Bonnie Tucker Blankinship – 1914 - 1989 – Anna Louise (Bonnie) Knapper was born in Joseph in 1914. Behind every good man is a good woman. Bonnie married Harley in 1939. Harley had been putting on a few rodeos on his own. After they were married, she joined right in with the production.

Bonnie was the rodeo secretary for all the rodeos the Harley Tucker Rodeo Company produced. This was a huge and important job. Bonnie would go to the rodeo event a few days prior, open the rodeo office, and take entries over the phone. There was no PRCA PROCOM in those days so she would do the draw then make up the judge’s sheets. Finally, she had to organize and print the rodeo program. The job entailed lots of bookkeeping, answering questions, collecting fees and winnings payouts. The rodeo office she used at the Pendleton Round Up is still used today and is referred to as the “Bonnie Tucker Booth.”

On a side note, Bonnie cooked for the ranch crews every day they were at the ranch. It was said repeatedly that Bonnie was a great cook!

After Harley’s death in April of 1960, Bonnie, with the help of her crew and friends, produced the remaining summer rodeos. In 1961, the Harley Tucker Rodeo Company was back on the road in full force, with Bonnie at the helm. It might be safe to say, she was the only female stock contractor in theNorthwest at the time. In the spring of 1962, the company held a dispersal sale in Walla Walla, WA ending an era.

Bonnie Tucker Blankinship, was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame in 2008.

Harley Tucker 1908 - 1960 – the most famous cowboy and stockman in Wallowa County’s history -certainly the most well known in rodeo circles. He owned and operated the Harley Tucker RodeoCompany and provided rodeo livestock to events across the Pacific Northwest.

Dedication to the well-being of his livestock made Harley Tucker one of the most respected and admired men in business. Born on a ranch near Joseph, OR in 1908, Tucker began with a small bucking string in the 1940’s and built one of the finest rodeo companies in the Pacific Northwest.

At their peak, Tucker’s buckers, Brahma bulls, steers and calves gave even the sharpest cowboy a real challenge. Tucker owned the infamous saddle broncs, PDQ, Smokey, and Brown Bomber, as well as the bareback bronc, High Society, and the bulls, Black Smoke and Bluebell Wrangler.

A marvelous showman, Harley Tucker produced fast-actioned rodeos, with added attractions like covered wagons pulled by oxen for parades and matching white horses for the grand entry. His company worked twenty-five venues a year and furnished stock for San Francisco, Salinas, Fort Worth, and the National Finals Rodeo. The Harley Tucker Rodeo Company brought the largest amount of stock to the first National Finals Rodeo held in Dallas, TX in 1959.

To help Chief Joseph Days get off the ground, Harley supplied the stock free of charge for the first few years. Harley and wife Bonnie provided the stock for Chief Joseph Days for sixteen years.

In 1960, while flanking bucking horses in Vancouver, Washington, Harley Tucker died suddenly of a heart attack. However, his legacy continues as he was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up Hall of Fame in 1980, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in 1997, and the St Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1999.

Walter A Brennan – 1894 - 1974 – Three-time Academy Award winning film actor and star of three television series, most notably The Real McCoys, Walter Brennan, was a part-time, but active, resident of Wallowa County from 1941 until his death. Walter loved Joseph and her friendly, accepting people. He came to the county after purchasing the 12,000 acre Lightning Creek Ranch in 1940. He became a Joseph businessman when he built the Indian Lodge Motel and a movie theater (currently the Baptist Church) and opened a dry goods store on Main Street. Martha Lozier, who ran the dry good store for him, stated, “He was such a character and loved to prank me by showing up disguised and being an obnoxious customer!”

Many people credit the early success of Chief Joseph Days to the presence and efforts of the movie star. Walter contributed to widespread awareness of the new celebration by arranging for newsreel footage and promotional airplane tours, flying the rodeo court, local businessmen, and fellow cowboy actor Chill Wills all over the northwest. He also frequently appeared in the parade. Early in CJD planning, Walter said he “figured the Chief Joseph Days Parade couldn’t be a parade without a marching band,” so he recruited numerous local musicians and formed the “Chesnimnus National Marching Band.” He led the band in the parade dressed as a hobo holding a toilet plunger! One year, disguised as a clown, he brought up the end of the parade as a “pooper-scooper.” In later years, he served as Grand Marshal or simply rode in the parade. Advertising the appearance of the then wildly popular “Grandpa McCoy” in the 50’s and 60’s drew many spectators to Chief Joseph Days in general and the parade in particular.

Jack Carson – 1930 – 2022 Born in Burns, Oregon, Jack Carson served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a high-speed code operator and was discharged in 1953. For 17 years, he competed as a professional cowboy in rodeo events including saddle bronc, bareback, and bull riding. During his rodeo career, he won numerous events at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo. He was the Bareback Champion in 1953. The Saddle Bronc Champion in 1958. The Bull Riding Champion an astounding 6 times in 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1964. Jack won the All-Around Cowboy Championship in 1959. Jack also won the bull riding competition once and bareback riding three times at the Lewiston Round Up and the all-around title at the Omak Stampede.

Jack was game for anything. At the Union Stockshow Rodeo, they’d always tie a wristwatch or something between a bull’s horns and turn him out and let any of the cowboys, except the clowns, go out and get it if they could. One time, Daryl Hobdey said to Carson, “Jack, my watch quit. I’ll give you twenty-five dollars for that watch.” He just vaulted over the chutes and took off and pretty quick he came walk-in up and handed it to me.

Jack made his home in Clarkston, WA, died March 3, 2022.