The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 1994 Page: 8 of 16
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PAGE EIGHT
Local
Alma Cox
Services for Alma Cox, 85, of Tulia,
were at 2 p.m. Monday in Calvary Bap-
tist Church with the Rev. Don Auten,
pastor, officiating.
Burial was in Rose Hill Cemetery
under the direction of Wallace Funeral
Home.
Mrs. Cook died in residence of the
Amarillo Hospice Program at 12:45 p.m.
Saturday, Sept 24, 1994, after a bnef
illness.
The former Alma Cornell was bom
May 10, 1909, at Paul's Valley, Okla.
She married William Alexander Cook
Jr. Sept 7, 1925, at Paul's Valley. He
died May 7, 1981. A daughter, Louise
Edwards, died Feb. 6, 1981.
A retired nurse's aide, she was a
member of Calvary Baptist Church. She
worked at Swisher Memorial Hospital
many years.
She lived in Tulia about 30 years,
returned to Paul's Valley and then moved
to Amarillo.
Survivors include a daughter. Jewell
Howard of Amarillo; a sister, Lorene
O’Nci I of Paul s Valley; a brother, George
Cornell of Paul’s Valley; three grand-
children and seven great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers were Lacey Hunt, Tony
Edwards, Josh Starnes, Jerry Tucker and
Jim Kiker.
were at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Mule shoe
First United Methodist Church with the
Rev. James Bell officiating.
Buna! was in Muleshoe Memorial
Park Cemetery under the direction of
Ellis Funeral Home.
Mrs. Wilterding died Wednesday,
Sept. 21, 1994, in Muleshoe Area
Medical Center.
She was bom Aug. 27,1905, in Dunn.
A homemaker, she was a member of the
Progress Circle, Wesleyan Sunday
School class, Muleshoe Study Club,
Muleshoe Singing Group and the Mule-
shoe Senior Citizens Club. She was a
Methodist.
She married Mervin Wilterding Dec.
12,1925, in Jay, Okla. He died in 1972.
A daughter, Luella Surquine, also is
deceased.
Other survivors include two daugh-
ters, Lona Embry and Maurine Hooten
both of Muleshoe; a brother, D. B. Head
of Muleshoe; two sisters, Helen Teague
of Green Forrest, Ark., and Lena Camp-
bell of Oxnard, Cal if.; lOgrandchildren,
15 great-grandchildren and seven great-
great-grande hi Idren.
The family requested memorials to a
favorite charity.
Where’s The Fire
By Johnny Daniels
Away
Jo Schafer
Services for Jo Schafer, 70, sister of
R I. Bryan of Tulia, were at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, in the Tcxhoma First United
Methodist Church with the Rev. Dytnn
Owen, pastor, officiaung.
Buna! was in Tcxhoma Cemetery
under the direction of Dawson-Wclch
Funeral Home.
Mrs. Schafer died Sunday, Sept. 18,
1994, at Stratford.
She was bom at Conway and moved
U) the Tcxhoma area in 1949 from Al-
buquerque. She married Dclmcr
Schafer in 1942 at Clayton, N.M. He
died last July 1.
Other survivors inclode a daughter,
Michael Meyer of Tcxhoma; a son, Glenn
Schafer of Pam pa; three sisters, Jean
Busick of Amarillo, Tommie Garoutlc
of Stratford and Kathy Darnell of Pan-
handle; another brother. Dr. G. C. Bryan
of Amarillo; six grandchildren and five
great-grandchildren.
Mae Wilterding
Services for Mae Wilterding, 89,
mother of Reese Wilterding of Tulia.
Happy 100th Birthday
September 28
Elizabeth Decker
414 N. Donley
With Love,
Winona Jones (Tulia)
Maxine Sulcer
Lavonna C of re 11
D. L. Decker
Sept 26-11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.,
grass fire seven miles east on Love Road,
two miles north. Eight men responded
with units 81, 82, 84, 87, 88; same lo-
cation grass fire rekindled, 13 men with
units 81, 82,87, 88.
Librarian Joins
State Program
Last spring, Swisher County Library
director Jo Alice Garrett joined 100 of
her colleagues from around the state
taking part in the Texas State Library 's
new Small Library Management Train-
ing Program.
The program is designed to provide
and enhance basic management skills
for library directors in smaller commu-
nities who have not had formal library
school course work. Five core courses
are offered over a 2 1/2 year period,
including Administration and Planning,
Collection Development, Reference
Services, Technical services and Cata-
loging, and Automation.
