[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 139 (Thursday, October 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE PASADENA LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO ON ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 14, 1999

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Pasadena Livestock 
Show and Rodeo as a celebration of our ranching and agricultural 
traditions that has inspired the Pasadena community for 50 years. The 
founders of the Pasadena Rodeo created the celebrated event in 1949 to 
bring the citizens of Pasadena together, offer opportunities for the 
community youth, and to preserve the lifestyle and moral convictions of 
an agricultural era that was quickly passing. I don't believe that the 
founders themselves fully realized to what extent their ambitions would 
be realized. Fifty years later, the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo 
is stronger than ever, bringing joy and togetherness to the community, 
especially to children, who learn that being a cowboy or cowgirl is to 
possess independence, compassion, and integrity. The code of the 
cowboy, which the Pasadena Rodeo has brought to life for generations, 
is that of a person who strives to preserve his honor and his self-
respect while offering the same to others.
  The forefathers of the Pasadena Rodeo such as J.W. Anderson, Edgar L. 
Ball, Jack J. Blankfield, C.T. Gary, L.S. Locklin, J.M. Magruder, Jr., 
Rushing Manning, William E. Meyer, O.D., J.W. Nagel, J.C. Thomas, Sr., 
W.R. Turner, M.J. Wright, Frank S. Young, Jr., L.O. Zelgar, and Norman 
L. Zelman had a vision. The wanted to illustrate how the business 
community, the cowboy, and a rural lifestyle could work together 
successfully.
  Today's Rodeo organizers and volunteers, including David Gresset, 
Bill Bezdek, J.J. Isbell. Mike Blasingame, Jay Goyer, David Ghormley, 
Rex Davis, Billy Don Ivey, LeRoy Stanley, Nanci Szydlik, Earl Baker, 
Frank Baker, Errol Slaton, Sherri Harnar, Karen Brown, and Rhonda 
Stevens take seriously this Texas legacy. Like their many dedicated 
predecessors over a half century, they too have fashioned an event 
celebrating good sportsmanship, regional music and agricultural know-
how to help our youth understand that being a ``cowboy'' is not merely 
being a ``bow-legged bronco-riding country boy,'' looking for a 
``rootin-tootin good time.'' Being a cowboy requires maintaining good 
business ethics, setting goals, and making decisions. For 50 years the 
Pasadena Rodeo has delighted our children and showed them that being a 
cowgirl or being a cowboy means following through on one's commitments, 
setting goals, and achieving those goals both personally and 
professionally.
  Although the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo provides a wide range 
of entertainment during the year, the major function of the 
organization is to send as many of our community's graduating seniors 
to college as possible through the awarding of scholarships. That 
commitment to youth and to the power of education is a testament to the 
men and women who have carried on our Rodeo tradition 50 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the people who have brought us the 
Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo for half a century, and I thank them 
for their contributions toward ensuring our community, and especially 
our children, experience the joys and values of our longtime rodeo 
tradition.

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