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Volume 5, Issue No. 9 September, 2007
Ocoee Rangers Celebrate Gene Autry’s 100th Birthday
100 years ago this month, Gene Autry, America’s Favorite Singing Cowboy, was hatched. And while he may not now be the icon that John Wayne became, in his day he was bigger than John Wayne. Yep. And he was 1 of America’s top movie stars in popularity for many years. In September, we honored Gene’s memory by including him in our stage designs. Nope, none of us will give him a run for the money in the singing department, especially not Widowmaker, but in the shootin’ department … well, that’s a different story.
Gene Autry & Champion
Widowmaker on the Range, ready to sing or shoot. He shoots better
We started the day with 69 shooters, but Tinker Chapley’s health has been challenging him since he had a stroke, back in May, and he had to leave after the 2nd stage. But ole Tinker said he’ll be back next month. Rawhide Rex had to call it quits after 3 stages. His scores are shown because he shot more than half the match: but his misses show that he wasn’t too perky even before he quit shooting. And Horseshoe John couldn’t shoot, although he dropped by for a few minutes. Horseshoe’s a farrier: that means he shoes horses. A couple of months ago, a dog spooked a horse he was shoeing, and it trampled him – twice. He ain’t been normal since that time. Well, he hasn’t been healthy: he wasn’t normal even before the incident. Hopefully all our ailing cowboys will get better and be back with us in October.
L-R: Bourne Sassy, Yazoo City Gal, Killin’ Time and Last Kiss
But the day wasn’t all somber. Before the shoot, the Ocoee Ranger Gals, Yazoo City Gal, Bourne Sassy, Killin’ Time, and Last Kiss, earned $43 for Double Eagle to use to buy prizes for our Christmas Event. How? They sold “huggins” and “dippins” and “droppins”. I know what a huggin is, but I don’t have a clue what a dipin is, and “droppin’s” – well, I thought folks stepped around them in the barn yard. Anyway, these lady shootists contributed to our pot for Christmas event prizes. So did Sheriff Donald and Deadeye Daisy. They contributed several leather ammo bags, that ol’ Donald made, to be given to folks who contributed $10 or more to the Christmas Event Prizes fund. And they all went fast. This was the last shoot during which contributions to buy prizes will be taken. Throughout the year, we raised $681, and $241 of it was raised at the Gene Autry – September Shoot. All the money raised will be used to buy prizes to be awarded by drawing at the Ocoee Rangers Annual Christmas Event after lunch and the awarding of Annual Shooting Awards. More info about that later.
Keystone Times as Tucson Tuco Shoots Steel Cowboys
The day started with the Buffalo Shoot, as usual. And Tin Pot and Fast Harley had a face-off. No, they didn’t shoot at each other. But after 1 shot in the 100 yard pistol competition, they were tied at 1 hit each. So they each fired a 2nd shot, and both missed. Being game to the bone, they each fired a 3rd shot, and they missed again. So, they solved the problem like gentlemen cowboys: they flipped a coin, and Fast Harley won.
The TOP GUN for the day was Unpleasant. The Top 10 Shooters were(1) Unpleasant (2) Marshal Too Tall (3) Festus D. Deputy (4) Ocoee Red (5) Rusty Spur Slim (6) Widowmaker (7) Cherokee Maddog (8) Tucson Tuco (9) Pleasant (10) Tabasco JOT
3 cowboys shot perfect matches with no misses: Rusty Spur Slim, TN Hoss and Owlhoot Hardin.
(Continued on page 3)
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The Ocoee Ranger page 2 September 2007
THE REEL WEST – GENE AUTRY
(1907 – 1998)
Gene Autry & his horse, the original Champion
Gene Autry would have been 100 years old in September. And while his influence isn’t seen a lot in Cowboy Action Shooting, he was 1 of the pioneers of the popular Western movie. I know there were silent movie cowboys. And Tom Mix made the transition easily from silent flicks to sound movies. And neither Gene’s movies nor Tom’s were very realistic. But Gene Autry really put Western movies in the limelight and kept it there for many years. Even in the Great Depression, audiences flocked to see his movies.
Gene was born in Tioga Texas in 1907, but he didn’t learn to ride a horse until he got into the movies. And he didn’t start out to be a Western movie actor. Nope. He was a telegrapher, who strummed his guitar and sang a bit to entertain himself, when he wasn’t sending and receiving messages. Will Rogers happened by, heard him sing, and suggested that he try his hand as a radio singer. And Gene did. And he became a hit. Eventually, he had his own radio show, Melody Ranch. And it stayed on the air until the mid “50’s. But that ain’t all he did. Not by a long shot. He wrote songs, and had lots of hit records as a singer, and then he got into the Movies and became America’s Singing Cowboy on the silver screen.
