GERRY — “That’s a crazy idea” was the response of many, when in 1944, Jack Cox, a new member of the recently formed Gerry Volunteer Fire Department, suggested a rodeo as a fund raiser for the department. Cox, a former working cowboy, who had moved to this area from the West to help build drone planes for the Navy at a factory near the Jamestown airport, was familiar with rodeos, and his enthusiasm convinced the department members to try his suggestion.

In a few short weeks, four acres of swampland was turned into an arena and parking lot, bleachers were borrowed from local schools, portable lights were rented, and the renowned Colonel Jim Eskew was hired as the stock contractor. He brought his stock in by railroad to the center of town where local residents herded them down Route 60 to the present rodeo site, and the first Gerry Rodeo was a reality.

Not only was that first year a success, but when the gates open this summer for four rodeo performances, July 31-Aug. 3, this event will celebrate 75 consecutive years of bringing professional rodeo to Western New York, making it the longest consecutively running rodeo east of the Mississippi.

The rodeo has been important in a number of ways, not only for the fire department, but also for the entire area. The most obvious benefit has been the revenue that this event produces for the operation of the fire department in their efforts to provide first-class emergency services and fire protection as they answer more than 250 calls each year, both in their local fire district and thorough mutual aid to neighboring fire departments. This rodeo is the only fund-raising event for the department and along with tax money from the town, has enabled the department to acquire and maintain modern and efficient vehicles and equipment.

Not only does the fire department benefit from the rodeo, but the event also gives a boost to the entire area. Last summer nearly 250 professional cowboys and cowgirls from 32 states came to Gerry to compete for $50,000 in prize money. Many of them bring a family. They spend money in restaurants and stores. They visit local attractions across the county and as far away as Niagara Falls. As a result, word spreads across the country about Chautauqua County and what it has to offer visitors. On three occasions, the Gerry Rodeo has been voted the “Cowboys Favorite Rodeo” by the contestants from all the rodeos in the 13 states that make up the First Frontier Rodeo Circuit, helping to prove the good impression that the rodeo has made for our area.

Another important, yet less tangible result of the rodeo, is the sense of community pride that 75 years of working together for a common goal has brought. Very few communities across the nation can look back on such a long history that has helped to produce the “family atmosphere” that exists in Gerry.

For nearly four generations, more than 150 volunteers have come together to make the rodeo possible, whether through washing dishes, serving barbecue dinners, parking, painting, ticket selling, and the other dozens of jobs that are necessary to produce this event, with some traditionally taking their vacations to volunteer. Many former residents come back from across the nation to join the “homecoming” each year and to renew friendships and share stories from years past. Perhaps this aspect of the rodeo is just as important as the finances, for it is something that doesn’t exist in many places in today’s world.

And so today that “crazy” idea that began 75 years ago is still going strong and providing Gerry and all of Western New York with a taste of the old West through professional rodeo competition and family entertainment.

Additional information about this summer’s rodeo, including a complete history of the event, is available on the rodeo website www.gerryrodeo.org or by phone at 716-985-4847 or 1-888-985-4847.