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Volume 4, Issue No. 10 October, 2006
OCTOBER – SUNSHINE, LEAVES, FLYING TARGETS AND GUNSMOKE
If you missed the October shoot, and a lot of folks did, then you missed a good one. It was a little chilly at registration, but the sun came out and the brilliant fall foliage (that’s leaves for guys like Festus and Too Tall) and the shooting scenarios that ol’ T-Bone wrote were great. 41 shooters shot stationary targets, a couple of flying birds and a real nifty flying witch that Horseshoe John provided. (The flying witch was a large, round target that slid on a suspended cable across the range.) And then there were pumpkins: you can’t have Halloween without pumpkins. The pumpkins were 2 small orange, round metal circles that were placed way out yonder for shooters to try for bonus points.
Dagnabit Deb & Keystone with the flying witch.
The Top Gun was Ocoee Red, back to his shooting form. The Top Cowgirl Shooter was Last Kiss. The Top 10 Shooters were: (1) Ocoee Red (2) Unpleasant (3) Marshal Too Tall (4) Festus D. Deputy (5) Dustin Clays (6) T-Bone Angus (7) Pleasant (8) Widowmaker (9) Pyro (10) Dajango Slim. This is the first time that we’ve had 3 of the Top 10 Shooters from the same family: Pleasant (the old guy) and sons Unpleasant and Pyro. 2 shooters shot matches with no misses: Ocoee Red and Deadman. In the Buffalo Shoot, Outrider and Marshal Too Tall tied for 1st place in the .22 cal. class and Marshal Too Tall placed 1st in the Long Range Rifle shoot, after a shoot-off with Fast Harley. Marshal Too Tall also placed 1st in the Long Range Pistol Shoot.
The ghost (Dustin Clays) and the flying witch. When Dustin Clays, and his counterparts, dropped the rope, the witch flew across the range.
Above L- R: The Black Hat Gang – Tennessee Jake, Rev. Adam Jones, Mesquite Millie, Horseshoe John & Conejos Bob.
October’s Wranglers were Slater, Long Gulch, Dagnabit Deb, Keystone, Wildcat Wilkey and Tin Pot. Wranglers are cowboys & cowgirls who put forth extra effort in helping conduct the shoot.
SHOOT RESULTS
TOP GUN – Ocoee Red … TOP COWGIRL – Last Kiss … BUFFALO SHOOT – Long Range Rifle – Marshal Too Tall … Long Range Pistol – Marshal Too Tall … .22 Cal – Outrider & Marshal Too Tall
49er1. Ocoee Red 2. Marshal Too Tall 3. Tennessee Mongo |
Gunfighter 1. Pleasant 2. Widowmaker 3. Pyro |
Senior 1. Outrider 2. Wildcat Wilkey 3. Tin Pot |
|
Traditional 1. Unpleasant 2. Festus D. Deputy 3. Dustin Clays |
Cowgirl1. Last Kiss |
Duelist 1. Tucson Tuco 2. Horseshoe John |
Classic 1. Long Gulch
Ruckus Roy defends the bank from bank robbers.
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The Ocoee Ranger, page 2 October, 2006
THE REEL WEST – JOHNNY MACK BROWN (1904 – 1974)
Johnny Mack Brown was a 1930’s -‘50’s movie cowboy. But he wasn’t born in the West. Nope. Old Johnny was born in Dothan, Alabama. He did what most southern boys at the time did: he hunted, fished and played ball. After high school, Johnny enrolled at the University of Alabama, where he played football. And he was a really good football player. He was an All-American running back, and in the 1926 Rose Bowl, he scored 2 of the 3 touchdowns that Alabama scored in their winning performance.
In 1927, Johnny went to Hollywood and became a silent movie actor. On screen, he appeared with Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, among others. (Barn Scoop is saying, “Who were all those old ladies?”) Then in 1930, he became important, at least to SASS cowfolk. He was chosen to star as Billy the Kid in the MGM movie, BILLY THE KID.
But sound era movies gave Johnny, like a lot of other movie folks, a lot of trouble. You see, he was a southerner, and like a lot of us southerners, he had what other folks considered an accent, a southern drawl. Of course we know that where Johnny was concerned that’s rubbish. He talked normal: it was all them other folks who talked funny. So, Johnny left the ranks of front line actors and became a silver screen cowboy. And it wasn’t that hard for him to do. He was in good physical shape. And he played polo on weekends. So he was comfortable on a horse. He teamed up with a palomino, buckled on a stag handled Colt and buscadero gun rig and became a movie cowboy hero.
