6/16/2010 – News

By Editor | June 16, 2010 |

Volume 127, Number 19 Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Cowboy Bob Rindt to be inducted into ND Rodeo Hall of Fame
"Cowboy" Bob Rindt has been selected for induction into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment Division. The ND Cowboy Hall of fame is located in Medora and the induction will take place June 25-26 in Medora. There will be a barbecue and dance on Friday evening at the Hall of Fame and continue with the induction ceremony on Saturday at the Tjaden Terrace at 1 p.m. MDT.
Rindt was a well-known figure in this area because of his more than 40 years of teaching; performing trick shooting, rope, whip and tumbling acts; and producing rodeos and other entertainment shows. His wife, Doris, was his partner in many of those acts, and they were once featured in Life magazine, with photos taken during a Minot State University performance.
He was so good with a whip that he could cut a small piece of paper out of Doris’s mouth at 15 feet. He worked the lyceum circuit and was accompanied by a concert pianist. His ability to outline his wife with thrown knives was almost unbelievable.
His prowess with a rifle was legendary as he cut playing cards in half, split a bullet so two balloons were broken with one shot and shoot out the flame of a candle without splattering wax.
His riding tricks included hanging from the side of a horse by only one stirrup. Not limited to trick acts, he also rode saddle broncs and Brahma bulls and bulldogged steers.
Living near Drake, in McHenry County, Cowboy Bob was 17 years old when he began participating in rodeos in 1927. He rode his horse 40 miles to Towner to enter that rodeo — and rode back home afterward with the $15 he won in the saddle bronc riding event. As a youngster he drove a herd of horses from South Dakota to Canada.
When asked what he ate or how he got food he said, "They promised to bring food to me every day." However, that only happened twice." He was asked, " So then, what did you eat?" He replied, "Well if you got hungry enough you shot a horse if you couldn’t shoot a rabbit or some other animal."
For 50 years, he worked in between 10 and 15 rodeos each year. He and Doris once performed a specialty act for President Truman at a Missouri rodeo.
Rindt’s "straight" job was as an educator. Both he and Doris taught school in a number of locales from 1945-1966, including Maddock and Fort Totten. Although his classroom was sixth grade, he and Doris also taught band and music. Doris was hired to teach physical education and dancing and Bob taught leather craft before and after school. While teaching at Fort Totten, the pupils affectionately called him "Uncle Bob." He was 66 years old and still roping, riding and cracking the whip.
"Cowboy Bob" as he was known had a long tenure as a teacher in North Dakota and produced an "animal circus" with the help of students in the schools where the taught. He taught children tumbling, rope climbing and other gymnastic exercises.
He taught his students leather tooling, beading, rope twirling, roller skating and the fine art of self-confidence. He worked with the Joshua boys of Fort Totten, teaching them how to ride bulls and horses. He made bucking rigs, chaps and repaired saddles for them.
Duane Howard of Sheyenne, formerly of Minnewaukan, recalled meeting Rindt at an Indian fall fair in Fort Totten in the late 1940s. Howard says that Rindt had a trailer load of the best tack he had ever seen. He hosted play days and "mount money rodeos" where Howard, among others, learned the basics of bronc riding and steer wrestling. His influence and magnanimity were lifelong gifts to countless kids. "He certainly deserves induction into the hall," said Howard.
After his formal retirement from teaching, Rindt spent most of his time raising horses and Brahma cattle on his B.R. Ranch two miles west of Sawyer. When he retired from teaching he collected children from Fort Totten and Minot and taught them to ride during the summer. Then each summer he produced his own "Wild West Shows" there for several years and enjoyed sharing his expertise with his former students, 4-H club members and Boy Scout troops. He loved to entertain and never stopped teaching.
He played saxophone with the Minot Elks Band until he died. Rindt was a teacher, a rodeo cowboy and somewhat of a throwback to the wild and wooly days when "cowboys were cowboys." He is fondly remembered by many folks for all his contributions to the sport of rodeo showmanship in North Dakota. "Cowboy Bob" died in 1997 at the age of 87 and is buried in Minot.
More than 120 ranchers, bronc riders, events, distinguished events and rodeo animals have been inducted into the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame over the past 12 years. Duane Howard was among the first group inducted into the hall. The late Ole Solberg of York is also an inductee.
The NDCHF’s Center of Western Heritage and Cultures opened in Medora in 2005 and was North Dakota’s 2007 Tourist Attraction of the Year. The facility is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. May to October and by appointment during the winter months. Galleries and exhibits detail the history of the Great Plains horse culture.

