Established
1936
Walla Walla Wagon Wheelers
P.O.
http://www.wallawallawagonwheelers.org
Summer Newsletter
Welcome to summer, finally, in our beautiful
It has been a pretty busy year so far with a lot of activities at the WWWW facility and we are looking forward to an action packed summer of fun events and social gatherings!! The following will be a brief summary of what has happened in the recent past and what is coming down the trail for summer and fall activities.
The 9 Mile trail Ride was better than ever this year with riders coming from all over to enjoy the beautiful ride and great trail food!! The weather was excellent and the entire ride went trouble free. Very special thanks to Shirley Hindman, owner of 9 Mile Ranch, for once again allowing us to ride on her ranch and enjoy the wide open spaces! The poker ride which raises money for our two scholarships was a success; Phyllis Dial and Jim Cooper were the big winners. Thank you all for coming, we appreciate everyone who attended and look forward to seeing you next year.
The spring race meet was a great time, the sun was out and so were the people, we had a good team of volunteers to work in the beer booth and our sales were good, thank you to everyone for your help, this is what makes the club successful.
Our club was well represented in the Waitsburg parade with a nice team of mounted riders; people always look for the Wagon Wheeler Club and their uniforms. The picnic after the parade was well attended.
The Tucannon Trail Ride was on again in June, with some die hard riders putting up with a couple days of rain and some sunshine they had a great time and saw some beautiful country, make sure to sign up for this ride next year.
Also in June we had a major two day barrel racing event co-sponsored for the Featherlite Trailers Appreciation Days, attendance was up again this year with over 200 entries, with gals coming from all over the Northwest to compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes and awards. The free hot dogs and pop were also a big hit. A special thank you to Gary Aichele who once again stepped up and put together a full series of races this summer. If you get a chance, come out and watch the races it is a lot of fun! We have three more races scheduled for July 25th, September 12th, and Oct. 3rd. We can always use some extra help at these races. A big thank you goes to Clark Hansen, Les Clark, Judy Scudder, Roy Cohoon, Dixie Aichele and all the folks that made one of our biggest events a success. All of the proceeds from these events go directly into the club for future improvements, maintenance, and investments.
On the same note I would like to announce and congratulate this years winners of our two $500 scholarships, Megan Tompkins, daughter of county commissioner Greg Tompkins, who is pursuing a pre-pharmacy degree at OR State or U of W. Also Taylor Hof, son of Board member Bill Hof, who is attending WWCC to earn an Ag Diesel Mechanic degree. Best wishes and good luck to these fine young students, and future Wagon Wheelers!!
We are approaching the time to start thinking about the summer-fall schedule of activities, as always everyone is encouraged to participate and we can always use more volunteers to help at these events, remember this is “YOUR CLUB” and this is how we make it successful and fun for all the members.
Annual Pre-Fair Ham dinner is Tuesday August 31st, Social 5-6 pm, Dinner 6 pm at club house This is always a great meal (nothing to bring) and a good time to socialize and sign up for the Fair Beer Booth!! Adults only – no minors.
Beer Booth
September 1st-5th our
major fund raising event needs lots of volunteer workers. Evening shifts
September 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (hours 6-11) and afternoon shifts September 3, 4,
and 5 noon to 6pm. PLEASE mark your calendars and sign
up for a shift or two by calling Clark
Hansen at 509-525-9360.
Walla Walla Fair Parade, Saturday September 4th. We
need as many riders as possible to come out and represent the Wagon Wheelers in
this year’s Fair Parade. Riders assemble at
Drill Team, start your engines and circle the wagons!! Once again we will be starting our drill practices for our performance on Saturday evening, September 4 during the rodeo. Drill practice begins Thursday, JULY 29th at 6:30 pm at the Wagon Wheeler’s Arena. We will practice Mondays at the Fairgrounds arena and Thursdays at the club arena. Subsequent Drill Practice sessions begin at 6:30 at the Fairgrounds arena August, 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd and at the Wagon Wheeler’s arena August 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, and 30th. This is a great time with a potluck dinner format after each practice. If you would like to try out for the Drill Team contact Clark Hansen 509-525-9360, Donita or Joe Taruscio 509-529-7667 and let them know you are interested.
Buck Creek Trail
Ride (AKA Stag Ride) is planned for September 11th and 12th at
the Kiwanis Buck Creek Camp on the Umatilla river. Riders may leave their gear
and bed rolls on the patio at the clubhouse by 8AM Saturday and your gear will
be hauled to camp. Those riding in will assemble at the trailhead on the Coyote
Ridge road at Tollgate. Turn right on Coyote ridge road from
Ladies Night Steak Dinner and trail ride Saturday Sept. 11th. Join a surprise trail ride with Donita meeting at the Wilcox parking lot at 9 am. Bring a sack lunch and drinks. For more information leave a message for Donita at 509-529-7667. Ladies night will be held at the Wagon Wheelers clubhouse, social hour at 5 pm and dinner at 6 pm. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED; deadline for reservations is Sept.7th, a $20 fee for non-members and guests also applies. Please call Carolyn Hansen at 525-9360 to sign up. This is a great night out for the ladies, you work very hard and we appreciate your help. This is a fun time don’t miss it.
Hair Ranch ride is scheduled for September 25th and 26th, for more information call Andy Shaw 541-667-7131 or 541-566-0138.
Our club sponsors the Junior Wagon Wheelers and at this time we are in need of an advisor for this group. If you are interested please contact Sam for more information 509-525-1111.
A big thank you to Dixie Aichele and her 4-H group, Riata and Rowls for improving the walkway on the side of our building as their community service project. Wayne Narum furnished the rock for them. What an improvement. We all need to take pride in our club house and arena and help keep it looking great.
If you have not paid your 2010 club dues you will find an invoice included with this letter. You will need to be a paid up member to participate in club events including using the area, drilling and or parading. This will be the last newsletter for those who do not pay their current dues.
Well my fingers are starting to hurt from all this typing and you are probably getting tired of reading, so hang this up where you can find it and keep up on the schedule and dates for the coming months, do not throw this away or you will miss out on a lot of fun activities for the whole family.
In closing I would like to offer a very special “Thank You” to all of the volunteers that work the events and the activities that make our club a very special organization here in the valley. It is truly a pleasure to know and work with such fine people at all of the events. The club has grown so much through the years. My dad joined me in the Junior Wagon Wheelers in 1968 and since then we have seen a lot of changes in the club. We have the nicest club facility in the valley, we have the largest membership of any riding club in the valley, and this is only possible due to the many that have come forward through the years to make a difference, you have our respect and a sincere Thank you for all of your efforts.
See’ Ya on the trail!!!
Your Wagon Master-President,
Sam Waldron