Imagine a toothache so excruciatinglypainful that you’d wrap a wire around it

and yank it out yourself by stepping off atrunk. That’s what pioneer Evelyn Camerondid. Isolated on a Montana ranch in the1890s with no doctor nearby, she handledthe problem herself. Then aftertriumphantly showing her husband theoffending tooth, Cameron cheerfully wentabout her business and cooked breakfast.

Tough, resourceful, hard-working andhigh-spirited, Cameron exemplifies theextraordinary character of a true Americancowgirl who — over and over again throughthe generations — has overcome adversityand shunned convention in order to live lifeher way.

Cameron, sharpshooter Annie Oakley,author Laura Ingalls Wilder, singer PatsyCline and rancher Minnie Lou Bradley (thefirst female president of the American Angus

@Above: Flags fly at the museum, locatedin Fort Worth, Texas.

@Right: “High Desert Princess”— a lifesizebronze sculpture by artist Mehl Lawson —stands near the museum’s front entrance.

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The Cowgirl WayThe National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors

hard-working, high-spirited cowgirls.Story & photos by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers

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Association) are among hundreds oftrailblazing women — both pioneer andcontemporary — you’ll learn about at theNational Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Famein Fort Worth, Texas. Film presentations,interactive exhibits, and scores of artifactsand photographs document the lives andaccomplishments of these remarkablewomen who have helped shape the AmericanWest through the years.

Defying conventionIt was long after her death in 1928 before

Cameron became known as an accomplishedphotographer. She taught herself the skillwhen her husband’s horse business began toflounder. Using a mail-order 5×7 Graflex,Cameron sold the pictures she snapped ofneighbors, cowboys, animals and landscapes.Those 1,800-plus photos, along with 35volumes of diaries she penned, tell about lifeon the rugged Montana frontier.

Practical-minded and stubborn, too,Cameron defied local protocol and oftenwore a split riding skirt so she could ride herhorse “clothespin” style. Even though abuttoned-up front panel turned the wide-legged pant into a dress, Cameron still gotinto trouble whenever she wore it in public.

“So great at first was the prejudice againstany divided garment in Montana,” she wrote,“that a warning was given me to abstain fromriding on the streets of Miles City lest I mightbe arrested!”

A heavy canvas skirt, much like oneCameron wore on the Montana frontier,hangs in one of many exhibits at the 33,000-square-foot (sq. ft.) facility, located in FortWorth’s Cultural District. The museum firstopened in 1975 as the National Cowgirl Hallof Fame in the basement of a library inHereford, Texas. The late Margaret Formby, a1994 Hall of Fame inductee who directed themuseum for many years, expanded it toinclude a Western Heritage Center andresearch library. In 1994, the museum movedto Fort Worth, where planning began for apermanent location. In June 2002, themuseum moved a final time into its new $21-million home.

Cowgirl spirit on displayArchitecturally, the two-story National

Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame reflectsthe bold modern-style design of the nearbyWill Rogers Memorial Center, built in 1936.Exterior walls, constructed of brick and caststone, memorialize the cowgirl story througha series of hand-carved cast relief panels.Terra-cotta finials painted in brilliant hues ofred, blue and green form wild-rose motifs, asymbol of a cowgirl’s beautiful yet resilientcharacter. Wild rose bushes are also plantedin beds around the building.

Near the front entrance, the “High DesertPrincess” — a life-size bronze sculpture byartist Mehl Lawson — captures a cowgirlleaning gracefully against her horse andgazing contemplatively into the distance.

Emblazoned across a wall on themuseum’s east side is a dramatic trompel’oeil (trick of the eye) mural by RichardHaas of New York City. The painting shows

@Above: The five cowgirlsin artist Richard Haas’trompe l’oeil mural seemto be galloping off the mu-seum’s east side wall.

@Below: This is one of thehand-carved cast reliefpanels on the museum’sexterior walls.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 388

Minnie Lou Bradley: Angus cowgirlWhen the phone rang last July, Minnie Lou Bradley was eating lunch and taking a

break from the stifling heat. She and her crew had been hard at work all morning, movingcattle, trying to find grass on her family’s drought-stricken ranch near Memphis, Texas.

“I plumb near fell off my chair when I heard the news!” Bradley recalls. “The lady saidthe judges had made their selections for the 2006 inductees and that I was one ofthem.”

Every year, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame names four or fiveoutstanding women who exemplify the pioneer spirit of the American West. To date, the

prestigious list honors 181outstanding women who haveaffected the Western way of life intheir own special way.

Bradley, for instance, was the firstfemale to earn a degree in animalhusbandry from Oklahoma StateUniversity, the first female member ofthe Intercollegiate Livestock JudgingTeam, and the first female presidentof the American Angus Association.

“Minnie Lou paved a way for youngwomen to enter into the arena oflivestock breeding and managementprograms,” her Hall of Famebiography reads. “She ... isconsidered a leader in the beefindustry.”

Being named to the NationalCowgirl Hall of Fame surprisedBradley.

“I’ve had my dreams and goals, butreceiving this honor was never in the back of my mind,” she says. “Yes, I’m a cowgirl inthe sense of being a cow person, but I’m not a singer, a writer or a rodeo star. So I wasvery honored that they’d pick someone who’s been in the cattle business all her life.”

Other 2006 Hall of Fame inductees:@Suffrage leader Esther Hobart Morris (1814-1902)

@Champion bronc rider Bonnie McCarroll (1897-1929)

@Barrel racer Sharon Camarillo

@ Hawaiian horsewoman Rose Cambra Freitas

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five cowgirls galloping at high speed onhorseback, seemingly off the wall and right atyou.

