Page 9 - Canby Rodeo 2023

August 15-19, 2023, 65th Annual
9 – CANBY RODEO
THE CANBY RODEO
The Beginning Part One:
Way back in the beginning County Fair attendee’s , many who came by horse and buggy then later by car were treated not only to livestock shows but also baseball games, Pig and “T” racing, sulky racing and many sections of horse racing. This took place on what is still part of the rodeo arena today.
During the early to mid-1950”s fair attendance had begun to dwindle people wanted more. There was talk going around about moving the Fair to a different location and the Fair Board wanted none of that.
In 1957 local resident Craig Landeen was asked to attend a Fair Board meeting to discuss the possibility of having a Rodeo during the county fair. Craig was the real deal when it came to cowboying. It’s been told that he used to jockey or herd 2 yr. old colts to the warm springs Indian reservation from Canby to let the tribal members tame and break the horses. Craig and his wife Marilyn had been involved with rodeo for years as participants and producers.
The Fair board was surprised when Craig showed up a month later at the next Fair Board meeting with a plan. His plan included a list of possible stock contractors, a budget, a list of risks both pro and con, a rodeo format and proposed “extra events”. The proposal was then topped off by his proposal of having a free Rodeo with paid fair attendance and to cram 4 hours of Rodeo into two hours. With the covered grandstands already in place extra seating could be borrowed or leased from area school athletic fields.
In 1958 Craig was named as Rodeo producer and told to move forward with the plan he had outlined. The families’ construction business and ranching business were both going strong but Craig accepted the job.
Sonny Bain of Antelope, Oregon and Howard Johnson of Condon, Oregon combined their best rodeo stock together and formed the Johnson and Bain Rodeo Company. Six major events were scheduled that first year including Bareback and Saddle bronc riding, Calf Roping, Bull Dogging (steer wrestling) Wild Cow Milking and Brahma Bull Riding. Sanctioning was received by the Northwest Rodeo Association or NRA and it became an official Rodeo.
That first year another event was also added. The Kids Calf Riding later called “the 6 1⁄2 chute” and was a real crowd pleaser. Boys and girls aged 9 to 12 years rode 500 pound calves as close to or longer than the 8 second mark competing for prize money just like the big guys. The kids were always ready to go during any slack time or between contestants in the sanctioned events. A group of Molalla Buckaroo association members were asked to judge and time the event. Many of todays and yesteryears Pro Rodeo contestants got their start at the
6 1⁄2 chute.
Craigs wife Marilyn was very good at public relations. You would be hard pressed to meet a sweeter woman. She made sure lots of photos were taken of the action and she then released the photos with a story to all the areas local newspapers including the Enterprise Courier which was the daily newspaper in Oregon City.
That first year of the Rodeo, 1958 Fair admission was 75 cents for adults 50 cents for juniors and kids under 12 were free. These ticket prices included the free Rodeo. The fair dates that year were August 20th thru the 23rd and temperatures rose to the upper nineties during the day. Fair attendance was poor at best during the day, but as evening approached crowds began to show up, have some fair food and get ready for the 8 o’clock Rodeo. It’s said the first night was the only night there was an empty seat as word traveled fast. It was a full house for the remaining three performances and the last night was capped off with a huge fireworks display.
Newspaper headlines read the following week “Fair attendance nears 10,000”. Russ Schumacher who was assistant secretary of the Fair Board said that daytime temperatures in the nineties wilted fair attendance but credited the Rodeo performances produced by Craig Landeen as the real lifesaver. That year evening crowds surpassedallknownrecords.As it is today innovation helped keep interest in the rodeo. In 1959 another event the “Wild Cow Ride” was added. Area service clubs fielded teams of three to saddle haltered cows that were released form the bucking chutes and then had to ride across a finish line. In 1968 an event called the “Texas Barrel Race was also added. During this time there was a special section for Clackamas County cowgirls only. Team Roping followed and as well a section for Clackamas County Team Ropers was also added.
In 1965 27,600 viewers attended the free rodeo, despite a very wet Thursday with a gully washer of a rainstorm that hit during the rodeo performance.
1968 ended the Landeen era at the Rodeo but his wife finished out the year to be sure promotions continued. Glen Shedeck was a Salem firefighter, a past Rodeo contestant and a local from Canby. Glen was named as the new Rodeo Director to continue on the Rodeo.
This ends part one of the storied history of the Rodeo. Come back and see us next year to read up on the rest of the story.
This story submitted by Dan Mickelsen along with the written help of Marilyn Landeen, may she rest in peace.