Ladonia--There is no doubt here that the heroes have always been cowboys. And, this weekend, the Northeast Texas region joins with the town to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Ladonia Rodeo and Frontier Days. The Ladonia Rodeo Association will host a full slate of nine rodeo events on both Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 8:30 p.m. each evening.
A local favorite honky-tonk band from Denison, the Ed Burleson Band, will open for the dance.
Rodeo board and sponsors try every year to bring the best dance musicians available to the Ladonia Rodeo.
More than fifty years ago, a group of Ladonia area horsemen and rodeo enthusiasts began having playdays and barbeques at a small arena they had built off Highway 64 on the east side of town to finance construction of an arena. As the group became more organized, they chose the name Ladonia Saddle Club and chose a first board of directors to include Woodrow Bradshaw, Sam Bryant, Grady Duncan, Cleve Owens, and Buddy Joe Threlkeld.
Founders Vision for the organization continues today as most of the present day officers of the Rodeo Association are descendants of original board members or some of the founding volunteers. Current Ladonia Rodeo Association Officers include President Randy Conley, Vice President Berry Burnett, Secretary Discha Threlkeld, and Treasurer Triena Duncan.
In 1965, the first annual Ladonia Rodeo was held. The group was growing. Recognition came. The Ladonia Saddle Club posted pivots for area rodeos and accepted an invitation to lead the grand entry at the State Fair Coliseum. The board had a vision: they set out to enlarge the arena, to provide a dance floor, a stage area, additional parking, adequate concession areas, more permanent restroom facilities. Little by little, a rodeo entertainment area came into existence.
With growth, the Saddle Club became the Ladonia Rodeo Association. In January 1987, the Association began their most ambitious project to date. Under the project leadership of Wayne Bullock and Berry Burnett, they began disassembling the old arena, chutes, and stands, and started welding new steel arena, chutes, and much enlarged stands on both sides of the new arena. By working after their regular jobs from 5 pm to 11 pm most nights, a new facility was ready in time for the Ladonia Rodeo in July. With the addition of sponsors, the annual event has taken on a fair-type atmosphere.
As a corollary to the first rodeo in 1965, a group of the town’s merchants thought they could contribute to the fanfare by holding a Frontier Days Celebration to support the rodeo group. The first year attracted a good crowd as women dressed in Frontier dresses, and many of the men grew beards. Mrs. Pauline Marcom headed up the dress movement for the women from her command point at Marcom Drug Store. Thurman Young Barbershop handled the shaving permit sales for men while Jewel’s Beauty Shop sold make up permits for women.
