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Bill and Don Herr talk about Bluffton rodeos - When the rodeo came to town, we got out there and that was it – nobody practiced in advance.

You had to figure that you had a good chance to be lying on the ground.The risk was getting thrown. You might get off in front or back or if the steer turned the wrong way and you didn’t follow him – every once and a while he’d jam his feet and go the other way. How do you prepare for something like that? You just don’t.

To distract the bull, once you were thrown, a clown entered the field, probably a professional. Once you fell off, the clown would distract the bull until you were safely out of the way.

The clowns always knew what they were doing because you’d better know what you’re doing if you are standing out in front of a bull. At every rodeo it seems like someone ended up in the hospital. They always had an ambulance there.

One year a rider was bucking a horse, which took off straight and then it cut and the guy went into the fence.

Before each rodeo was a parade. It was huge. The parade came from Schmidt’s field to Main Street to Bentley Road and then would turn around and come back. There were lots of horses and floats.

One of the reasons they stopped holding the rodeos is that the school thought it tore up the football field too much. Whatever the reason, rodeos in Bluffton were a big deal in the 1950s.

This is a sample of the content of "Bluffton Anthology - A creek runs through it." Copies are now available for $24.95 plus tax in Bluffton at:
• Roots by Strattons
• The Food Store
• The Black Lab
• Bluffton Senior Citizens Center
• The Dough Hook
• Polished