During his career, Johnny appeared in over 140 Western movies. In the early ‘50’s, he found a new audience. TV was moving into homes on little boxes that showed old movies that were available. Little fellers like yours truly, and probably a lot of other Ocoee Rangers, sat in the dark in homes all across the US and watched him fight the bad guys, as we ate hamburgers and potato chips and drank Royal Crown Cola. Johnny continued working in small parts in movies and on TV. He joined the posse in the sky on November 14, 1974.
THE WEST of our imagination –
Yankee Dutchman
Yankee Dutchman started cowboy shooting last fall. As he tells it, “I’ve been cowboy shooting about a year and a month.” Of course, he said that a month ago. He heard about Ocoee Rangers cowboy shooting from people at work, non-shooting people. Who told him? Well, it was the wives of some of the cowboys who shoot as Ocoee Rangers. They told him about their husbands’ experiences. Then he met the husbands. And here he is.
What does he shoot? .45’s. “No little guns for me.” Now that’s spoken like a real cowboy. Ain’t that right, Horseshoe John?
How’d he get his alias? Here’s how he tells it: “I come from New Jersey. (We won’t hold that against him.) So, I’m a displaced Yankee. The people on my father’s side are all Dutch. So, I became Yankee Dutchman.” That sounds logical, doesn’t it?
Who’s his favorite silver screen cowboy? “ John Wayne, by a long shot.” Here’s what he had to say about cowboy shooting. “I enjoy shootin’ with everybody, shootin’ with guys with mixed backgrounds. It’s really cool.”
Shucks, Yankee Dutchman’s a feller who shoots .45’s, is an Ocoee Ranger, and is a John Wayne fan, They just don’t come any better than that.
THE REAL WEST – LUTHER S. “YELLOWSTONE” KELLY (1849 – 1928)
Luther “Yellowstone” Kelly was born in Geneva, NY, on July 27, 1849. If he’d stayed there, he’d probably be unknown now. Shucks, he’s almost unknown anyway. But he was a significant figure in the American West of the late 1800’s.
Near the end of the War of Northern Aggression, Luther joined the Yankee army. He was ultimately sent west to Minnesota and to Dakota to complete his enlistment. When he mustered out of the Army, he stayed in the Yellowstone and upper Missouri River valley area. He became a trapper and hunter, and after he became thoroughly familiar with the country, he became an Army Scout and guided many expeditions. In time, he became Chief of Scouts for General Nelson Miles and for Colonel George Forsyth, of Beecher’s Island fame.
Luther was an educated feller. He read a lot and it’s reported that he frequently quoted Shakespeare. That probably had something to do with the skirmishes he had with the Indians. They probably attacked him to make him stop with the Shakespeare. (I can’t say that I blame them.) Luther used a Henry rifle and later a Winchester ’66 Yellowboy against’em. But they evidently figured it was worth the risk to try to stop the Shakespeare. Of course, Owlhoot Hardin would probably disagree, him being a former college English professor.
When the government established Yellowstone as the first National Park in 1876, “Yellowstone” Kelly became its first Park Ranger. But that wasn’t the end of Luther’s career. He later guided 2 expeditions to Alaska, was an Army Captain of volunteers in the Philippines War, and was an Indian Agent at San Carlos Indian reservation in Arizona. He finally retired to California, where he died on December 17, 1928. Luther must have known that the future California was destined to become a society of nuts: he asked to be buried in Montana. He’s resting atop Kelly Mountain near Billings, Montana.
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The Ocoee Ranger page 3 October 2006
OCOEE RANGERS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS SHOOT & FAMILY EVENT DECEMBER 16
Do you realize that there is only 1 more shoot before the Ocoee Rangers Annual Christmas Shoot & Family Event, which will be held on the 3rd Saturday (Dec. 16) in December. So, make plans to come out and shoot. We’ll shoot 3 stages. Then we’ll adjourn and go over to the Golden Corral restaurant in Cleveland. After we eat lunch, we’ll present Annual Ocoee Ranger Awards. Then we’ll draw for prizes, and anyone who has shot at least 1 match in 2006, even if it’s the Dec. match, will be eligible to win. Prizes are donated by our event sponsors. Then we’ll have our cowboy & cowgirl gift swap, for those who want to participate – participation ain’t required. If you want to participate in the gift swap, bring an unwrapped gift and put it on the gift table. You’ll get a ticket. When your ticket is drawn, you get to pick a gift from the table. The next person can pick a gift from the table, or select your prize – then you have to pick again. Etc. No gift can change hands more than 2 times following the initial selection. It’s fun. Prizes should be somewhat related to cowboy shooting or a western theme and should not cost more than $10 – $20. It’s an active, fun part of the event – but you don’t have to participate, if you don’t want to. And non-shooters can also participate in the gift swap.