Cowboy Bob Rindt is shown in full western regalia in this 1990 Minot Daily News photo

Casino Island
This view of the Spirit Lake Casino & Resort shows how the lake has surrounded the ground on which the casino sits. The casino is located in Benson County on the Spirit Lake Nation about five miles south of the city of Devils Lake. (Photo by Huck Krueger from his ultralight aircraft)

Champs camp
Champs Camp 2010 was recently held at the Maddock High School gym. The camp focused on all areas of basketball fundamentals and was directed by Michael Sorlie, assisted by Beau Buehler. Pictured are the participants of the camp, which included boys and girls from the Maddock, Leeds, Oberon and Esmond areas. Fifth through seventh grade participants were, left to right, front row, Kaylee Tollerud, Nora Duren, Taylor Foss and Emily Sears. Middle row: Spencer Follman, Noah Arnold, Quentin Sears, Hunter Buehler and Joe Silliman. Back row, Beau Buehler, Adam Fischer, Andrew Follman, Braydon Follman, Jakob Schmid, Mathias Follman and Michael Sorlie. Not pictured are Spencer Sears and Jaydin Risovi.

First through fourth graders who took part in the camp were, left to right, front row, Quinn Neppl, John Fischer, Blayne Anderson, Jace Arnold and Jay Garcia. Middle row: Mady Sears, Chase Benson, Gunnar Hagen, Kadin Neppl and Carter Tandeski. Third row: Charity Dosch, Connor Arnold, Brady Kallenbach, Gannon Griffin and Talissa Aabrekke. Back row: Beau Buehler, Keringten Lee, Spencer Olson, Garret Tandeski, Tate Benson, Will Rice and Michael Sorlie. Not pictured is Jacob Arnold.

Grann in nationals
Lacey Grann of Sheyenne has earned a position on the North Dakota State Junior High Rodeo Team. Lacey was the first place state qualifier in the goat tying event. Lacey will join fellow teammates and travel to Gallup, NM from June 27 to July 3 to compete at the sixth annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR). This is the world’s largest junior high rodeo, featuring over 1,000 contestants from 47 states, Canadian provinces and Australia. She is the daughter of John and Donna Grann of Sheyenne. To follow all of the finals rodeo action and daily results visit the Web site at www.nhsrawranglerdivision.com. (Photo courtesy of Jennings Photography)

Maddock FFA team to compete in nationals
Five Maddock A. S. Gibbens FFA Career Development Event (CDE) teams were awarded gold awards at the 81st Annual North Dakota State FFA Convention held at NDSU in Fargo June 7-11.
The horse judging CDE was ranked the #1 horse team and will represent the ND FFA at the national convention held in Indianapolis, Ind. during the third week in October.
The Food Science CDE Team was selected the second high team at the convention and the Dairy Foods CDE team was the third high team. The Quiz Team was the fourth high team in the state while the Ag Mechanics Team ended up the ninth high team. Twenty-one gold individual awards were received during the competition.
Janna and Katie Rice and Katherine Sears were gold individuals in the Horse CDE; Breana Buehler, Ben Backstrom, Erin Leier and Janna Rice were gold individuals in the Food Science CDE; Zach Johnson, Noah Engels, Megan Wald, John Sears and Jaden Kallenbach were gold individuals in the Dairy Foods CDE; Preston Gilderhus, Noah Engels, Rachel Olson and Megan Wald won gold in the quiz contest; Mikel Buckmier and James Johnson were gold individuals in the ag mechanics contests; and Karl Kenner received a gold award for his reporter’s book along with Erin Leier receiving a gold award with her treasurer’s book. Preston Gilderhus received a gold award in prepared public speaking

Members of the Horse Judging Team were, left to right, Katherine Sears, Janna Rice, Rachel Olson, Jessica Johnson and Katie Rice.

Members of the Food Science Team were, left to right, Erin Leier, Janna Rice, Breana Buehler and Ben Backstrom.

Members of the Dairy Foods Team were, left to right, Zach Johnson, Megan Wald, John Sears, Noah Engels and Jaden Kallenbach.

Members of the Quiz Team were, left to right, Breana Buehler, Megan Wald, Rachel Olson, Noah Engels and Preston Gilderhus.

Members of the Ag Mechanics Team were, left to right, Zach Johnson, Mikel Buckmier, Patrick Johnson, Jaden Kallenbach and James Johnson.

Paulson has perfect record
Zane Paulson had perfect attendance for the 2009-10 school year at the Maddock School.

Vandals have ‘fun’ damaging Minnewaukan School

The Minnewaukan School kindergarten and pre-kindergarten building was vandalized over the past weekend. The building is the former St. James Catholic Church. The vandals broke the window in the door with a shovel, it is believed.

The vandals enjoyed breaking several windows in the building, including this window near a weight machine. It is believed the vandalism occurred Saturday night.

The vandals made a big mess in one of the classrooms. The school is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the irresponsible people who did this.