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Volume 3, Issue No. 3 March 26, 2005
Record Shooter Turnout at March 26th Match … 85 Shooters! |
March 26th was a record day for the Ocoee Rangers. 85 shooters participated in the match. And 10 of them were cowgirls. The Rev. Adam Jones was again responsible for weather, and he came through. It was a terrific day. Once again, Pleasant shot himself into the position of Top Gun. And once again, Roma Jane shot herself into the position of Top Cowgirl Shooter. 5 cowboys shot no-misses matches: Horseshoe John, S.A. Pondwater, T-Bone Angus, Rev. Adam Jones and Sheriff Jack Cooley.
With his trusty horse Reno tied to the corral fence, Big shoots the villains as Blayde Hollister looks on and times his efforts.
Before the Match, Marshal Too Tall limbered up, sighted down his rifle barrel and won both categories at the Buffalo Shoot. Not to be outdone, Tabasco JOT won the early side match. All in all, it was a rootin’, tootin’ plumb terrific Cowboy & Cowgirl Shootin’ Day.
Pleasant, in addition to being Top Gun, placed 1st in the Gunfighter class. Marshal Too Tall, in his on-going competition with Ocoee Red, was the top 49er. Cool Waters took the top position in the Traditional class. In duelist type shootin’, Horseshoe John was the top Duelist, and Cherokee Maddog was the top Classic shooter. S.A. Pondwater was 1st in the Modern class, while T-Bone Angus took the honors in the Black Powder Cartridge class. Last but not least, Tabasco JOT placed 1st in the Senior category.
It takes good shoot scenarios, a good set-up crew, posse leaders and working posse members
to have a good shoot. And we had all these at the Easter shoot. T-Bone had good scenarios, the set-up crew did plumb good, the posse leaders were effective and we had good help from shooters. Thanks to all for your efforts. Recognizing folks who put forth extra effort in helping during the shoot, the following were designated Ocoee Ranger Wranglers: Fiddleback, Cherokee Maddog, Deadeye Daisy, Sheriff Donald, Tennessee Ted, Limp Along Charlie, Ranger Roger, and Roma Jane.
Shooting results are continued on page 3.
Out on the Range – Easter Cowboys & Cowgirls Before the Shoot
Before the Shootin’ began, the Rev. Adam Jones led the cowboys & cowgirls in a moment of thanks and invocation.
Range Officer I Class Saturday, April 30 at 10:00 am – Range Officer II Class Sunday, May 15 Some time after noon.
To take the ROII Class, please contact Ocoee Red by phone or email at least 2 weeks in advance. By SASS rules, Cherokee Maddog (the instructor) has to contact SASS in advance to insure that participants have had the ROI course. Ocoee Red’s contact info is as follows: Cell phone 423- 595-3819 Home phone 423-476-5303 e-mail ocoeered@charter.net
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The Ocoee Ranger Page 2 March 26, 2005
THE REEL WEST, THE REAL WEST &
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION
THE REEL WEST – GLENN STRANGE (1899 – 1973)
Glenn Strange as a Bad Guy
Glenn Strange as Gunsmoke’s
Sam the Bartender
Glenn Strange was a real Westerner who made his livin’ in the reel West. Although he played lots of movie bad guys, that ain’t how he started out. Nope. He started out as a musician, playing the fiddle and guitar at local dances. Then later he joined a posse of cowboy singers called the “Arizona Wranglers” and appeared on the radio and around the country. Finally, he ended up in Hollywood and in the movie business.
Glenn made a career playing mostly bad guys. But that wasn’t all that he did. He was also a songwriter and collaborated with Eddie Dean, a motion picture singing cowboy, on several songs. In all, he appeared in more than 250 movies, and more than 200 of them were Westerns. And at least 3 of his roles stand out, or they do if you look at them.
Do you remember THE LONE RANGER TV series? Not so fast Whiskey River Nelson. You may not have been around for the 1st run, but they are still in syndication from time to time. How did the Lone Ranger become the Lone Ranger? Well, Butch Cavendish and his band of outlaws ambushed the rangers and wiped out all but one, right? And it took 3 episodes for Butch to conduct the ambush, run around a little, and then get caught by the Lone Ranger & Tonto, right? Well, Glenn played Butch Cavendish. But that ain’t the only notable role that Glenn had. Nope. He also played Frankenstein’s monster in an Abbott & Costello movie.
But his real role deserves a paragraph of its own. Glenn was Sam the bartender on TV’s long running GUNSMOKE. He looked out for Miss Kitty, when Matt Dillon was out on prairie. And he talked sense into rowdy cowboys, when he could. And when his good nature wouldn’t work, he reached under the bar and hauled out a double barrel shotgun that would make Dustin Clays say, “Anything you say, Sam.” Glenn was Sam from 1962 until just before he died in 1973.
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION – LINC
Linc
Linc has been a cowboy shooter since 2001. For you cowboys what ain’t much smarter than your horse, that means that he’s been shootin’ about 3 years. He’s another of the cowboys who collaborated with his wife to select his alias. It seems that they were sittin’ around flinging out possibilities for his alias. He picked 5 and trotted to the phone and called SASS and said something like, “Hey. Can I have 1 of these names?” And being as how SASS had grown so much, the cowgirl on the phone said something like, “Are you nuts. Them names have already been picked.”
