David William Treber was a man who was easy to love and respect. He was surrounded by his family and friends until his death Saturday, June 9, 2012.

Internment will be Friday, June 15, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis with Sturgis Veterans Honor Guard providing Military Honors. A memorial service will be held Friday, June 15th at 10:30 a.m. at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spearfish with Rev. Jeff Otterman officiating. David was born January 25, 1940, in Rapid City, SD, to Commander William O. and Edith (Nelson) Treber. He graduated from Deadwood High School and joined the US Army in 1958. David was an Airborne Ranger Recondo with the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, serving until 1962.

He married June Carol Korpi on July 16, 1960, in Lead, SD. David attended college in Colorado and Spearfish. He worked for the City of Lead, Black Hills Power and Light, Clark Tire and Oil, and Homestake Mining Company as a gold refiner until his retirement in 1997. David and June moved from Lead to Spearfish in 2000 and became members of Our Savior's Lutheran Church.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, June of Spearfish; daughters, Terri Lynn (Dana) Cooper of Newcastle, WY, and Donna Rae (Will) Reece of Highlands Ranch, CO; granddaughters, Kristina (Justin) Sokol of Rochester, MN, Larissa (Joe Jording) Cooper of Denver, CO, and Madison Reece of Highlands Ranch, CO; sister-in-law, Donna O'Brien of York, PA; brother-in-law, John (Karen) Korpi of Sandy, UT; and numerous friends and family including June's Kumpula cousins.

David was preceded in death by his parents.  John Treber, his grandfather, was one the original members of the Deadwood Business Club.  John helped guide the 1876 Deadwood until he died in 1936.

See sign on left side of picture

Memorials have been established.

Write in David's guest book

Long Awaited Deadwod Days of 76 Grand Opening is June 16, 2012 by Norma Kraemer/Rose Speirs

Days of ’76 Museum Opens to the Public

DEADWOOD – Deadwood History will host the opening of the Days of ’76 Museum on Saturday, June 16, 2012.  The $5.25 million museum is a project of the Days of ’76, City of Deadwood and the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission. Following an official ribbon cutting by the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce at 9:00 a.m., the public is invited to tour the new facility. Refreshments will be served.

The Days Museum opening will include an art show featuring Belle Fourche artists TR Chytka and Mick B. Harrison.  Chytka will display his bronze artwork, including the new Billy Etbauer bronze.  Harrison, who specializes in oil paintings, will be showing new artwork, along with the eight-painting “Events Series” rodeo poster art used for the Days of ’76 posters from 2003 – 2009, and 2011.  Both artists’ work is for sale.

Todd Hoffman will serve a chuck wagon meal in front of the museum at 11:00 a.m. The chuck wagon is $7 per plate served, and Hoffman will donate one dollar per plate to Deadwood History.  The chuck wagon will be available until it is sold out. 

The Black Hills' newest museum commemorates the history of the award-winning Days of '76 Celebration and rodeo, and features a stunning collection of American Indian artifacts.  The museum also includes the largest collection of horse-drawn vehicles in the state.

Admission to the museum is $7 for adults; $4 for children ages 7 – 13; free to children 6 and under; families $25.  The ’76 Museum is wheelchair accessible. Summer hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., daily.  Open year round.  The Days of ’76 Museum is located at 1876 Drive, Deadwood. 

We inspire the global community by preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage of Deadwood and the Black Hills in the context of the American West through exceptional exhibits, innovative educational programs and access to extensive collections in unique settings.

Days of ’76 Museum, Adams Museum, Historic Adams House, and the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center.