Stanley rodeo mixes city-country
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By ROD STETZER rstetzer@chippewa.com
Saturday, June 10, 2006 11:10 PM CDT
STANLEY — Some things just don’t work together. Oil and water. Packers and Vikings. City and rural residents.
Well, scratch that last one.
The bond between city and rural residents has grown tighter with their work on the Stanley Steam Rodeo Days, coming up June 16, 17 and 18.
“The farmers never used to work with the city people,” said Dave Endru of the Stanley-Boyd FFA Alumni.
The city residents always figured the farmers were too busy with their crops, added Bill Chwala, president of the Stanley Chamber of Commerce.
But the rodeo, which is heading into its third year at Chapman Park, is changing that perception.
Now farm people and city residents are working together for one big goal, said Ron Janisewski of the alumni association.
The association got involved with the rodeo since it’s a family event, Janisewski said. “This (rodeo) board is very fussy in making sure it remains that way.“
Plus the rodeo grounds draw kids to Chapman Park for nine horse shows during the summer. “We average 150 to 200 people,” Janisewski said.
“And it’s free to participants,” added Richard Davis, a volunteer and a member of the Stanley Historical Society.
Sometimes its hard to get the kids to go back home.
“Last Friday they turned the lights out at 1 a.m. to get rid of them,” Endru said, chuckling.
The rodeo is important to Stanley because its proceeds provides funding to four different organizations, Davis said. “It’s going to improve the (Stanley) parks service because they get one-fourth of the profits.“
The other money is divided among the FFA Alumni, chamber and the Stanley Businessmen’s Club.
Janisewski said the alumni association uses its money to give out scholarships, to pay for leadership seminars and to send children to Washington, D.C. every year. It has also used proceeds to buy FFA jackets to loan to students during conventions.
The rodeo has given the FFA group the financial ability to do things it could never do before, Janisewski said.
And even though they volunteer to work to set up the rodeo, they don’t get a free ride. “Everybody buys a ticket . . . There’s no free tickets,” Davis said.
That’s OK, Janisewski said. Making the rodeo successful is the main thing.
“This is something we hold a lot of pride in. We will do anything we can to make this successful. We’re glad we have it and we’re not going to let it go,” he said.
For tickets
To order advance tickets by phone call (715) 644-2303. Major credit cards are accepted for the advanced tickets, which are $14 for adults and $10 for children age 2 to 11. Admission at the gate is $17.
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