Big Hill Country (1977) page 533
William Jasper (Jappy) Rodgers was born in March 1896, at the General Hospital in Calgary. He grew up on a ranch six miles west of Okotoks. His father, James, came from Ireland and was a great horseman. After coming to Canada, he returned to Ireland to be married. He and his bride, the former Maud Pinkerton, then came to make their home in the Okotoks area.
Jappy joined the Lord Strathcona’s Horse Regiment in Calgary in 1918. In a short time he was in the remount department, handling horses the Russians had bought and wanted trained.
Shortly after joining the Army, he met an old girlfriend, Lulu Hamilton, from Okotoks. They were married in August 1918. That fall Jappy was stationed in Vancouver, looking after horses that were en-route to Russia. While he was there Armistice was signed. He stayed in Vancouver that winter, looking after the horses. In the spring they were sold by public auction, some of them coming back to Calgary. Jappy was out of the Army and returned to his wife, who had spent the winter in Calgary living with her sister.
In 1919 Jappy was hired by a Government agency that wanted an expert horseman to handle horses at the Calgary Stockyards. His duty was to match and train teams for the Soldier Settlement Board. About 30 horses would be brought in every few weeks; most of them had been former artillery horses. While working there he met Captain T. B. Jenkinson, an Englishman, who was shipping polo ponies to Spokane. Jappy sold him his pony, which he had been riding at the Stockyards. Later in the year, when his job was over, he was hired by Layzell and Durno. A month later Capt. Jenkinson approached him, saying that he needed help at his ranch on the Dog Pound Creek. Jenkinson had bought the ranch from Barton French, who had installed running water and electricity in the house, and many other extras which were rarities in those days. In the fall of 1919, Jappy went to work for Jenkinson. His wife joined him after Christmas.
He worked for T. B. Jenkinson at the Virginia Ranch for nine years. While there he received a good education in handling horses, and training polo ponies. A highlight was when he was sent to California with horses, caring for them on the way down. He spent the winter playing polo at Coronado Beach in San Diego. In the spring the polo ponies were sold, with the exception of two, which Jenkinson traded for a sports car. He drove as far as Portland, Oregon, then sold the car to a friend, and he and Jappy returned to Calgary on the train. There were other trips with polo ponies, to Sheridan, Wyoming, Vancouver and Toronto.
The Rodgers’ children were born at the Virginia Ranch. Kathleen was born August 24, 1922, Patricia on July 25, 1925, and Douglas on January 29, 1928. Douglas was six weeks old when the family moved to the NW 114 4-29-4-5, which Jappy had purchased. It had been the homestead of George Shand Sr., and in later years it had been sold to Fairman’s by the Soldier Settlement Board. Jappy bought cattle and machinery, and he trained horses that were readily sold due to excellent contacts in the horse business. They also milked cows, and Mrs. Rodgers was a good gardener. ‘
The children attended Mount Hope School. Kathleen married Ramsay Parsons, a water well driller. They reside in Calgary and have two sons, Rodger and Ronald. Patricia (Patsy) finished her schooling at Olds, took a commercial course, and worked in Calgary. In 1946 Patsy was chosen as Miss Rodeo Calgary. She is married to Robert Henderson, and they live in Vancouver. Her two sons, James and Douglas Mitchell, live in Calgary. Douglas married Margaret (Peggy) Croft. They have two children, Donna and Ronald. Doug and Peggy live on the home place, where they farm. Both are affiliated with the Foothills Cowboy Association, Doug as a director and Peggy as an assistant secretary and timekeeper.
Both Jappy and his wife were affiliated with the Dog Pound Stampede for many years. Jappy still rode his horse and helped in the arena at the 1975 Stampede. Mrs. Rodgers was a very active member of the Bottrell Busy Beavers Club. She passed away on March 25, 1956, and is buried in Queen’s Park Cemetery, Calgary. Jappy has retired and lives in a trailer beside Doug and Peggy’s home.
Miss Rodeo Calgary
Daughter of Mr. W. J. Rodgers and the late Mrs. Rodgers – Patsy, who was christened Patricia, is a descendant of two noted pioneer families, the Rodgers and the Hamiltons, who, as early settlers, came into Southern Alberta in the late 1800s. Her father, better known as “Jappy”, is a noted horseman and now a retired rancher. Patsy was born on Jenkinson’s Virginia Polo Ranch north of Cochrane and later moved with her parents to a ranch near Bottrell. She rode her pony to a country school and was her father’s shadow on horseback during a time out from classes. Being brought up in a ranching atmosphere gave her a natural love for horses and rodeo.
Honoured in 1946 by the late Jack Dillon of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede Board, Patsy was chosen as Miss Rodeo Calgary and was Calgary’s representative to ride in the Madison Square Gardens Rodeo in New York City, and at the Manger Gardens Rodeo in Boston, Massachusetts. There, under the sponsorship of the late Everett Colburn and the Gene Autry Rodeo production, Patsy was accompanied by five Rodeo Queens from the various Southern States, whose duties were, to ride in with their country’s flag at each grand entry and carry it in the downtown parades. They also made guest appearances on television and radio programs, toured Military and Children’s Hospitals and attended many sports and social events.
Now residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Patsy and her husband, Robert Henderson, frequently visit Patsy’s two sons, James and Douglas, in Calgary, and her father who is still living in the Bottrel area.
