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The Skunk Holler Hillbilly Band promoting the Rodeo of the Ozarks, Van Buren, Arkansas, June 1946. P.W. “Doc” Boone at the microphone, with Shelby Ford (in white hat). |
| In the rodeo’s
early days, goodwill caravans of horses, riders, and performers traveled
miles and miles around Northwest Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, and Southwest
Missouri. The group put on short promotional shows. Their stage was
a flat-bed trailer provided by Springdale produce broker Joe Robinson.
In 1946 the caravan sold $16,000 in tickets.
In June 1950 the caravan was ordered to “not block the streets” and “move on” in Noel, Missouri, prompting the Springdale Chamber of Commerce to declare that Noel would “not get another chance to disapprove of rodeo visitors.” A few days later two Noel businessmen came to town to be “punished” by a dunking in a stock tank full of water. |
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Although the days of the caravan are long over, rodeo board
members travel to other rodeos to promote the event and invite cowboys
and cowgirls to participate. |
