Today’s “From the Vault Friday” comes from the Bezanson Stampede Committee Fonds (Fonds 369). It is estimated that the Bezanson Stampede had its first little rodeo in 1946, with Bob Fenton as manager.
The Stampede touted many “Thrills and Spills”: a nail driving contest, a dance, wild cow milking, races and roping.
The decision to have no more stampedes was made in 1963; the horses were sold and the ground rented to Agar and Morrison. The profits from the stampedes, with the exception of a few of the later years, were turned over to the Bezanson Hall Committee. In 1967, the Bezanson Stampede’s assets and $1400 cash were donated to the Bezanson Memorial Hall Committee for the purposes of installing a gas furnace and two propane cook stoves in the hall.
From the Vault Friday is a social media campaign that highlights interesting materials from the collections of the South Peace Regional Archives. This project was made possible by an Access to Holdings Grant from the Archives Society of Alberta.