So, Linc rejoined his other half, and they began pondering again. Then she suggested that he use the name of a Gary Cooper character from a Western movie that ol’ Linc likes: Linc. The movie is MAN OF THE WEST. Linc called SASS again and officially became Linc, SASS # 38674.
What does he shoot? “I shoot .45’s and .38’s. When I want to try to hit somethin’, I shoot the .38’s. I have a Marlin rifle and it shoots .38’s.” Talking about other activities, Linc said, “I play golf some. But it’s hard to shoot and play golf too. So, my golf game’s sufferin’. The boys are takin’ me now.” Maybe so. But he’s sure got his priorities in order, doesn’t he?
Linc is personification of “the Spirit of the Game”. He’s a constant member of the range set-up crew. They ride out to the roundup each Friday before the match and set up all the targets and props for us cowfolk who show up on Saturday with a hankerin’ to shoot. Lots of times, Linc has most of the work done when the other cowboys ride up. Linc’s a fine feller. And he shoots good too.
THE REAL WEST – HENRY ANDREW THOMAS (1850 – 1912)
Henry “Heck” Thomas was a real west lawman, who began his career working as an Atlanta policeman. Then in 1875, he went to Texas to work for the Texas Express Co. Legend says that he prevented the theft of a lot of money by hiding it in an unlit stove, when bandits robbed his train. Later promoted to detective, Henry eventually started his own detective agency, where he was involved in a shootout with some outlaws he attempted to arrest. They decided to shoot it out, and he ended their lawless careers … permanently.
In 1886, Henry became a Deputy US Marshal, riding the Oklahoma Territory for Judge Isaac Parker until 1892. He made quite a showing for himself, arresting swarms of outlaws out in the territory and bringing them in for trial. Among the villains he searched for were the Dalton and the Doolin Gangs. Nope, he didn’t catch the Daltons, but he and his posse did end Doolin’s career of crime. Doolin had busted
Heck Thomas
out of jail and was attempting to get to a relative’s house. Henry and his posse were waiting for him. Henry yelled for Doolin to surrender. Doolin came up shootin’. Henry and 1 of his posse blasted him to eternity, Dustin Clays style, with shotguns. Some folks now say that Henry didn’t really shoot Doolin like this. They say that Doolin was dead when Henry came upon him and that Henry blasted him and claimed the reward money, so he could give it to Doolin’s widow. (In real life, the lawmen collected the posted rewards.) Who knows all the particulars. However he did it, Henry ended Bill Doolin’s outlaw career.
After Henry quit Marshalling, he became police chief of Lawton, OK, until he retired because of poor health in 1909. He died in 1912 at age 62. Sorta. In the 1970’s, Richard Boone had a TV series in which he played a late 1800’s deputy sheriff who used fingerprints and other detective tricks to catch crooks. His character’s name was “Hec” Ramsey.
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The Ocoee Ranger Page 3 March 26, 2005
SHOOT RESULTS (Continued from page 1)
|
Traditional 1. Cool Waters 2. Whiskey River Nelson 3. Fiddleback |
Cowgirl 1. Roma Jane 2. Last Kiss 3. Deadeye Daisy |
Modern 1. S. A. Pondwater 2. Moonshine Robert 3. C Rider |
|
Senior 1. Tabasco JOT 2. the Kenesaw Kid 3. Linc |
Gunfighter 1. Pleasant 2. Widow Maker 3. Loose Cinch |
Duelist 1. Horseshoe John 2. Tri 3. Tennessee Tombstone |
|
49er 1. Marshal Too Tall 2. Festus D. Deputy 3. Ocoee Red |
Black Powder 1. T-Bone Angus 2. the Catoosa Kid 3. Coffee Joe |
Classic 1. Cherokee Maddog 2. Cruel Hand Luke 3. Lightning McCoy |
Buffalo Shoot – Marshal Too Tall
Ocoee Rangers Wranglers – March 26
|
Fiddleback |
Deadeye Daisy |
Sheriff Donald |
|
Cherokee Maddog |
|
Ranger Roger |
|
|
Tennessee Ted |
Limp Along Charlie |
|
NEXT SHOOT … APRIL 23
The Buffalo Shoot begins 8:00 am. Registration 8:30 am – Tabasco JOT’s Side Match 8:30 am – Posse Leader walk-through 9:15 am – Safety meeting 9:45 am – Shooting follows ! All times are Eastern Time.
OCOEE RANGERS CONTACTS
Ocoee Red … (423) 476-5303 ocoeered@charter.net … Pleasant .. (423) 476-6865 pleasant2@charter.net ..
Deadman & Mesquite Millie .. (770) 889-0934 jedalton@mindspring.com Horseshoe John .. (706) 866-5372 horseshoejohn@bellsouth.net ..
Tri .. (423) 479-4450 adkissonjc@yahoo.com … Sundance .. (423) 479-8465 jneyman8465@charter.net
Newsletter Staff: Deadman & Mesquite Millie Website: Obadiah King
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