Richard was a man who liked horses and when the First World War broke out there were about three hundred Clydesdale horses on the ranch. A horse in those days never had a rope on him until he was four years old. A hurry-up call for horses for the cavalry made a considerable lot of work. It was often marvelled at how these wild horses tamed down when taken off their home range and put in a military camp.
Thanks to Donna Jordan Orr who has become a member of CHAPS and gotten involved in research by scanning this article from More Big Hill Country on Irene and Clarence Copithorne. Clarence was the youngest son of Richard and Sophia Georgina (Wills) Copithorne and was born on November 12, 1920 in the little brick hospital … Read more
by Belle and Allan Hall Clarence Copithorne was the youngest son of Richard and Sophia Copithorne. Clarence was born in the little brick hospital in Cochrane on Nov. 12, 1920. He received some education at the Little Jumping Pound School, then attending Olds Agricultural School for three years, graduating with a diploma in agriculture. Clarence’s … Read more
Aileen Copithorne talks about the freedom experienced growing up in Cochrane. CHAPS Cochrane has a YouTube Channel with over 40 interesting stories of Cochrane. Aileen Davies grew up in Cochrane in the home that is now the Cochrane Historical Museum. She has many stories of growing up in a small town. She tells a story … Read more
The school was heated with wood in a round barrel stove, light at night came from a coal oil lamp and the teacher lived with the family of one of the students while being paid the handsome sum of $600 for the year.
As teenagers, Norman and his brothers Ollie and Wilbert joined Sykes Robinson and other boys of the district to develop their rodeo skills on the neighbour’s steers, horses or even milk cows. The furious owners occasionally caught them snubbing-up an otherwise tame wheel horse.
Vern and his brothers were very musical. In 1953 they started their own Country and Western Band which consisted of Vern, Ray, Gordon, Al McMahon and Fred Steinmetz at the beginning with Ted Westerson joining the Lambert Brothers later on.
Our bus driver was Mr. Eddie Rowe. He liked his chewing tobacco and carried a spittoon on the bus, which he never seemed to hit.
At this time, Slim Fenton started practicing with his horses to use on a chuckwagon. Slim asked Chet and I to help him. We were outriders for Slim for several years, participating in the Calgary Stampede, and different rodeos throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan.
I have watched Cochrane grow into the large town it is today, and I am sure it will retain a great deal of its character through the many changes.
