ND Cowboy Hall of Fame - Stories & Articles

2009 Nominees Selected for Cowboy Hall of Fame Ballot

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Weds., May 20, 2009

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Darrell Dorgan 250-1833

---2009 NOMINEES SELECTED FOR COWBOY HALL OF FAME BALLOT---

The Trustees of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame (NDCHF) have selected two ranchers, a saddle club, a horse whisperer, three great bronc riders and a former Governor (soon to celebrate his 95th birthday and 70th wedding anniversary) for induction in 2009.

NDCHF Executive Director Darrell Dorgan says, “The inductees, in seven categories, were selected by the Hall of Fame’s 200 Trustees, and ninth of the nominees will be inducted into the NDCHF’s Hall of Honorees. An eighth inductee with the Hall of Fames Legacy Division, Williard Schnell of Dickinson, was selected by the Board of Directors for his distinguished contributions to the sport of rodeo, his support of the ranching industry and his tireless efforts to build the NDCHF.

In the Modern-era Rodeo Division, the 2009 Inductees Include:

Brad Gjermundson of Marshall is a four-time PRCA World Saddle Bronc Riding Champion. He turned 50 in March and was now, according to the NDCHF Bylaws, eligible for nomination and induction to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. Gjermundson began his rodeo career in high school and continued to compete on the Dickinson College Rodeo Team. He joined the PRCA in 1980 and promptly earned the Rookie-of-the-Year award. Gjermundson qualified for his first National Finals in 1981 and qualified nine times after that. Now retired from the pro-rodeo circuit, he is actively involved with the Champions Ride at Home On The Range, where he rode 18 times in 21 years. Gjermundson is a sales representative for Orwig’s Livestock Supplements and a self-employed rancher, living along the Knife River with his wife, Jackie. Their three kids are in college.

Angus Fox was born in Elbowoods in 1936. Fox finished high school at Killdeer because the waters from the Garrison Diversion project had inundated his parents’ home place, and they were forced to relocate their large family to Mandaree. He remembers that he and his brothers trailed their cattle 50 miles via the bridge at Sanish to get the herd to the new spread. Fox tamed and broke all his own horses. He began participating in rodeo in 1950, competing in every event: saddle bronc, bareback, team roping, bull riding, wild horse racing and calf roping. He attended Dickinson State College and was a member of the 1958 rodeo team that won the Rocky Mountain Regional Championship and went on to the National Championship Rodeo in Colorado Springs. Fox belonged to the North Dakota High School Rodeo Association, NDRA, NDRCA and Great Plains Indian Rodeo Association. He really excelled in the saddle bronc riding and captured the state championship title several times. He also instructed young riders in qualification issues and standards. Fox now resides in New Town.

In the Pre-1940 Rodeo Division, the 2009 Inductee is:

Melvin Griffin of Medora was in 1908 and started helping trail cattle into Miles City with his dad when he was only 10. He finished eighth grade and got the rest of his education in the “School of Hard Knocks”. After trailing some cattle into N.D., he began breaking horses for Alex LaSotta on the Triple V Ranch. He rode saddle bronc, roped calves and rodeoed around the country and served as pick-up man and rodeo judge. When the train stopped in Medora, Griffin was among the locals who put on one-hour rodeos for the amusement of train passengers. He actively participated in rodeo for about 20 years, but eased off after he married and became a family man. Griffin was a pick-up man at the last rodeo in Sanish before the arena was flooded from the Garrison Dam. He ranched at various locations, raising horses and Herefords that were branded with a Bar U Bar on the left thigh. He died in 1998 and was interred at the Medora Community Cemetery.

