Two men from eastern Oregon, Merlin Rupp and Jack Peila and two from northern Nevada, Woodie Bell and George T. Fairchild will be inducted into the Buckaroo Hall of Fame on Sept 3, in conjunction with the 40th annual Western Art Roundup and Buckaroo Heritage event in Winnemucca, Nevada.
There will be a social gathering for inductees, family and friends Friday, Sept. 2 at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 3, the inductee ceremony will take place at noon. All the activities will take place at the East Hall Convention Center.
George T. Fairchild
George T. Fairchild was born in Elko, Nevada on February 26, 1926 to Clinton “Chop” Fairchild and Leona (Suttle) Fairchild. They also had a younger son, Edwin. The family went to Tulelake, California when George was a young boy. He went to school in Tulelake and later went on to college at UC Davis in California where he studied agriculture related courses. After college, George got a job with the Nevada Fish & Game Department in the 1940’s working as a Game Warden in northern Nevada following in his father’s footsteps.
While working part time for area ranches, George met Donna Devine from Golconda, Nevada and they were married in Elko, Nevada on June 6, 1950 by the Justice of the Peace. The couple lived in Golconda for while after they were married. In 1952, George started working as a buckaroo for Bidart Brothers at the McGee Ranch on the Sheldon Refuge and Lennard Creek Ranch near Denio, Nevada. George buckarooed on the roundup wagon crew while Donna cooked for the crews. Then in 1954, he and his wife leased the Thousand Creek Ranch and started their own herd. At the same time, he worked at the nearby Opal mine at night to make ends meet.
George had always wanted to have his own cattle and horses. In 1958, they moved to the Fairchild family ranch at Taylor Canyon for a time. George and Donna moved to Elko County and purchased the Sherman Ranch south of Elko in 1959 about 20 miles from Jiggs, Nevada. They raised their own horses from a brood bunch George put together. The young horses he rode were well trained according to his wife Donna. His favorite type of horse was the Appoloosa, according to his grandson Blake O’Donnell. Their children would have to make the 20-mile trip to Jiggs for school. He and his brother Edwin had a hunting guide operation then. George and his uncle Tate (Small Boy) Farichild were riding and training colts during this same time. After his brother passed away and a few years of hard times, they sold the Sherman Ranch in 1969. After that George was hired by the Circle S Ranch as ranch foreman. He then went to work for the 2U Ranch for the Lee Wilson Co. In 1974 they moved to Elko for a while and George worked for the State Highway Dept. for a year or so. Later, he went in partners with his father on a ranch property in Madiline, California and the venture lasted about a year.
In 1977, George got hired as the cow boss and manager at the San Jacinto Ranch (Salmon River Cattlemans’ Assoc.) near Jackpot, Nevada. In 1979, there was an opening in Battle Mountain, Nevada for a Bureau of Land Management range con and he was hired for that position. He was probably one of the last ones to do that job by horseback, riding one of his favorite appoloosa horses named Cotton. His grandson still has relatives of this fine horse today.
George suffered a heart attack in 1980 and was unable to work for a while. During his last few years working at the BLM, he was on the wild horse gathering crew. He was always welcome at all the area ranches for a cup of coffee. In 1985, he retired and spent with his family during branding and haying. He and Donna became “snowbirds” and headed south during the winter months.
George spent most of his life in Northern Nevada working for area ranches and owning his own ranch. According to friend Earl Horton of Winnemucca, Nevada, George was an excellent horseman and cattleman and a real good hand. His last ride was in 1999, up to the lakes in the Ruby Mountains and the last ride for his horse Cotton too. He told his grandson “He had rough times a time or two, but he wouldn’t change anything, it was a fun ride.”
George enjoyed cowboying, hunting, fishing and anything outdoors. He passed away May 3, 2009. His wife Donna is 94 and still lives in the Elko area.
Jack Peila
Jack Peila was born on a small, family ranch outside of Meeker, Co on September 28, 1924. He had several jobs during his life that formed his work ethic and personality, including ranch and dairy work, breaking horses, braiding bull ropes, digging hand dug wells, building road and working for a stock contractor. Jack and his brother, Joe were bitten by the rodeo bug at ages 14 and 15 respectively. They drove to their first rodeo in Sharon Springs, KS. Jack won third ($3) in bareback riding and Joe won first ($10) in bull riding. Needless to say, they were hooked! Jack mainly competed in bareback and bulls, however, he would rope calves and steer wrestle at the closer rodeos. He won many awards and competed in the states of Montana, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas North & South Dakota and Arizona. Jack was a member of the Cowboy’s Turtle Association, which is now known as the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA). Jack met his wife, Theresa at the Denver Stock Show, while she was covering the rodeo for KLZ radio. They married shortly after and Jack continued to rodeo until his second child was born in the spring of 1959, Jack & Theresa Peila, along with their 7 children, moved their cattle operation from Miles City, MT to Harney County. Three more daughters were born in Harney County. The Peilas purchased a ranch owned by Burtt & Hollie Schroder. The ranch consisted of 7,200 deeded acres and a BLM permit for 1,000 head of cattle. Jack sent his heifers and saddle horses by rail from Montana to Burns and added to his cowherd by purchasing additional cattle from the Schroeders. With the winter property located just outside of Burns and the summer range near Wagontire, cattle were trailed horseback to and from Burns and Wagontire along Highway 395. Each bunch of cattle was trailed 4-6 days in the spring and fall and required six or seven riders. Until the 1990s, most of the ranch was open range with very few
fences and cattle could go from a few miles south of Riley, all the way into Lake County. There were few roads and no horse trailers, so Jack relied on an old green truck that held 7 horses. The truck couldn’t access the remote areas; it was backed into the barrow ditch to unload. Riders would trot out for miles to move cattle or check water. Branding was work and not a social event! After spending most of the morning gathering and trailing to the nearest waterhole, the crew of 4 or 5 family did all the roping and groundwork. Most often, there was no catch pen so cattle were held in a rodear. Due to the vast area, the ranch was labor intensive and required many hours in the saddle.
