WINNEMUCCA - Labor Day weekend, five legendary cowboys will join Humboldt County's "Buckaroo Hall of Fame" as part of the 31st annual Western Art Roundup.
The now-annual ceremony commemorates the lives of those local cowboys who worked the cattle ranges of northern Nevada and the Great Basin from the late 1800s into the 1900s.
This year's celebration is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 31, in the East Hall of the Winnemucca Convention Center. The public is invited to attend; there is no charge for admission.
This year's honorees include Jack D. Hammond, Harry "Sharkey" Hunt, Sam Spahan, Tom Marvel and Frank Bidart.
Jack D. Hammond was born in Vancouver, B.C. July 14, 1918, to Carl D. Hammond and Violet (Shepard ) Hammond. The family lived at Jake Creek Ranch, 65 miles east of Winnemucca. Jack was the second of four children including sister Gloria and brothers Cedric and Francis.
During his early years, Jack attended school at the ranch where his mother was his teacher. He also learned early to ride a horse so he could help his father gather cattle on the open range. After graduating from high school in 1936, Jack returned to the ranch to assist his father. The family property had expanded to include the Red House Ranch and the Pic Anderson field, both east of Golconda on the Humboldt River, and the Bain field near Red House.
Soon after, Carl passed away and the work of the ranch fell to Jack and his three siblings. They formed a corporation in 1948, Hammond Ranches Inc. Jack was appointed president and served in that capacity for over 40 years. The corporation continued to raise cattle and expanded again in 1950, adding the large John G Taylor holding at Hot Springs Ranch, about 15 miles south of Jake's Creek. The acquisition made Hammond Ranches Inc. one of the larger operations in Humboldt County.
On May 14, 1954, Jack married Norma Hutchison whom he met while living at Red House Ranch. Three children joined the family: Kim, Cheryl and Judy. In 1967, following the death of Jack's sister Gloria in an automobile accident, the family moved to Jake's Creek Ranch.
Jack was a good family man; he always made time for his kids and nephews. He also enjoyed having his grandchildren around him as much as he could. From the picture window in the living room at Jake's Creek he could see all the way up Jack's Creek Canyon to the summit, Jake's Creek and Kelly Creek Mountains, the horse pasture and the Big Spring, bringing him an inner peace. Jack passed away December 30, 1995.
Harry H. (Sharkey) Hunt was born in the 1890s and raised in southwestern Idaho in the Weiser and Midvale areas. A veteran of World War I, Sharkey came to Nevada and worked as a buckaroo for most of his life. He was a medium-sized, stocky fellow with a deep voice. He wore khaki work shirts, Levis rolled up on the bottom, suspenders, laced boots and a fedora hat. He also rolled his own cigarettes from Bull Durhum tobacco.
Starting in the early 1960s, Sharkey buckarooed for Hammond Ranches Inc. in eastern Humboldt County and western Elko County. Sharkey was an excellent roper whether he was roping calves at branding or roping horses.
One time, while working for Hammond Ranches Inc., the saddle horses were running out on the range up on Jake's Creek Mountain. Sharkey caught a sorrel named Yogi out the bunch-a move that Yogi did not appreciate. About the time the horse felt Sharkey's weight on his back, he began jumping, bawling and breaking wind. Through it all, Sharkey stayed in the middle of him with a rein in each hand leaning back in the saddle hollering, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" The horse tried his best to unload Sharkey, but couldn't make it happen.
Later, on many different occasions, when things would get in a bind for any reason, Sharkey was known to start hollering, "Whoa!"
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Sharkey was a good hand around cattle and was not afraid to ride any horse, cranky or not. He could harness and drive a team of horses to buck hay to the stack or feed cattle in the winter. In his later years, he worked on Jack Hammond's hay crew (Buckaroo Hall of Fame inductee 2013) stacking loose grass hay shocks to feed the cattle in the winter.
By 1970, Sharkey was ready to slow down. He rented a cabin from Erv and Tippy Walthers. He passed away on March 24, 1977, in Winnemucca.
Thomas Jenkins Marvel was born on June 7, 1924, in Battle Mountain to Captain Ernest Ray Marvel and Louise Jenkins Marvel. He had an older brother, Dick, and a younger brother, John.
Tom's family owned and operated the W.T. Jenkins Company. At one time the W.T. Jenkins Company ran as many as 33,000 sheep and 8,000 head of cattle across five counties.
Tom started working as a cowboy in 1932 at age 8. Tom quit school after the eighth grade and went to work full-time as a cowboy. At age 14, his father met him with a saddled horse and another packed, and said, "Hit the road." So he did. "Don't get me wrong, though," he says. "This is what I wanted, and Dad knew it."
Tom got his first job with the Cattle Association out of Elko, Nevada. Following, he worked for Bill Nichols at the 25 Ranch, south of Battle Mountain, as a "cattle rep" for the W.T. Jenkins Company.
By 1941, in the midst of World War II, the W.T. Jenkins Company was badly in need of cowboys. Tom's dad asked that he serve as cow boss for the company. At 17 years old, Tom took over control and management of all the cattle, riding long hours in the saddle; it was a life that he loved.
In 1944, Tom met Rosita Camarillo Petit, who had come to Battle Mountain to visit a classmate. The two were married in 1945 during Tom's furlough from the U.S. Army (Tom had enlisted earlier that year). Upon his return three years later, the Marvels settled in Nevada and began a life of cattle ranching.
In 1947, the W.T. Jenkins Company purchased the 25 Ranch west of Battle Mountain. Tom and his family moved out to the ranch on the Humboldt River where Tom was cow boss. Six of Tom and Rosita's seven children (Tommy, Suzy, Mike, Sally, Joe and Pete) spent much of their childhood there.
