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| 73rd Cowboy Jamboree
Oct 3, 2009 at Oklahoma State U., Stillwater OK
Donna on the Side
by Donna Dye
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Part 1 - Scene, Meet, Workerbees
Part 2 - 6A Varsity
Part 3 - 5A-4A Varsity
Part 4 - 3A-1A Varsity
Part 5 - Junior Varsity
Part 6 - Teams on the Side
Part 7 - FAN Atics
Part 8 - The Wave
The Scene - Meet and Workerbees
Oklahoma is home to the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Jamboree. In Oklahoma it’s Sooners, boomers, cowboys, cowgirls and pioneers. Such colorful terms give clues to Oklahoma’s wild and colorful beginning.
The Oklahoma Territory, as many believe, is where the west was born. The Oklahoma Territory along with surrounding Kansas and Texas was unsettled and open country filled with unique characters, outlaws and men in search of fortunes that included cattle and oil. Many Indian tribes, then and still today, lived in the territory, some having been moved there from the US east coast. Through treaties, choice areas of the Oklahoma Territory or “unassigned lands” were closed to white settlers. But such wide open space was too much for the white man to leave too long to the Indian. The Sante Fe railroad went north and south through the area. So it made sense to want to build rest stations and communities to serve the railroad. In addition, the land was fertile and many sought it for farming and cattle raising. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided for land parcels to settlers and the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 set up land runs that enabled people to make claim to land by racing for it during scheduled government land runs. These races were called land grabs. As might be expected many that had prior knowledge of the land grabs illegally moved into the territory so as to get the best pieces of land. Some even signed on as U.S. Marshalls (later to abandon the job) as a way to enter the Territory legally before others. These illegal land grabbers were called “Sooners.” Through time the name lost the negative side and by 1908 the University of Oklahoma adopted the name "Sooners" as the nickname of their football team. In all, there were seven land runs in Oklahoma. For an idea of what the rand runs were like, see the movie, "Far and Away," with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The end of the movie centers on one land grab. Stillwater, which is the home for Oklahoma State University was part of the land grab and has as its slogan "Where Oklahoma Began."
Boomers is a term that has two m eanings both related to the land grab. One meaning is a group of settlers who tried to grab land in the area before it was legal (different than the Sooners) and the other meaning refers to land grabbers who started their run at the "boom" of a gun.
Because Oklahoma was cattle country, there is a tradition and a history of cowboys and cowgirls. So when Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (Oklahoma A&M) became Oklahoma State University, cowboys and cowgirls were adopted as the nicknames for the university. And Pistol Pete became the mascot. Pistol P  ete was a character modeled after a real person, Fred Eaton. Fred was a colorful person who had been a cowboy, US Marshall and other things. He used to march in parades dressed as a cowboy. When some Oklahoma State students saw him, they asked him to model for a caricature and Pistol Pete was born. New Mexico State University and Wyoming University also claim Pistol Pete as their mascot. The Cowboy Jamboree has a trophy that was designed by a local artist and is modeled on Pistol Pete. In Stillwater, Pistol Pete and the OSU orange are everywhere. Of course, today, Oklahoma is a modern state. But there are still glimpses of its colorful past in museums and side trips.
The Meet
Oklahoma started with a race. The Cowboy Jamboree continues that tradition.
The first Cowboy Jamboree was in 1937, 48 years after the first Oklahoma land race. The Jamboree has continued every year and now claims to be the oldest consecutive cross country race in the United States.
It's a race sponsored by and on the campus of the Oklahoma State University. High school boys run a 5K race while the high school girls do a 3200 meter race.
Now on to the Meet.
Debbie Robinson holds the the prize trophy,
designed by a local artist.
| Meet Director, Coach Dan Zeroski holds the coach's orientation meeting.
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The Awards Stand sits unused.
Unfortunately, meet results were not available and there were no awards presentations on site this year.
Medals for varsity division and high school junior varsity division were distributed at the finish line. The 16 team Horseshoe Pistol Pete trophies for the varsity and junior high varsity divisions in the 1st and 2nd positions were to be mailed to the awardees.
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Workerbees
Meet Director, Coach Dan Zeroski
Stillwater HS
still trying to figure out which way to go.
| Father-Son Team: Bill (l) and Doug Wright
Bill is primarily a track official helping out now many year at the Cowboy Jamboree.
Doug is the Cowboy Jamboree's starter.
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Finish Line Crew
(from left) Mary Kriner, Tim Blackburn, Kevin Kriner, Grant Leatherwood, Andy Clower, Trey Becton, Jim Slesher and Dan Hawkins
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Part 1 - Scene, Meet, Workerbees
Part 2 - 6A Varsity
Part 3 - 5A-4A Varsity
Part 4 - 3A-1A Varsity
Part 5 - Junior Varsity
Part 6 - Teams on the Side
Part 7 - FAN Atics
Part 8 - The Wave |
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