During his career, Gene appeared in 93 feature films and made 635 record recordings, more than 300 of which he wrote or co-wrote. Look at his movies and you’ll notice that they showcased his records that were popular at the time. In effect, he was the first music video person. Unlike the movies of the other singing cowboys who came after him, his movies had good songs in them, not just music to have music. But his movies also had action, and horses, and shooting, and the public flocked to see them. Back In The Saddle was 1 of his movies, and it introduced the song that became his theme song on his radio program and elsewhere. Gene recorded 13 versions of that song on his records, and a few years ago, National Public Radio listed Gene’s version of Back In The Saddle as 1 of the 100 most significant songs of all time. (It was written by Ray Whitley for 1 of Gene’s movies, and later modified by Gene for his records.)
In WWII, the big one, Gene volunteered for duty in the Army Air Corps and became 1 of the Flying Sergeants, Non Commissioned Officers who flew airplanes. Gene flew transports over the hump in the Indo China Theater. His military experience taught him that when he was released from active duty, he wanted to be able to make a living without having to work himself. He said in 1 interview that the year before he went in the Army he made more than $60,000. And when he was an NCO in the army, he made about $600 a year.
In the 1950’s, Gene saw the potential of TV and jumped in as a producer and an actor. He produced and appeared in the Gene Autry Show. He also produced Annie Oakley (Gail Davis), The Range Rider (Jock Mahoney), Buffalo Bill Jr. (Dick West), and The Adventures Of Champion (his horse Champion, 1 of them).
This Statue of Gene Autry and his horse Champion stands in front of the Autry Museum
Gene’s song Silver Haired Daddy was the 1st record that ever went gold. And he had many others. He wrote and recorded Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Peter Cottontail, and they both went platinum. And he wrote and recorded Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, and it’s still 1 of the most recorded singles of all time. It eventually went double platinum.
Gene became fabulously wealthy as a businessman. He has 5 stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame: (1) radio (2) films (3) live performances (4) TV and (5) records. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Song Writers’ Hall of Fame, The National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and lots of other stuff. Gene also left his mark on Western history. In 1988, he established the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western Heritage) in Los Angeles. It’s a terrific museum. If you’re ever in the Los Angeles area, it’s well worth a visit, but plan several hours to see it.
Gene joined the posse in the Sky in 1998. Riding with that crowd, he’s Back in the Saddle Again.
The West of Our Imagination – Yazoo City Gal
Yazoo City Gal has been a cowgirl shooter for about 18 months. She was dating Judge’m All Duncan and went with him to a Cowboy Shoot with the River Bend Rough Riders. “After watching him shoot, I knew I had to shoot. I’ve been shooting ever since then.” She wasn’t a shooter nor familiar with firearms handling before she started shooting with Judge’m All. But he was a good teacher, and she was a good student. “He reloads, and he helped me pick my guns. I started out shooting Traditional, and then I shot Duelist. But my goal was to shoot Gunfighter. That’s what I shoot now.” And she does it well, shootin’ her .32 Cal. pistols.
How’d she get her alias? “I was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi. That makes a great alias.” Yep. It does.
What does she think about Cowboy Action Shooting? “I’ve always been competitive. I played softball and went to the nationals in 1976. I like the competition. But the people come first. I’ve made a lot of new friends. And I like dressing up, especially in the winter, more than the summer.” Yazoo’s a good cowgirl. Just ask anyone in the Outlaw posse.
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The Ocoee Ranger page 3 September 2007
SHOOT RESULTS (Continued from page 1)
TOP GUN – Unpleasant …
BUFFALO SHOOT – Long Range Pistol – Fast Harley … Long Range Single Shot Rifle … Colonel Mortimer … Long Range Lever Action Rifle – Last Kiss
|
49er |
Back Powder Duelist |
Duelist |
|
1 Marshal Too Tall |
1 Judge’m All Duncan |
1 Awful Close |
|
2 Festus D. Deputy |
2 Long Gulch |
2 Boondock Saint |
|
3 Ocoee Red |
3 Owlhoot |
3 Tarheel |
|
Gunfighter |
Outlaw |
Traditional |
|
1 Widowmaker |
1 TN Tombstone |
1 Unpleasant |
|
2 Pleasant |
2 Badlands Beck |
2 Clancy O’Connal |
|
3 Keystone |
3 Loose Cinch |
3 Slater |
Silver Senior |
Senior |
Classic Cowboy |
1 Tabasco JOT |
1 Tucson Tuco |
1 Cherokee Maddog |
2 Outrider |
2 Purly |
2 El Carrera |
3 Wildcat Wilkey |
3 T-Bone Angus |
Frontiersman |
Lady Gunfighter |
Lady Duelist |
1 Rusty Spur Slim |
1 Last Kiss |
1 Killin’ Time |
Badlands Beck times Bourne Sassy, shooting Lady Duelist
L-R: Kenesaw & Cactus Red, Modern Range Riders
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