In 1964, the 25 Ranch sold along with the rest of the W.T. Jenkins Company. Tom and Rosita acquired the Martin Ranch south of Battle Mountain where they moved their family and ran cattle. This is where their seventh child, Amy, was born.
In 1986, Tom and Rosita sold the Martin Ranch and moved to California for a time where Tom trained cutting horses and made a greater name for himself in the horse industry.
Over the course of his life, Tom estimates he has logged more than 279,000 miles in the saddle. In addition to their seven children, Tom and Rosita have 22 grandchildren and three-dozen great-grandchildren.
Tom and Rosita now live in Spring Creek, Nevada. Tom Marvel continues to ride, help with ranch work and assist people with their horses.
Sammy Bill Spahan was born on Oct. 26, 1926, on a Native American reservation in Merritt, British Columbia.
Sam left school at age 12 to start working fulltime as a ranch hand on the Niccola Valley Ranch. It was during this time in his young life where he really learned to rope and ride, round up cattle, break and care for horses. At an early age he discovered that he was very good at handling "unridable" or "unbreakable" horses.
In the mid-1940s, Sam moved to Mexico with his father, Antoine, to buy and sell cattle. In 1947 Sam moved back to Canada where he met a beautiful wild-eyed woman who shared his passion for riding horses, travel, and living an adventurous life. Joan was a strong and stubborn soul who matched him in grit and kept up with him on a horse. They were married in 1949 and spent the next 60 years exploring the West together.
Sam's extensive knowledge and skill with horses and cattle led him to work at several ranches all over the Western United States, from California to New Mexico and up to Washington. Over his ranching career Sam started a lot of horses, but he liked the Arab breed in particular.
Although Sam loved working on ranches and rounding up cattle in the rural West, his greatest passion was being on the back of a bucking bronco in a rodeo arena. When rodeo season came around, nothing could keep him from riding; it was in his blood. Sam and Joan would pack up as soon as he got his winnings from that night's ride and Joan would drive through the night while Sam would sleep and rest up for the next day's event.
Sam started his rodeo career in Canada and rodeo is what brought Sam to the United States. Rodeo life in the U.S was different than what he was used to: he was a Native American riding in a white world. Frankly, discrimination against his race kept him from winning the top spot at several rodeos. Despite this drawback, he won bronc-riding championships all over the West.
As much as Sam loved to travel and chase the rodeo, Winnemucca has become his home. At age 87, Sam still keeps and cares for three horses, a clowder of cats, a muster of peacocks, and his dog. Any day of the week, he can be found shoeing his horses, building fence, repairing old saddles, helping a friend doctor an injured animal, or grabbing a bite to eat with an old riding buddy. Sam is also well known in the community as a self-taught vet.
Living a western lifestyle has brought Sam severe injury, unimaginable pain, and great loss. It has also brought the thrills of winning a championship, boundless love, and a incredible life worth celebrating. It's the only life he has wanted to know.
Frank Bidart was born on Sept. 20, 1922, to Michel Bidart and Francisca Montero Bidart, the third of eight children. Michel and Francisca's brother, Ramon, bought the Leonard Creek Ranch from Miller & Lux in 1926, which became the family home for the two families.
Frank's first memories of riding are from a very young age, both sheepherders' horses and burros he found out on the range. He spent his first eight years of schools at Leonard Creek, but was the first of his brothers to attend Humboldt County High School in Winnemucca.
Upon finishing high school, Frank returned fulltime to Leonard Creek and started his ranching career. As a ranch hand, he did every kind of work including buckarooing and made $150 per month for many years.
Every spring and summer, Frank and the rest of the young men would buckaroo above the ranches in the area as the cows all mixed, and there were no fences and allotments at the time. There were also no stock trailers so Frank rode everywhere he had to go. He loved branding and loved calf roping, and his only gripe was having to share the roping with others at the brandings.
The family also leased Knott Creek, Cove and Crane Creek at that time, and Frank and his cousin Ray spent many winters with the cattle there. They also leased the Sheldon and ran cattle between there and Leonard Creek. Back in those days, Frank admits to logging far more miles horseback than he ever did in a car.
He remembers some very cold winters with Ray at Knott Creek, where they would get four feet of snow at the summit. They would feed cattle there from January till the calving was done in April. They would work all day and be in bed by seven. No electricity. For fun, they would play cards. Frank also liked to braid macates, but preferred nylon rope to leather. Frank rode a Capriola slick fork saddle with bucking rolls that he has to this day.
In 1955, Frank's brother Louie went to work at Paiute and Frank took over running the cattle for Leonard Creek. Among his duties were shoeing his own horses, branding, riding and putting up hay. In 1963, Frank, at age 39, gave up his bachelor ways and married neighbor Jo Woodward. The family bought a ranch in Soda Springs, Idaho, and Frank and Jo moved up there to run the ranch.
In 1971, the ranch in Soda Springs sold. Frank and family moved to Weiser, Idaho. There, Frank worked at a feedlot. In 1973, Frank and Jo moved back to Winnemucca where their three children attended schools and Frank worked as a mechanic at Bidart Brothers Machinery.
At nearly 91 years old, Frank enjoys hunting and visiting with friends, his wife, children and grandchildren. Earlier this year, he and Jo celebrated 50 years of marriage.
The Buckaroo Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the East Hall Winnemucca Convention Center. There is no charge to attend.
For more information, please contact Carl Hammond at (541) 573-2921 or email buckaroohalloffame@yahoo.com.
A book, "Buckaroo Legends of the Great Basin," published in 2011, includes photos and biographies of inductees honored from 1990 to 2011. It will be available for sale during the event.
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