Participants attend a two-day work-
shop each spring and fall until they have
completed the entire program, and re-
ceive 12 to 15 hours of state-approved
continuing education credit for each
session they attend.
Mrs. Garrett has recently attended the
second seminar in Amarillo, and is well
on her way to completing the program.
There training sessions are intensive,
stimulating and exhaustive. Participants
are encouraged to apply the theories
and practices learned to their own unique
situations, and to network with other
librarians in their region.
Mrs. Garrett's active involvement in
the state library training program repre-
rents a substantia] commitment of time,
energy and personal expense in an ef-
fort to improve her skills as an informa-
tion professional. This commitment
leads directly to a better served and
more informed local citizenry.
Grazing
Continued from page I
extension, must certify to the acreage
grazed and the number of cattle that
grazed by Oct. 14.
"All producers who hayed CRP
acreage must certify to the acreage grazed
and the yield in tons by Oct. 14," Wom-
ack also stipulated.
r
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918 East 34th St.
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(806) 744-4818
1-800 232-6943
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On any marble or granite.
Why pay a 20-50% commission to a salesman I
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__________________________»
THE TULIA (Swisher County) HERALD
Bull Riding Gone Modem
WITH HIS FREEDOM ROPE. Displayed by Inventor Pat Turk, a Tulia
—Staff Photo
According To Tulian
The following story appears in the
October issue of Horse and Horseman,
published in Capistrano Beach, Calif.
Its editor and publisher. Jack Lewis,
has granted The Tulia Herald per-
mission to reprint the story here.)
By Anna Christie Adams
, Froth slung from his mouth as the
angry Brahma spun around; the rider
sailed over his head, abruptly jerked
from an extended limb and came down
on the bull s face. The enraged bovine
swung, bringing the young cowboy to
his hooves.
The rodeo clown had been trying to
grab at the kid, but now he had to go for
the bull s head before the horns con-
nected. The animal flipped him away
like a bothersome horsefly. The clown
hit the dirt rolling to his feet and imme-
diately went for the head, again. He
grabbed a horn and kicked at the nose to
get his attention; at the same time the
clown heard a brittle crackling near the
hooves.
As he grabbed at the ropes, the beast
butted him hard in the ribs, sending him
U) the dirt again. For the third lime he
was up as soon as he hit, and he headed
for the spinning mass of beef and flesh.
Like a washrag, the clown was thrown
off again, but this time, as he came
running back, he pulled a knife, grab-
bing the rope that entrapped the cow-
boy. He hung on with one hand, cutting
the rope with the other, as the rider fell
away with a broken arm, two broken
legs and a fractured jaw.
The clown had the bul I’s eyes for only
a few seconds before he headed hack to
the rider.
"I liked to never got that bull ofl that
boy," says Pat Turk, a Louisiana native
who was the clown at this rodeo in
White Deer.
That wasn’t the worst hang up the 47-
y ear-old Turk had seen in his many
years of bull nding and clowning, bul he
had seen enough to make him dream
about hang ups on a fierce bull, enough
to make his hands sweat and turn those
dreams to nightmares.
"I compound-fractured my arm so
many times the doctor said I would have
to quit riding or lose my arm,” says 30-
year-old Lynn (Johnnie) Jonckowski of
Billings, Montana.
She was the world bull nding cham-
pion for the Professional Women’s Ro-
deo Association in 1986 and 1988. She
is an inductee into the National Cowgirl
Hall of Fame and Western Heritage
Center in Hereford. She has appeared on
the David Leltcrman Show, Street Sto-
ries, Elard Copy, in many other publi-
cations and was named Woman of the
'80s by CNN. Now she is working to
modernized bull nding for the 90s.
Jonckowski and Turk have a few
things in common, "They both love bull
riding," they both have had their fill of
hang-ups on a bull—and they both de-
cided to do something about it.
There are two types of wraps of a bull
rider. One leaves a sort of bulge or
bubble in the rope with the tail hanging
ouL The rider has a tight grip, but when
he or she is ready to get off, the rope is
supposed to slip through.
This is the commonly used legal wrap,
but the other is termed the suicide wrap.
For this wrap, the rider takes an extra
turn around the rider's wnst. Not many
cowgirls or cowboys use this wrap, ex-
cept for those youngsters who want to
make a mark quickly.
"In other words." Turk says, "foolish
people use this wrap."
With either wrap, the ndcr can get
caught in the rope in three ways: He—or
she—can be bucked off over the hand,
which adds an extra twist to the rope and
tightens the grip so the rider can’t loosen
the tension to slip out.
The second is a had wrap, such as the
suicide, and the third is by too much
rosin.