Jack raised his own horses, having a stud or two and a couple of bands of mares. His mares were registered quarter horses that were broke by Jack and his sons. Running in such big, open country, it was not uncommon for some brood mares to end up with a mustang bunch. Prior to the Wild Horse Act of 1971, Jack and other ranchers would gather the mustangs. This was not for the faint of heart; as the riders were running wide open through rocks, sagebrush, gullies and badger holes, as they rounded up the horses. Once gathered some of the mares were recognized and returned to their owner. Jack would break some of the remaining quality horses for ranch use. Jack was a self-made man with a strong business mind. He believed land was a good investment, thus his ranch eventually encompassed approximately 500,000 acres. Jack, like most men of his era was just plain tough. Jack spent many long days, in extreme heat and cold, riding on the desert. He worked the ranch daily into his eighties, before dedicating his time to caring for Theresa. He continued to rope at the family brandings until a few months before his death at the age of 93. Jack had a strong work ethic and faith. For Jack, importance in life was in this order: God, Family and Ranch.
Merlin Rupp
Merlin Rupp often would repeat the rhetoric, “I was born a hundred years too late. “Like a scene from a Charlie Russel painting, this desire to be of that time era, was entwined in his soul forever. It wasn’t so much that he couldn’t adapt to his own time era - he just didn’t want to.
Early on in life, he knew he wanted to be a cowboy. Born to farming parents in Ontario, Oregon he grew up planting, plowing, milking cows and was no stranger to a pitchfork, shovel and hard physical labor. But his heart wasn’t in his dad’s farm. He was drawn to horses, cowboys, big herds and lots of open spaces. One time, as a very young boy, he watched from his porch as what he thought to be a thousand head of horses go by, being handled by men on horseback. His interest was fixated, and he knew there was more to life than rows and rows of crops.
He went to school in Payette, Idaho with no intention of fitting in. His mind was made up. School, sports and the confines of a building were not his repertoire. With his parents’ urging and persistence, he made it all the way to 8th grade, which he would say was too long. Two weeks into his freshman year, he was done with that education. His father wanted him to finish high school studies, so Albert devised a well-meaning plan composed of extra hard work on the farm in hopes that Merlin would find school more pleasant than the alternative.
But Merlin didn’t take that route. He pursued a job from a neighbor just down the road a couple miles, pitching hay to his Herefords. In preparation for becoming a real cowboy, he saved up his money for a saddle. With cash in hand, his mom drove him to Grangeville, Idaho where he ordered a custom outfit from Ray Holes Saddlery.
A few months later, come spring, on his first real job, the cows would be moved to the “hills”, as it was referred to, or the outside summer pasture. It was at this time, somewhere around the age of 14, working for Jess Newton, he began to learn the ways of his dream. Riding, roping, cow sense and the art of making a good horse. He was learning fast, thanks to the help of his boss and a few neighboring ranchers. Dwight Lockett was good hand who ran in common with Jess Newton who helped teach Merlin Buckaroo things. Dwight was savvy to spade bits, reatas and the different styles of fancier roping. It was exciting to a young boy who had only ridden bareback around the farm. This was what he was made for, he determined. He was born to buckaroo.
But a buckaroo can’t stay in one place too long. There are greener pastures, bigger herds, better horses to pursue. With a small Ford car that he bought with his money earned, he threw his Ray Holes in and went to work for Mike Bauman in Huntington, Oregon taking care of 300 head of cows. He had worked a team before, but never a four-horse team on a bobsled. There were other new things too. The long trot and miles of miles of galloping chasing weaner calves. There are stories of jumping pigs out of a truck, wrangling them to the nearby wheat fields on a green broke snaffle bit horse all by himself. It was exciting, new and jam packed with his type of education. This was it! This was the dream. But at 16, there’s no time to let the grass grow under your feet.
