Thanks for the great story Bob Ottmar

It’s one of those things you put on the treasured possession list, like that bamboo fly rod your grandpa gave you that has long outlasted its usefulness. You just can’t seem to find the heart to throw it away, so there it sits, reminding you of better days, always brings a smile.

The instant smile on my desk at the office is a thank you card, blue in color, three suns in a row from top to bottom. Inside it reads, “Your kindness added a bright spot to my day.” It was sent in appreciation to a story I wrote on local rodeo fan Bob Ottmar. But the best part is Bob’s scribbled note inside that reads, “Thanks for a great … he struggled with the word 'article' and eventually crossed it out and replaced it with 'story.'”

Bob was one of the great rodeo storytellers around these parts and telling his story was one of the thrills of my career. I've always maintained, I want them reading my words and hearing your story.

Bob passed recently and though it saddens me. But I have personal history with Alzheimer’s with my dad, and we can only be grateful it wasn’t a long, drawn out descent.

It was time to go for an old rodeo cowboy that’d been to all 74 Moses Lake Roundups.

I had the pleasure, make that honor, to sit and listen to the rodeo stories of a man that used to photograph for the Rodeo Cowboy Association, before it was called the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He used to make custom saddles and tack, even did a little bareback and saddle bronc riding in his day.

Bob’s story is like no other I’d ever heard. He was born in June of 1943 and the very first Moses Lake Roundup was held later that year in September. His father George worked the chutes at the timed event end and brought his boy along, even though he was just three months at the time.

“My dad was involved in the very first rodeo and just sort of took me along. He went to every one from 1943 to 1959 and I just kept the family tradition going,” Bob told me then.

What started as a family tradition turned into the ride of a lifetime. Bob not only went to every Moses Lake Roundup from 1943 to 1959, he went to them all. Yep, all 74 in his lifetime.

I sat at his house and looked at the old black and white photographs he took along the rodeo trail. I could tell his memory was fading just a little bit. I knew it was important, a day to live and learn. Bob had seen some of the legendary cowboys. Six-time World All-Around Champion Larry Mahan put him on his first bareback horse.

“Larry was a pretty good friend. You get to where you see them all over the region, at Ellensburg or Pendleton. But almost all of the great cowboys came through here at one time or another,” he said. “I saw Chris LeDoux (world bareback champion and Emmy nominee).”

It was a day to remember and I shared my experience with long-time Moses Lake Roundup arena announcer Will Rasmussen, who is on the road over 150 days, traveling to rodeos around the country. Will reminded me how important our elders are and how important it is to learn the stories.

“We need more people like Bob that truly love our sport. He was a longtime rodeo photographer, so those images will live on forever. But the history he can provide on just this event alone. He has seen the evolution of rodeo go from ranch hand against ranch hand to a multi-million dollar industry. Men like Bob are a treasure,” said Rasmussen.

“Sometimes we need to shut our mouths and open our ears and listen to what they have to say. We can learn so much.”

I’m hoping the Moses Lake Roundup committee will take time to thank Bob and dedicate the 75th annual rodeo to the memory of a man that saw every rodeo, every event in its glorious history, dating back to a time when they used to bring the buckin’ horses in off the prairie.

And if you go the rodeo this year, you might take a gander over the seating section across the way between the timed event and bucking chutes and tip your hat to where Bob used to sit. To the place where he saw every rodeo since they moved it to the Grant County Fairgrounds.

Let me be the first to say, thank you for the great story Bob Ottmar.

If you would like to read that 2016 story about Bob Ottmar, visit http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/grantcountyfair/article_c95520c0-6896-11e6-ab45-8bbd694fd30a.html

Rodney Harwood is sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com