Most cowboys use rosin to make the
grip on the rope less slippery, bul some
use other chemicals or put so much rosin
on the rope that, by the time the ride is
over, the stuff has warmed and the rider's
hand is essentially glued to the rope.
One thing certain about the weather in
West Texas is the constant and immedi-
ate change. The day before had been
bright and sunny, bul now it was damp
and cold with alow-hanging fog in Tulia,
where Turk has spent the last few years
rodeo clown.
working on his invention.
With a population of 6,(XX), the town
sits in the center of scattered feed yards,
some handling as many as 60,(XX) head
of cattle a year.
l urk tested his safety device, using a
horse provided by Dick Raljcn, an old-
time rodeo pnxluccr and stock contrac-
tor. Since bulls tend to be a bit testy, he
used the sorrel to give a demonstration
of the simple bull nding device.
It all started about two years ago,
when Turk was watching a video of the
National Finals Rodeo. Several riders
were hurt from hang ups on the bulls.
He went to bed, but his dreams brought
a vision that have had a tremendous
effect for the bull riding event.
"It’s a nightmare for a rodeo clown to
have to go in there, because you know
you’re gonna gel hurt. If the bull is a
hixiking hull, and you go in to get the
cowboy out, you’re going to gel htxikcd.
How hadly, you don't know until you gel
in there," explains Turk in his staccato
Cajun acccnL
"The clown's job is to get the cowboy
or cowgirl out, and he stays with it until
he gets the rider off the bull, or until he
is knocked out by the bull, or he is
otherwise incapable of further action,"
Turk envisioned a rope that would
snap apart, allowing the cowboy to float
into the air, free. He look his idea to
paper with a design, then to his shop,
where he found an old scat bclL He
honed and worked to smooth out the
rough edges so it wouldn't rub or bruise
the bull. Eventually, he had a snap-apart
rope.
Turk is working on a patent for his
creation he calls the Freedom Rope,
which will alleviate the hang-ups in bull
riding. He has tested it under 18,000
pounds of stress with two three-ton come-
alongs to sec if the rope would ever pop
open to spoil the cowboy's ride. He de-
buted the rope in June 1992 at the Naz-
areth County Rodeo and Wild West
Show. So far, he's tested it more than 25
limes in rodeo’s, and it has held true
every time.
Jonckowski has filed for a patent on
her Jonnic Stay, but she adds a dis-
claimer on the device that states the rope
company holds no responsibility for
injury. It took her a year to invent it, but
the work was worth the effort.
Gary LcFcw, the 1970 Professional
Rodeo Cowboy’s Association world
champion bull rider, uses it in all of his
schools. Jonckowski says, "Lc Few was
dumbfounded," when he first saw the
device.
The Jonnic Stay is about eight inches
long with a loop in one end of the nylon
rope and a wooden ball on the other. It
works by sliding the tail of the rope
through the loop in the Jonnie Stay and
bringing it to the handhold, then the
wooden ball is pushed between the two
ropes in front of the handhold. Pull the
ball up snug, slide the hand in the rope up
and across the palm. Wrap the tail of the
rope around the Jonnie Stay.
Cody Custer, 1992 world champion
bull rider for the PRCA, is not too keen
on the idea of the Freedom Rope, but he
hasn't seen it, either. He says bull ropes
are designed not to hang up, and even if
the cowboy gets hung up, it is simple to
get out.
He has experienced about 15 hang-
ups in his career, 90 percent of the
bullriders, he says, are never taught how
to get out of a hang up. He also worries
about the possibility of the rope popping
open before time, but Custer admits the
Freedom Rope might be good for high-
schoolcrs, inexperienced riders or as a
learning device.
Tammy George, of Brentwood, Ca-
lif., the WPRA1992champxxi bull rider,
also is not sold on a device that helps in
hang-ups. She understands the Jonnic
Stay acts as a pulley system, so she feels
it takes away from the ride. She says it
gives the rider more leverage, some-
thing else to hang on to.
However, she hasn't seen the Jonnie
Stay or the Freedom Rope, and she
honestly feels she would need to know
more about either to voice an opinion.
"Fear deals in each cowboy's heart,"
Turk emphasizes, "every time he gets on
a bull."
The device should alleviate a part of
that fear, so the cowboy can concentrate
on his ride. The hang-up is a mental
thing.
"If you’re hung-up, you're going to be
way down, under the bull. He is stomping
on you, stepping on you and hooking
you. On that hand, if his horns arc over
18 inches long, he can hit you every lick
and just knock all the hide off your face."