In the Pre-1940 Ranching Division, the 2009 inductee is:

Perfecto Fernandez, aka Georgie Baye, of Fort Berthold Reservation and Morton County was born in Brownsville, Texas, in 1861. His first cattle drive was to Wyoming in 1875 and, he then moved on to Dakota Territory. He helped Pierre Wibaux drive longhorns from Texas to Montana and worked as a horse wrangler. Fernandez was riding for the Little Missouri Livestock Association and took part in the massive roundup with Teddy Roosevelt in 1884. In 1885, he moved to the White Earth Valley and was the horse foreman and bronc buster five miles north of Hall’s Trading Post. Fernandez made saddles, as well as rawhide braided ropes, reins and bridles and horsehair saddle pads, during the long winter months. The Marquis de Mores gave Perfecto and Hall matching Colt 45-caliber revolvers, and the two were frequent guests at the Chateau de Mores. Fernandez made his way to Mandan when President Theodore Roosevelt came to N.D. in 1903. He hopped on the train and went on to Medora with the President. Roosevelt orchestrated Fernandez’ citizenship and gave him the name Georgie Baye.

Fernandez continued a horse operation with Ed Hall, breeding draft horses. En route to the Red River Valley to sell matched teams to harvest operations, they were able to perfectly train the pairs on the trail and could command prices anywhere from $800 to $1,200 per team. Fernandez settled on Bennie Peer Creek in McKenzie County to raise sheep and horses. In the late 1890s, he married Margaret Smith in Sanger, N.D., and they had three sons. He died in 1935, and his final resting place is near the Cross Ranch, near Sanger.

In the Modern-era Ranching Division, the 2009 inductee is:

George Fenton of Dunn County was born in 1907 near Oakdale. When his father died, his mother moved upriver to live with her brother. After Fenton finished 8th grade, he hiked 25 miles from Killdeer to start a full-fledged ranching career at age of 13, working for his uncle. He learned the benefits of good grazing distribution by observing livestock closely. Like his uncle, he bought land from settlers who were leaving the area. Eventually, the Diamond X Ranch spread over 10,000 acres of owned and leased land. Fenton built stock dams to complement the artesian wells and was careful not to overstock his herd or overgraze his pastures. He was respected as a cattleman of the finest caliber. Fenton appreciated horses and used equine power for haying well into the 1970s. He belonged to the N.D. Stockmen’s Association, 50 Years in the Saddle and National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma. As a young man, he’d strap an accordion onto his saddle, ride to a barn dance and play until sunrise. Fenton married Thelma Edwards in 1935, and they had four daughters. He died in 1993 and is buried at the Oakdale Cemetery.

In the Great Westerner Division, the 2009 inductee is:

Arthur Link of McKenzie County was born on a ranch near Alexander in 1914. His formal education took place in a one-room school house where he completed the 8th grade. In 1929, he enrolled in a two-year agricultural husbandry course at NDSU, but returned to the family’s farm and ranching operation after just a year. Link became heavily involved with the N.D. Farmers Union and, in 1939, he married Grace Johnson. They raised five sons and one daughter and will soon celebrate their 70th anniversary. Active in many local committees and associations, Link began his legislative career in 1946 when he was elected to the State House of Representatives. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970 and, as Governor of North Dakota in 1972, serving until 1980. Link has been an avid supporter of the NDHCF and was the honorary chair of the initial capital fundraising campaign. The Links reside in Bismarck, where the former Governor continues to keep abreast of political and social affairs while working tirelessly to preserve N.D.’s western heritage and lifestyle.

In the Special Achievement Division, the 2009 inductee is:

The 50 Years In the Saddle began in 1957, when 22 ranchers, who had been working with cattle since at least 1907, met in New Town. They decided to gather once a year to reminisce and “to preserve memories and traditions”. Membership requirements have changed through the years and presently, a man or woman must be at least 55 years old and have worked with livestock for their livelihood. The membership plaque at Watford City’s Heritage Park lists over 500 members since 1957. There are about 130 members who meet for the June round up each year. Four volumes of western N.D. history, mostly compiled by members Andrew Johnston and Manfred Signalness, have been published by the organization. The group has voluntarily created historical markers; put up plaques, signs and benches; donated trophies for 4-H shows; and generally documented life on the “western edge”. Many members have been individually inducted into the N.D. Cowboy Hall of Fame and many charter members also belonged to the Western Livestockmen’s Association, the precursor to the N.D. Stockmen’s Association.

