Three Uinta County cowboys to be honored Saturday

Posted 7/21/17

Martins, Peterson to be honored

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Three Uinta County cowboys to be honored Saturday

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The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame is now in its fourth year, and four men have been selected as 2017 inductees in District 9 (Uinta County and part of Lincoln County). The Uinta County honorees are William “Bill” Martin of Hilliard, Howard Peterson of Evanston and Lewis “Jr.” Martin of Hilliard and Fort Bridger/Milburne. The Lincoln County inductee is Walter C. “Buster” McIlvain. 

These men are among 46 cowboys and cowgirls selected from across the state by the WCHF for 2017. 

The three men from Uinta County will be honored at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, at the Bridger Valley Pioneer Days rodeo in Lyman. The announcement will be made just prior to the rodeo start time, and family and friends are encouraged to attend and share in the recognition of the honorees. 

The actual induction ceremony will be held on Sept. 24 at the Casper Events Center in Casper. Family and friends are again encouraged to attend and share in the recognition of the honorees. 

These Uinta County men join earlier inductees, including Jack Hickey in 2014; George Hereford, Glen Wadsworth and Martin Aimone in 2015; and last year’s honorees, Rob R. Hamilton and Eugene Hickey. 

The Wyoming Hall of Fame is about honoring a culture of traditions and values and the cowboys throughout the West who have preserved the culture and heritage of those first cowboys who worked the American land. The mission of the WCHF is “to preserve, promote, perpetuate, publish and document Wyoming’s rich working cowboy and ranching history through researching, profiling and honoring individuals who broke the first trails and introduced that culture to this state. 

“We celebrate the cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American west. The cowboy’s love of the land and love of the country are examples for all Americans.” (“National Day of the Cowboy, Bridger Valley Pioneer, July 24, 2015)

Lewis “Jr.” Martin

Jr. Martin, 1920-2013, grew up on a ranch in Hilliard, developing a love of horses, ranching, rodeo, hunting and working in the mountains. After serving as a Marine and marrying Virginia Perkins, he homesteaded and ranched at Heart Mountain in 1946 until he purchased a ranch near Fort Bridger. 

Jr. spent his life in the saddle and was recognized for his persistence, dedication and commitment to improving his ranching operation. He was a long-time competitor in the rodeo arena and supported rodeo from junior to pro levels. He rode horses and roped until losing the battle with cancer at age 93. He was loved and respected by many and inspired others to also live these characteristics and values. This man was cowboy through and through, loving the western way of life and displaying the character of a true cowboy.

Howard Peterson

Howard Peterson, 1924-2011, began life on the family ranch and farm in Glenwood, Utah. He covered that country doing whatever jobs could be done on horseback. 

After serving in the Navy in WWII as a gunner where he was severely wounded, Howard spent months relearning how to walk and then found greater mobility as he returned to the back of a horse. 

He and his young wife, Beverly Morrell, lived in tents in the Utah desert breaking horses for a living and riding them to town many miles for supplies. Their second home was a sheep camp. 

Howard’s rodeo career included riding bareback and saddle broncs, competing in the Cow Palace in San Francisco and in the National Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

In 1951, the Petersons moved south of Evanston to work the Morrell Ranch. He sold brahma bulls to longtime friend Swanny Kirby, as well as horses Howard couldn’t ride, for bucking with the Bar T Rodeo. One horse named Hilliard Flat became a well-known national finals bronc. Howard loved rodeo and competed and supported rodeo throughout his life. He won numerous awards in cow cutting competitions. 

He was a 4-H leader and Wyoming State Brand inspector for many years. 

Howard loved the work and joy felt in a good day’s ride. He exemplified the life of a cowboy — living, breathing and living it in the old-style cowboy way. 

Bill Martin

Bill Martin, 1941-2015, was raised on the family ranch in Hilliard. He was in the saddle at a very young age, not recalling when he did not know how to ride. He loved riding and ranching and, after wrestling in college and earning a degree in animal science and husbandry, he and his wife, Kathleen Faddis, purchased the family ranch and pursued his dream. Bill continued to study and learn improved techniques for raising and training horses, improving cattle breeding and ranch management skills. 

Bill was a gifted horseman and respected for his quiet, accomplished way of bringing a horse to its true potential. His time in the saddle, 70-plus years, was the epitome of a true cowboy: hardworking, determined, neighborly and honest. He loved life best with a good horse between his knees.