A hang-up can last as long as two
minutes, and on a bucking, twisting bull,
that is a lifetime, even though the clown
is working to get the rider untangled.
But, according to Turk, with the Free-
dom Rope, all the clown has to do is grab
the two fee straps and pull. The cowboy
is freed.
Jonkowski agrees it is a mental thing.
"You try harder because you think you
won't lung up,” and she should know,
since she's had so many hang-ups it has
damaged her arm. "The old school was
that if you're not tough enough for bull-
riding, you shouldn't be riding. It could
cripple you for life."
Just as with many other sports that
have developed protective gear for in-
juries, Jonkowski want to bring the sport
of bull riding to the 90s. There are not
enough quality rodeo schools for girls or
women. At the least, while they are
learning the sport, they need that added
protection.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29.1994
footballers have helmets, baseball play-
ers have hard hats and face guards,
hockey players are well protected.
Don Andrew, program director for
the Justin Sports Medicine Program, is
known to cowboys and cowgirls as the
Justin Healer. He is optimistic about
inventions to help prevent injury.
From 1981 to about 1990, his pro-
gram evaluated some 20,000 rodeo
contestants and treated over 3,000. Of
those, 1,000 were bull-riding incidents
and accounted for 43 percent of all rodeo
injuries. This is almost double the next
category, bare-back riding, with 24
percent.
There were seven deaths that occurred
as a result of injuries in the arena.
Andrews says few injuries are from
hang-ups; however, his organization
handles only about 70 pro-rodeos of
some 700. This accounting does not
include high school, college or Little
Britches rodeos.
Anyone can pack up their stuff and
enter as an amateur contestant, as long
as he or she pays the entry fee, so it's hard
to tell how many riders there really are,
and that not only includes American
riders, but also those from Australia,
Canada, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand
and Brazil.
Lydia Moore and Linda Clark of the
Women's Professional Rodeo Associa-
tion say their board of directors has
approved use of the Jonnic Stay and sees
no problem in judging a competitor us-
ing the safety device. Jonckowski has
shown it to the Wrangler judges, and she
says they believe it will save lives and
injuries, thus prolonging a bull rider
career.
Turk’s worst personal injury was when
he was 27; a bull gored him in the ribs.
Law requires that the horns be tipped
to a blunt end, but when Turk suffered
the hit, the bull took skin and all and
shoved it up into Turk's body, lacerating
the wall of the stomach.
Outwardly, he appeared to be fine,
bul 10 minutes after the ride, he passed
out with a blood count of five. In addi-
tion to a cracked jaw and a concussion,
he was bleeding internally.
Jonckowski's device can save time in
the chute, because it's slipped on the
rope at the front of the hand-hold. It lies
flat across the hand and the wooden ball
is at the end of the handhold when at-
tached properly, but it docs not offer any
extra hold help to stay on the bull.
She also feels it will help in the grow-
ing number of women anxious to par-
ticipate in bull riding.
"There used to be two or three girls
ride bulls at the rodeos. Now wc may sec
six or eight women bull riders; they're
more confident about riding now."
The pro riders may be skeptical of the
Freedom Rope and Jonnic Stay, but
Joncowski and Turk are sure one group
will love it
Turk says, "Every high-9chool bull
rider has a mom that's going to want
them to have this device, because it just
adds automatic safety against a hang-
up."
• * *
Turk told The Herald last week that
patents are currently pending on his
Freedom Rope. It should be ready for
marketing by the first of 1995.
He plans to be "on the scene” next
spring with a promotional campaign.
"I am trying to get it into the schools
for inexperienced riders," he said. It
would include rodeo schools, high
schools and the Little Britches Asso-
ciation.
Turk is employed at Webb Construc-
tion as a subcontractor at North Plains
Compress as a water proofing agent.
LINDY DONNELL MABRY
Jeff and Dclynn Mabry of Childress
announce the birth of a daughter, Lindy
Donnell. She weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces
at birth on Sept. 15. She has a sister and
a brother, Leslie and J. C.
Grandparents arc J. C. and Betty
Mabry of Tulia and Clem and Gladys
Timmons of Tell.
Howard's Roofing
New Roofs Or Repairs
^Composition And Wood Shingles'
•Flat Roofs And Buiit-Up Roofing
•Drains • Sheet Metal
•Attic Exhaust Fans
Free Estimates
353-0717
Owner - Gary Howard
Basketball players have knee pads.
I J*
\y
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Danny Davis Painting
293-0352
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The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 1994, newspaper, September 29, 1994; Tulia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth507186/m1/8/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Swisher County Library.