Inside the museum, a volunteer at theinformation desk smiles in welcome. Thenyou’re standing beneath a grand 45-ft.-highdomed rotunda, the museum’s light-filledfocal point and exhibit area for the Hall ofFame. In the center, a large bronze sculpturepays tribute to Sacagawea, the ShoshoneIndian woman who guided Lewis and Clarkinto the Louisiana Purchase territories.

Look up, and you’ll see 12 large “lifetiles”created by optical artist Rufus Butler Seder.

These glass-tiled “Movies for the Wall” slowlytransform into different images as you walkbeneath them: Artist Georgia O’Keeffeappears young, then older. Movie stunt riderAlice Van Springsteen and her horse make adaring leap. A cowgirl on horseback ropes acalf.

Around the rotunda’s walls, the Spirit Trailshowcases the names of Hall of Fameinductees on etched-glass stars. You can learnmore about their individual lives via twohuge electronic touch-screen yearbooks builtinto the walls. To date, the hall honors 181distinguished women.

In the Spirit of the Cowgirl Theater, aneight-minute film introduces you to thecowgirl story. Sit back in a finely tooledleather seat, and listen as singer MichaelMartin Murphey narrates this presentation.Another short documentary tells about thecurrent year’s Hall of Fame inductees. Thenhead up one of two staircases to tour themuseum’s three exhibit galleries.

In the spotlightIn the “Claiming the Spotlight” area, you’ll

learn how cowgirls influenced our popculture, ranging from Western movies andtelevision shows, to popular music andadvertising. First, plunk down on a leatherbench (or a saddle seat) and enjoy “ReelCowgirls,” an eight-minute film aboutHollywood cowgirls narrated by actressKatharine Ross. A second brief film tells thestory behind Jessie the Cowgirl of Toy Story 2fame and how she came to receive the 2000Patsy Montana Entertainer Award.

You can sit on a stool at a diner-stylecounter, put on a pair of headphones, andlisten while Reba McEntire, the Dixie Chicksor Emmylou Harris croons a tune from atabletop jukebox. Turn the dial on a 1950sZenith television, and watch clips of cowgirlsfrom vintage TV programs, such as DaleEvans in “The Roy Rogers Show” andBarbara Stanwyck in “The Big Valley.” Be astar, too, when you strike a pose in front of adigital camera for your own movie poster,available for purchase in the gift shop.

A “Kinship with the Land” galleryshowcases true cowgirls who share commonbonds — they connect spiritually to the land,they don’t mind hard work and they loveanimals. In this gallery, videos and exhibitsbring those bonds to life.

Sit on a bench, and watch a sweepingpanoramic film, “Closer to the Land,” thatfollows women ranchers as they work theirland from dawn to dusk. In an adjacentexhibit, snapshots taken by ranchers showeveryday life on their land and in theirhomes: ranch dogs riding in pickups, menloading bales of hay, kids milking cows, cattlegrazing in the snow, a woman cooking and agirl playing the piano. For this display, themuseum sent disposable cameras to ranchersacross the country.

Into the arenaThrough the years, cowgirls have

performed in traveling shows, rodeos andhorse races. The “Into the Arena” gallerytraces the history of those professions alongwith famous cowgirls like “Sure Shot” AnnieOakley who thrilled audiences in the 1880s,

If you go ...The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located at 1720 Gendy St. in the Fort

Worth Cultural District. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Fridayand Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission is $8, $7 for those age 60 and older, $7 for those ages 3-12, and free forvisitors age 2 and under. A discount coupon can be printed out from the museum’s web

site. Tickets also include admission to the Fort WorthMuseum, and Science and History hands-on exhibits.

Visitors may request an audio tour via thecomplimentary use of X-Plorer MP3 players andheadphones. The 77-minute tour (available inSpanish, too) features the voices of narrator MichaelMartin Murphey and Hall of Fame members, such asentertainer Dale Evans, trick rider Mitzi Lucas Riley,and Associate Supreme Court Justice Sandra DayO’Connor.

For more information call (817) 336-4475 or 1-800-476-3263, or visit www.cowgirl.net.

@Left: Western saddles are some of the many artifactsfound at the museum.

@Julie McMahon French (left) and Heather Lichtie stand on either side of Minnie Lou Bradley aftershe was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

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trick rider Tillie Baldwin and bull riderJonnie Jonckowski.

At a downscaled arena of sorts, watch achoreographed video, “Greatest Rides,” thatreplays Tad Lucas trick-riding at theDeadwood rodeo and jockey Julie Kronewinning the Belmont Stakes. Other exhibitsexamine cowgirl attire, ranging fromflamboyant costumes to Western hats, bootsand buckles.

For fun, climb on the “Bucking Bronc”

and hold on while the mechanical horse“bucks” rather slowly. Wait a moment, andlaugh when you watch yourself perform as acrowd of rodeo fans cheer behind you (takeyour ticket, and later download your videofrom the museum’s web site).

Downstairs, any kids in your crowd willenjoy some time in the “Discovery Corral,” achildren’s corner that features a chuckwagon, teepee, cowboy gear to wear andother activities.

Finally, stop by the museum’s gift shopand browse; you’ll find a huge selection ofcowgirl-related books, jewelry, clothing, toysand more. Look up to see a whimsical statueof Mamie Hafley, sitting astride her whitehorse as they dive off together from a 50-ft.-high platform into a barrel of water. The pairperformed that astonishing feat a mere 628times from 1908 to 1917.

Daring and amazing — that’s a cowgirl foryou!

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