The same Eastern Oregon high desert that gave life to his best Buckaroo memories, also was his home base for his arts and gear making expeditions in his later years. Maybe he left a two-toned blue coupe Deville way behind, but straight ahead, and for years to come, he perfected excellence using buckaroo gear, horsehair mecates rawhide ropes, cinches and hondas. It was the one last dream yet to fulfill. He enjoyed working with rawhide and horsehair, and he was good at it. The fresh air, sagebrush, Buckaroo friends and small town of Burns, Oregon held and supported him as he navigated his aging years, and the challenges that come with years and miles. At events in Winnemucca, Elko and Jordan Valley, he would carry in his goods, and go home sold out. People appreciated his gear for both its function and style, but they also appreciated his heart and desire to help those promoting the ways of buckaroos. And most times, a little bit of a Wild West story was exchanged in the purchase.
The life he lived and the stories he told are one-of-a-kind original, true and every bit as hard as they sound. He, like all real Buckaroos, have a little gypsy, a little wild and a lot of adventure. The life of a dedicated Buckaroo is not for everyone, but for those that hear the call, it’s loud and clear, and there’s no turning back.
Woodie Bell
Forrest “Woodie” Bell was born on November 11, 1936. He lived at Buckskin Mountain in the Santa Rosa Range, Humboldt County, NV. His parents owned and operated the National mine at that site. Woodie’s early life was centered around what his mother had planned for him, his mother had a schedule for everything. His favorite free time was spent meeting, watching and listening to the buckaroos that rode by his family’s place. In terms of living in Humboldt County, Woodie lived at the top of the world, he remembers having the best seat in the house to watch and learn from the buckaroos at work. By age 14, Woodie had made a friendship with Les Stewart of the Ninety-Six Ranch. When the structure and solitude of Buckskin Mountain finally overwhelmed him, he ran away from home at 14 and landed at the Ninety-Six in Paradise Valley. Les and his parents promptly alerted Woodie’s mother who instructed them not to pay Woodie, send him home when they got tired of him, and to try to show him real ranch life, not just the romance of the open range Buckaroo. Reluctantly, the Stewart’s assigned young Woodie jobs like shoveling the manure out of the barns and gave him a cot in the bunkhouse with the older buckaroos. Woodie doubled down, suggesting that he didn’t care what job he had to do because he was at the Ninety-Six Ranch and that was where he intended to stay. Woodie quickly proceeded to helping out with brandings, became an exceptional roper, broke colts and before long, he was riding for the Ninety-Six full-time while they were running outside. He rode with friends including Pat Heaverne. His riding and rodeoing improved his horsemanship and at 18, he enrolled at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, took farrier courses, and became friends with the Dorrance brothers and Ray Hunt. They worked together in California training horses and improving their own horsemanship skills. Woodie was in the thick of the work and disciplines of the Dorrance brothers and Hunt. While never becoming as famous as his friends, Woodie’s skills stacked up evenly with all three men. Ray Hunt once told his grandson Wade Black, that Woodie Bell was perhaps one of the finest students of classic horsemanship and buckaroo skills that he’d ever been around.
Also, during his time in California, Woodie met Cal-Poly co-ed Lilla Hunter, then he enlisted for a short stint in the Army at Ford Ord, California. Once he finished his service and Lilla graduated, Woodie and Lilla married. Woodie’s heart was always in Paradise Valley and the Great Basin, but the newlywed’s moved first to Fallon, where Woodie continued to rodeo, train horses, and sell real estate.
Three sons came along, Dean, John, and Dan. When Woodie and Lilla saw a listing for a Paradise Valley ranch for sale, they made the move back to where Woodie grew up near Paradise Valley. They bought their ranch on Hinkey Summit Road, their boys finished high school and headed off to college to impressive rodeo careers of their own. Woodie got back to what he loved best, being a full-time buckaroo. He and Lilla spent their time between her pure-bred operation at the ranch and his commercial operation with permits ranging from east of Lovelock, Nevada to Kings River and rangeland north of his ranch in the Santa Rosa mountains. Woodie logged long days doing what he loved, riding more than 200 days a year, all in Great Basin buckaroo tradition. His operation has long been known as among the finest around, and always the most traditional. We’ve estimated that during his youth, Woodie logged hundreds of miles a year as a buckaroo for the Ninety-Six and other local outfits. Later, his mileage only grew as he did the riding for his own outfit, along with Lilla, his sons, and his grandkids when they got old enough to help.
Woodie is a member of the 100,000-mile club, awarded each year to qualifying recipients by the Nevada Cattleman’s Association, Woodie was nominated for that prestigious honor by his good friend Les Stewart, a long time Nevada cattleman and owner of the 96 Ranch. His equipment and style exemplify traditional Great Basin ranching style and the horses he breeds, trains, and rides are consistently considered the very best around. His lifelong love of the buckaroo lifestyle is evident in the simple, tidy home that he shared with his wife Lilla until her passing in 2020. His favorite stories are of times shared out on the range with buckaroos, now long gone, who formed his style and way of thinking about life and how to run cattle. For 25 years he ran the Paradise Valley rodeo, an event he took over from Les Stewart. All events were open to local buckaroos and their families. He’s passed his impressive knowledge and love of buckaroo culture onto his sons and grandchildren, the majority of whom have gone onto careers and lives in ranching, all in the Great Basin tradition. Woodie continues to train horses and rides daily. He continues to operate his ranch and commercial cattle operation. He’s a sought-after team roping partner all around Northern Nevada.