The Great Rodeo Roundup

If you grew up in a small town in Western Colorado in the mid 1960's, I guess you would understand that there is not a lot to do most of the time. There were opportunities. Craig did have a Movie Theater. It was called the 'West' Theater...though it was on the 'East' side of town.


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The theater was on the main drag (Highway 40),which was also called Victory Way. The theater is still there (above photo), just a lot older. It was a real treat to get to go to a movie, but it did not happen very often. Craig also had a Drive in out East of town...though I don't remember ever going to a movie there. Perhaps that was for the teenagers.

Craig had limited entertainment opportunities. A City Park. A theater. A brand new Bowling Alley. Lets see, what else.....Perhaps that's it. If you were an adult, you could go to the bar and drink, or go out and eat at the Cosgriff Hotel. If you were a sports fan, and the timing was right, you could go watch a High School Football game. And of course, catch a movie at the theater.

Other wise, save hunting and fishing, there was not a lot to do in Craig. I suppose, that is why the 'Ride and Tie Rodeo', was such a big deal when it rolled around each July. Of course, like most small towns, the County Fair was happening at the same time, and the town was bustling.

Well, for Andy and Clint, it was not so much about the Rodeo, as it was a money making opportunity. No, we didn't enter any of the Rodeo events. We had another strategy. You see, all those Cowboys and all those Cowgirls needed something to drink. And, they would go to one of the refreshment stands and buy a bottle of Coke or 7up and enjoy that nice cool drink. In the 60's, most soda was still sold in bottles and those bottles were good for a deposit. I'm not sure it it was 2 cents or a nickel, but every bottle was the same as money. And they were laying all over the place. It only made good sense to 'round them up' and cash them in. Thus began the Great Rodeo Roundup!

Andy and I went to every Rodeo, but we didn't really watch any rodeo action. We were very busy making the rounds in the corrals and chute areas. People would drink their soda, and set down the bottle. Andy or I would walk by and grab that empty bottle and it was money in the pocket. Well, eventually. We soon discovered that bottles were bigger and bulkier than money and we could only carry a few bottles at one time. We couldn't take them back to the concession stand because they would take the bottles, but they would not give us any money for them. So, we found a place to stash the bottle at the back of the fairgrounds. Out past the corrals, out past the parking area, out to our little hiding spot. There we would stow away our bottles until we could cash them in.

We were only in the 4th grade, so we didn't have a pick up truck to transport the bottles. So, after the rodeo, we would get our little wagon and fill it with as many bottle as it would hold and pull it to the liquor store to cash in our bounty. As an adult, I now feel sorry for the liquor store attendant. I can't imagine how many trips we must have made to cash in our bottle booty. The clerk would have to sort through the bottles, straighten the mess out, count them up, and give us our cash reward. And it was always that same Liquor store that we went to, because it was the closest place near the Fairgrounds that would accept pop bottles.

Here is the Liquor store as it looks today:


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It was not just the 'Ride and Tie' in July that aroused our interest in Rodeo's. We would go to every Tuesday Night Rodeo throughout the summer and collect those empty bottles. It was big business! I wish I knew how many bottles we collected. I'm not sure if I would be impressed with how many we collected or disappointed to see how few we actually collected. It sure seemed a lot to this little 4th grader.

Here is 'Rodeo Clint' at the 'Ride n Tie' Rodeo:


A cowboy in Tennis shoes...how sad!

Funny thing... I started collecting pop bottles as an adult. I wonder where that notion came from?