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I was raised in a cowboy town. Clovis, CA was a great place to grow up. The schools were (and as far as I know still are), some of the best in the state. It had a tradition of conservative, good values, agriculture and yes, cowboys! Every year in April we celebrated Rodeo Days. That Friday at school, we could dress up in western garb. On Saturday, there was the Rodeo Day parades. The high school band and the bands from neighboring Fresno marched in it. There were floats and Shriner clowns and lots and lots of horses. Then, Saturday through Sunday was the Clovis Rodeo. I grew up there in the 1960s-1970s, but the traditions carry on today. The Rodeo in 2018 was the 104th Clovis Rodeo! I lived out in the country, but I was never a part of the cowboy culture. I've only ridden a horse a handful of times and as a child, my one claim to fame was being bucked from a donkey as my brother and I rode it down our driveway. But, I sure loved the cowboy traditions that surrounded me and I was proud to be a part of a town that was rich in tradition.
This is a picture of a painting of downtown Clovis that I received as a Christmas gift this year.
My husband has better cowboy roots than I do. His great uncle was Billy Bonnell, a fairly famous rodeo cowboy!
This is a photo of him breaking the world record time for calf roping in Cedar Vale, KS. His time was 9.6 seconds. His horse was called Romeo.
I am giving you all of this information because today is actually National Cowboy Day! Having been raised with the traditions and stories and movies that romanticized the American Cowboy, we thought we would join in the celebration today. For Friday Faves, we are sharing some of our favorite cowboy themed things!
Movies
My husband isn't a cowboy, but he loves westerns! I have to admit, I am pretty fond of old westerns movies myself. Here are some of our faves:
- Run, Appaloosa, Run- I include this Disney movie because it actually has scenes filmed at the Clovis Rodeo!
- True Grit- The original John Wayne version is my husband's favorite.
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance- Lindsey picked this movie starring Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.
- The Magnificent Seven- I love the lessons you can find in this movie. It is a great one.
- Another favorite of my husband, The Outlaw Josey Wales- I couldn't leave Clint Eastwood off of the list.
- Other John Wayne faves are McLintock, Big Jake, and Rio Bravo. Actually, there are so many good John Wayne Westerns, I can't begin to name them all. Which one is your favorite?
Music
I actually have a couple of sons who grew up loving hard rock music who have converted to Country Western.
- One of my sons was converted by Brad Paisley! I think the song, "I'm Gonna Miss Her" did it.
- Another of my sons loves to play and sing some of the really old country music by Hank Williams and George Jones, to name a couple of artists. My husbands family has a tradition with that kind of music.
- I am a rock and roll girl, but I do love to hear Clint Black sing "Something That We Do."
Other Cowboy Finds
Alicia found this adorable retro baby shirt on Etsy. Sold by Acmebabyco.
These boots will go great with that adorable shirt. They are from MojaveRiverGal's shop.
If you are doing a cowboy theme for a child's room, Etsy is the place to look for retro fabric!
So, that is our nod to our cowboy heritage! Do we have any cowboy or girl readers out there? Or, were any of your ancestors cowboys? That family history is fascinating to learn about! We would love to hear from you.
Enjoy your weekend!
Enjoy your weekend!
I found these cowboy party hats on beau-coup.com
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