Most Popular Rider at the Rodeo!

 

                                                Bus Hess at Frog Pond (photo courtesy Bob Hess)

During the years the Bentz family worked the Rupp/Shoblom ranch, Harry and Bus (T.R.) Hess became the best of friends. Bus lived on the Olaf Sandin ranch just around the bend and east of Ross’ Fork Creek, north of the Kaiser Hill and Kaiser homestead. The Kaiser homestead was owned by Chauncey Kennedy, at that time. 

 

Born on the Higgins bridge in Missoula, Montana, Bus was known as the ambulance baby because he was born during his mother’s transfer from the train depot to the hospital, on March 10, 1922. Cecil who was the wife of Raymond Hess was only seventeen when she died of peritonitis in Missoula, according to her obituary in The Missoulian December 10, 1922, when Bus was nine months old.  Cecil is buried in Superior, Montana, where the family lived, at that time.

After her death, Ray and Bus moved from Superior to Granite County to live with the Olaf (Ole) Sandin family. Ole’s wife Beck (Hess) and Ray were two of the many children born to the early Pioneer and Trout Creek settlers, Theodore R. and Rebecca (Shortley) Hess. 

When World War II broke out Bus joined the Coast Guard and served his time in the Pacific Northwest. An article found in the Mail, July 14, 1942 stated Bus won first place in a Rodeo while in his service uniform. I was able to illicit the following account from the cowboy. 

 While Bus and a friend were hitch hiking to Portland from Astoria, Oregon, where they were stationed, the servicemen saw a sign about a rodeo in Hillsboro, Oregon. The friend suggested that Bus compete in the rodeo. All the money Bus had was $20.00, the cost of the entry fee. The friend assured him he had enough money for the two to get a room, eat and buy drinks so Bus paid the entrance fee and attended the first day of the rodeo. Realizing they had to be back to base or be AWOL they hitch hiked back to Astoria and told the commander the rodeo was continuing through the next few days. The commander said as long as he did not see anything no one knew what was going on, but Bus must perform his nightly watch. Bus agreed and found another friend with a car so they did not have to hitch hike to the rodeo every day. Bus feared he would draw a horse that was difficult to ride and sure enough that was the horse drawn. He used all his knowledge learned at home on the ranch and stayed on the horse and won first place. This amounted to a purse of $80.00 and another $114.00 for the rider with the most total points for the rodeo. 

For someone spending their last $20.00 for the entry fee he was a rich man after that Fourth of July weekend and as stated in the paper: “…the only rider in uniform and as a result was the most cheered and popular rider of the rodeo.”