In the Cowboy Long Rider Division, the 2009 inductee is:

John Hovde of Epping, is, far and away, the “Horse Whisperer of N.D.” Growing up on a Williams County ranch, he was already learning how to train horses at age six. The Hovde kids showed horses and cattle in 4-H and, after the family moved into Williston, Hovde spent summers back at the ranch, under rustic conditions, taking in outside horses that were mostly four- to six-year-old renegades. Hovde graduated from NDSU with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1969. He served two years in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division. Hovde bought cattle and leased a spread east of his childhood home, where the couple raised two children and that continues to be their home. Hovde began putting on horsemanship clinics in 1972 and the Equine Connection in 1990. Through the years, he has judged countless high school cutting competitions and horse shows. Hovde has been active in the Mondak Association and the N.D. Cutting Horse Association. The Hovdes have hosted the AQHA State Trail Ride at their ranch, with proceeds donated to the Home On The Range. For each of the past 30 years, Hovde has voluntarily conducted eight to twelve 4-H horsemanship clinics. At present, he is an adjunct professor of animal and range sciences for the Equine Department at NDSU, Fargo. One of his biggest accomplishments was his successful campaign to the AQHA championship with a 3-year-old mare. In 2003, he took 9th place in the Versatility Ranch Horse Competition. Hovde’s philosophy can be summed up as “Horsemanship isn’t teaching a horse; it is learning how to ask a horse to do something in a way the horse can understand.”

In the Legacy Award Division, the 2009 inductee is:

Willard Schnell of Dickinson grew up as part of the livestock industry. His family has been in the livestock auction business in Dickinson since 1937, and Willard was also regarded a top rodeo competitor in several events. Willard is also regarded by his peers as one of the nation’s premier auctioneers. Known widely for his honesty and integrity, he has been the auctioneer for many of the nation’s top sales and, along with other family members, produced the nationally-known Dickinson Match of Champions in the 1950s. Long a promoter of western N.D., the ranching and beef industry, NDCHF since the group’s inception 15 years ago. Willard and wife Linda make their home in Dickinson, enjoy life at the cabin in the Killdeer Mountains and continue to tirelessly promote N.D. and the western lifestyle.

The 200 NDCHF Trustees are responsible for selecting the inductees into the Hall of Honorees. More than 110 ranchers, bronc riders, events, distinguished events and rodeo animals have been inducted over the past 12 years.

Formal Induction ceremonies into the NDCHF will be held June 26 and 27 in Medora.
On Friday, June 26, there will be a banquet at the Hall of Fame honoring the new inductees and their families. Advance reservations are required, and banquet tickets can be reserved by calling the Hall of Fame in Medora at 701-623-2000. On Saturday, June 27, the induction will be held at the Tjaden Terrace, overlooking the N.D. Badlands. The induction program will begin at 1:00 p.m. MDT, with entertainment at noon.

NDCHF President Phil Baird of Mandan notes, “Those not selected for induction into the Hall of Fame this year are eligible for re-nomination in future years.”

The NDCHF’s Center of Western Heritage and Cultures opened in Medora in 2005 and was named N.D.’s 2007 Tourist Attraction of the Year. The facility is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from May 15 to September 15 and by appointment during the winter months. Its galleries and exhibits detail the history of the Plains horse culture.

The facility is also used for meetings, reunions, weddings and other events. An attached patio provides room for more than 200 people for catered events. Catered food and beverage service is available, and reservations are still being taken for 2009 events in Medora.

A statewide fundraising campaign is underway to pay off the Hall of Fame’s mortgage in 2009. Contributions for the project may be sent to NDCHF, 120 North 3rd Street, Bismarck, ND 58501-3860.

Brad Gjermundson

Angus Fox

Melvin Griffin

Perfecto Fernandez

George Fenton

Arthur Link

The 50 Years In the Saddle

John Hovde

Willard Schnell