Moose Jaw May Lasso Proposed Cowboy Hall Of Fame

By Robert Thomas

A Facebook posting following the passing of Moose Jaw Exhibition board member Lee Bellows may lead to recognition of Saskatchewan’s cowboys.

Bellows, who performed as a rodeo clown as a bullfighter and later a cowboy poet, recently passed away. Bellows was well known in the western/rodeo circuit.

The idea of forming a Saskatchewan cowboy Hall of Fame came about in a Facebook posting where Bellows was being remembered.

“There is no Saskatchewan Cowboy Hall of Fame it was mentioned in a Facebook post and the idea kind of snowballed from there,” Ross Smith told the Exhibition’s monthly board meeting on Tuesday evening.

Ross Smith speaks at the recent Moose Jaw Exhibition Ltd’s recent AGM - MJ Independent file photo

Smith said mention was made of a Saskatchewan Cowboy Hall of Fame being set up in a small museum near Wood Mountain but the consensus was Moose Jaw more central for everyone to come and visit, so it was the logical choice.

Interest in a proposed Hall of Fame is kean.

“There was quite a few responses from the Facebook posts,” he said, adding “ there might be a lot of people willing to help out.”

Mention was made of hanging pictures as well as right ups on a few local cowboys and hanging them in the Golden Mile Arena’s Corral Room as an interim measure.

A picture of Bellows performing as a rodeo clown protecting a cowboy in a bull riding event - credit the late Lee Bellows Facebook page

Smith said that even if Moose Jaw was not chosen that “I think it’s going to happen (and be someplace) whether you want it here or not.”

Establishing a hall of fame takes time, as there are rules and regulations, set down by the Province, which must be followed.

Smith, along with others, will continue to look into the feasibility, and what is necessary to establish a Hall of Fame.

Alberta and British Columbia as well as many US states already have their own Cowboy hall of fame.