The Good People shown below are vendors who Sponsored our 2005 Christmas event. Please remember them when you do your shopping and when you give others your Santa’s list for Christmas and other occasions. When you order from them, say “Thanks for Sponsoring the 2005 Ocoee Rangers Annual Christmas Shoot & Family Event”.
Brownells, Inc.
200 South Front Street, Montezuma, Iowa 50171-1000
800-741-0015
Gun parts, cleaning stuff, cowboy gun leather, etc.
Red River Station
Route 1 box 26M,
Devol, Oklahoma 73531
580-512-0584
Wild Rags Cotton or Silk
Sharpco Distributors
434 Riverbriar Lane
Kodak, TN 37764
(865)933-9387
Knives, cowboy buckles, cowboy movies, etc.
Benton Shooters
Highway 411
Benton, TN 37307
(423) 338-2008
www.Bentonshooters.com
Guns, hunting, fishing – all sporting equipment
Steven H. Maddock
Apishapa Studio
9 Holiday Drive
Tijeras, NM 87059
(505)286-9763
email: sawe21@hotmail.com
apishapa.com
Western Art Sculptures
Ten-X Ammunition
5650 Arrow Hwy.
Montclair, CA 91763
Richard Pumerantz
(Owner SASS Life 20466)
or Orders@TenXAmmo.com
Buckaroo Bobbins
P.O. Box 1168
Chino Valley, AZ 86323-1168
www.buckaroobobbins.com
Authentic Vintage Western Clothing Patterns
West Creation
7916 FM 1241
Hamilton, TX 76531-3129
www.westcreations.com
email: westcreation@htcomp.net
Cowboy kitchen silverware, dinnerware, glass ware and other western related products
Early West P.O. Box 9292 College Station, TX 77842 800-245-5841 979-764-7758 FAX
earlywest@verizon.net
Books – Western History & other West Related
Hamilton Dry Goods
4075 Roberts Matthews Hwy.
Sparta, TN 38583
(931) 739-6061
email: hamiltondrygoods@miltipro.com
Cowboy & Civil War Period Clothing and Merchandise
Henry Repeating Arms Co.
110 8th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215
www.henry-guns.com
American made firearms
Reflection of the Past
Judy & Melissa Jurgensen
2278 Harrods Pointe Trace
Lexington, KY 40514
www.ReflectionsOfThePast.org
Judy@ReflectionsOfThePast.org
Victorian ladies jewelry, hats & costumes
True West
P.O. Box 8008
Cave Creek, Arizona 85327
(408)575-1881
True West magazine
Shoot! Magazine
7154 W. State Street #384
Boise, ID 83714
www.ShootMagazine.com
FMG Publications
12345 World Trade Drive
San Diego, CA 92128
Publishers of these magazines:
American Handgunner
Guns
Wild West Wicks
11011 Desert Springs
Houston, TX 77095
281-851-0234 phone
email www.wildwestwicks.com
Candles with western scents
Saddlebag Bullets (Cool Waters)
Bullets, reloading & gun cleaning supplies
Outrider
Leather goods
Terry’s Toys (T-Bone Angus)
Cowboy guns
River Bend Rough Riders Cowboy Action Shooting Club
Canton, GA area
Contact: Sheriff Donald (770) 607-0794
sheriffdonald@hotmail.com
What prizes have our 2006 Sponsors provided so far? Here are a few samples: .. Personal Cowboy Action Shooting cards with the cowboy’s / cowgirl’s photo and information (RG2, Covington, GA – advertised in the Chronicle and Shoot! Magazine) …Clothing (Hamilton Dry Goods, Sparta, TN) … Gun Tools (Brownell’s, Montezuma, Iowa) … Table Ware (West Creation, Hamilton, TX) … Gift Certificates (Old Frontier Forts, Nebraska City, NB) … COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING book by Ron Harris (Mesquite Millie & Deadman – advertised in the Chronicle).
OH YEAH. THE CHRISTMAS SHOOT & EVENT IS A GOOD EXCUSE TO DRESS ESPECIALLY SPIFFY TO IMPRESS YOUR PARDNERS.
DEADMAN WILL NOT SHOOT THE CHRISTMAS SHOOT. HE AND MESQUITE MILLIE WILL HAVE THEIR CAMERA, WITH PLENTY OF MEMORY, TO MAKE PICTURES OF ANYONE WHO WANTS HIS / HER PICTURE TAKEN. THE COST FOR DOING SO – ONLY A SMILE. AND YOU ONLY HAVE TO SMILE AT MILLIE.
An Ocoee Ranger Howdy and Get Well Soon to Vinegaroon and D. Q. Jones, who’ve both experienced accidental injuries (non-shooting). We hope you cowboys get better real soon. See you on the range.
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