Cowboy HOF 2019 class inducted

By Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame
 
A large, festive crowd of friends, family and well-wishers enlivened the All-Purpose Building on Weston County Fairgrounds Saturday evening July 20 to celebrate the Region 1 induction of five new Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame honorees. WCHF’s Region 1 encompasses Crook, Campbell and Weston counties. The five talented members of Kenny Fordyce’s “Cowboy Band” provided string and vocal harmonies to background the conversational camaraderie, silent auction competition, and dining enjoyment of well over a hundred participants gathered to honor true cowboy legends.
Senior statesman among the new honorees is Joseph Brutus Graham of the family ranch, Graham Livestock, Inc. near Moorcroft. Born in Custer, Mont., in 1924, Joe will be celebrating his 95th birthday on July 24. Middle child in a family of seven, Joe learned cowboying skills early and rode a nine-day trail with cattle from Parkman, Wyo., to his family’s new ranch on Inyan Kara Creek when he was 16. He married his “blue-eyed princess,” Eunice Prell, shortly before seeing European action during the rough days of World War II. They had 71 years together before her passing, and their sons and families carry on the ranching activities and traditions yet today. 
Over the years Joe has seen many changes from horses and wagons, to tractors, four-wheelers and the price of land. He has watched the ranch transition from Hereford cattle, to Black Angus. Joe has taken pride in building his cow/calf operation, and clearing the hay ground on the creek, but most of all he enjoys watching the ranch yearlings sell. Joe has experienced everything from drought and fire, to floods, snowstorms, rainy days and sunny days, always saying, “It never gets so bad, that it couldn’t be worse.”
Joe loved spending time horseback, but he took all the ranch duties in stride. From haying, farming, blading roads, and fencing; to trailing cows, calving, and riding a good horse. He doesn’t ride any more but still appreciates good cow horses and is proud to say, “we still use horses today.” Sons Dave and Dick still honor his opinion in many of the ranching duties.
Crook County’s other honoree is Gerald McInerney of the Sundance area, who grew up in the Black Hills and still owns the family ranch near the Black Buttes with his wife Jackie. They’ve reared five kids there, making horses and cattle their life. Youngest in a rodeoing family, Gerald followed his brothers into the arena at an early age — after he and the family milk cow trained his first bulldogging horse when he was 12. Gerald bulldogged in competition until age 52, plus being a rodeo producer and statesman for the sport. He produced rodeos for NRCA, high school and 4H while helping many youth attain their rodeo dreams. Gerald also supported and competed in North American Rodeo Commission events nationwide plus being both chairman and champion of the Northwest Ranch Cowboy’s Association for decades. Along with ranching, Gerald owns a small business building roads, basements and sewer systems in and around Crook County. Most importantly, he’s always found time for community concerns like serving on the county fair board and mentoring young athletes in all sports.
New Weston County honoree Lora Mae Reynolds Johnson, youngest of Ellis and Jean Reynolds’ family of five, is proud to join her father as a WCHF Honoree. Ellis, a member of WCHF’s first class in 2014, was her mentor and she worked side by side with him for 50 years, learning to ride, rope, calve cows, doctor cattle, and practice the fine arts of horsemanship and stockmanship. Her elders say “she could ride before she could walk” and was “fearless.” Lora started working on ranches as a young teen, pulling her weight with all the hands whether horseback, working cattle, building fence or driving machinery to hay (where the rake was her favorite) or building fence. Lora married Jerry Johnson in 1972 and Walter is their son. Although she has held many jobs and now works in the Campbell County Clerk’s office, ranch work is Lora’s passion and way of life; so she’s often horseback helping Ritthalers, Grubbs, Materis, Rankins, Bakers, Jespersens, Sheppersons or others, living each day to the fullest.
Dick Shaw was born in 1936 in O’Neill, Neb., second son of Harold and Helen who ranched in the Bassett area. In spite of losing part of his foot in a hayfield mower accident before he was 3, Dick became an athlete, boxing and running the mile in 4:47 when he was 16. After graduating he married Myra Mitchell in 1953 and started a family that grew to four daughters and a son. In 1961 Dick, with his father Harold and brother Wayne, bought the 77 Ranch at Devils Tower and moved there. In spite of irrigated hayfields and 1600 yearlings on grass, Dick rodeoed and roped; and continued to do so after buying a ranch 36 miles south of Newcastle in 1973.  He frequented Joey’s Arena and was active with Niobrara Roping Club, Harrison Roping Club and the American Cowboy Team Roping Association — always winning his share and keeping his kids on horseback, teaching them to love ranch life, horses and rodeo. Dick died Oct. 31, 2012, leaving behind a legacy of 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren who knew and loved his gentle cowboy ways. 
Harry Aaron Borgialli of Weston County also joins his father — John C. Borgialli, Class of 2018 — as a WCHF Honoree. Born Jan. 8, 1937, he grew up with three brothers and two sisters on the land homesteaded by his grandfather, Charley Borgialli and his dad, John C. Borgialli, and lived his entire life there. During his young adult years Harry rode bareback broncs and served in the Wyoming National Guard. He married Joan Steuble in 1960 and was devoted to their family, Vicki, Lana, Barry and Todd. 
Hereford cattle and registered Paint Horses were the pride of the ranch, and Harry was expert at breaking, training and using those horses in his constant round of ranch work. The ranch, cattle and horses were his passion, and he continually improved them until his herd became one of the best in the country. Often working alone, and always short-handed, Harry honed his stockman skills until he could accomplish what several cowboys would’ve struggled to manage — plus building his own corrals and chutes, barns and sheds, and keeping his fences, machinery and windmills in tip-top condition. Harry farmed to put up enough hay for his herd and was noted for his good range and grassland management practices.
In addition to lifetime memberships in American Paint Horse, American Hereford and American Angus Associations Harry served on the Inyan Kara Grazing Association board. A true Wyoming cowboy, Harry never retired; ranching until he passed away on May 3, 2006.
Northeast Wyoming is proud to be contributing such quality honorees to WCHF’s Class of 2019!  Area businesses and individuals generously donated sponsorship for the event and items for the silent auction, generating much needed funds toward for WCHF’s project of videotaping all living Honorees. 
The silent auction was topped at over $125 by a set of Bill Sniffin books donated by News Letter Journal in Newcastle. Other items breaking the $100 barrier include a lovely necklace of Wyoming quarters, handcrafted and donated by Julie Greer of Upton, and a handmade Southwestern afghan created and donated by Sharon Hieb of Newcastle.     
Sharon said, “I like cowboys and I thought this would be a great
event to attend, so I just decided to make something and donate to the auction!” That is “community” in action — WCHF organizers offered thanks to these and  all the other donors. Many of the videos can be seen at
wyomingcowboyhalloffame.com.
These Region 1 Honorees will join the statewide Class of 2019 during State Induction festivities in Casper Sept. 21-22. Mark your calendars and don’t miss that great celebration.