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Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe

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Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe

Birth	:	1902
Death	:	1990
Burial	:	Medicine Creek Cemetery, Presho, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate	:	43.9053001, -100.0952988
Description	:	OBITUARY Ole "Whitey" Hilmoe Ole "Whitey" Hilmoe 88 of Reliance, died Saturday in the Mid-Dakota Hospital of Chamberlain. Funeral Services will be Tuesday at 2 PM in the American Lutheran Church of Presho with Rev. Paul Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in the Medicine Creek Cemetery west of Presho. Visitation is Monday from 4-8 PM in the Hofmeister Funeral Chapel of Presho. Ole “Whitey” Hilmoe was born on November 19, 1902 at Presho, SD to Gilbert and Christine (Christensen) Hilmoe. He grew up in the Presho area and attended the Hilmoe country school. After graduation from Presho High School, Whitey attended Augustana College... Read More	OBITUARY Ole "Whitey" Hilmoe Ole "Whitey" Hilmoe 88 of Reliance, died Saturday in the Mid-Dakota Hospital of Chamberlain. Funeral Services will be Tuesday at 2 PM in the American Lutheran Church of Presho with Rev. Paul Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in the Medicine Creek Cemetery west of Presho. Visitation is Monday from 4-8 PM in the Hofmeister Funeral Chapel of Presho. Ole “Whitey” Hilmoe was born on November 19, 1902 at Presho, SD to Gilbert and Christine (Christensen) Hilmoe. He grew up in the Presho area and attended the Hilmoe country school. After graduation from Presho High School, Whitey attended Augustana College for one year. Following college, Whitey worked the rodeo circuit for 20 years and then returned to the Lyman County area. He worked on various ranches in Lyman, Jones, Stanley and Mellette counties. On September 24, 1940, Whitey was married to Lola Clapper in Rushville, NE. They were very proud to have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past September. Whitey is survived by his wife Lola and a sister Eliza Hayes of Sioux Falls, SD. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and a sister. IN LOVING MEMORY OLE 'WHITEY' Hilmoe November 19, 1902 - December 8, 1990 SERVICES Tuesday, December 11, 1990 - 2:00 PM Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Presho, South Dakota Reverend Paul Johnson.- Officiating MUSIC "Amazing Grace" "Beyond The Sunset" Men's Chorus Arlene Ambur - Organist CASKET BEARERS Richard Reuer - Blaine Kenobbie - Robert Gregg Glenn Larson - Jerry Kistler - Harlan Schelske REGISTER & MEMORIALS Margaret Juhnke USHERS Donald Diehm - Ken Reumann INTERMENT Medicine Creek Cemetery Presho, South Dakota Whitey Hilmoe recalls early saddle tramp days Rodeo today is a complex, serious, professional sport, it has changed much from its original state -- arenas built for the intention of a rodeo, prize money that totals thousands of dollars each weekend and custom made horse trailers. However, some things have not changed – living from one check to the next, helping fellow contestants and traveling hundreds of miles, in one rodeo season. Few people are alive today that remember how professional rodeo started, the roots it grew from and the people that assisted its birth. Whitey Hilmoe, 84, Reliance, is one of the saddle tramps that watched rodeo develop from its first faint glimmers on the ranges of the North American ranches. Hilmoe's father died when Whitey was 14. He went to work as a ranch hand to support himself. Hiring on as a saddle tramp meant breaking and riding horses sometimes 18 hours a day. The horses were broke to ride and then sold to either the United States Cavalry or farmers and ranchers. Horses 16 hands or taller were the most desirable and the Cavalry was willing to pay top money for them. The remainder were sold to farmers as work horses or ranchers as saddle ponies. All of this riding and trailing turned out some of the best horsemen this country had ever seen. Saddle tramps began showing their riding skills to weekend crowds. They rode horses furnished by area ranches which later became the country's first stock contractors. When Hilmoe first hit the circuit he had a new 1916 Model-T. He was one of the fortunate cowboys to have a car and maybe the only one with a new car. In 1925 at the Chamberlain Bridge opening, Hilmoe did some of his first professional riding. He won a check for $5 in the bareback riding and $10 in the saddle bronc riding. That same year the first professional rodeo cowboys association was formed, The Turtles. The Turtles later became the Rodeo Cowboys of America and today are known as the PRCA, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. After the association was formed rodeos popped up by the dozens all over the nation. The three original "King Pens" in South Dakota were in Rapid City, Belle Fourche and White River. Hilmoe followed the circuit 12 months of the year. He rodeoed in 47 states, all states except California, Hawaii and Alaska. Some of the big shows led him to Madison Square Gardens, Chicago, the Rio Grande Valley and Ft. Worth, Texas. Hilmoe lived off the checks that he won competing in the saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, calf roping and steer wrestling. He also worked for stock contractors driving horses between shows. Before the railroad the only way to transport stock was to drive them to the next rodeo. Even after the railroad, driving them was more economical. Hilmoe rodeoed on the professional circuit for about 20 years. He said he loved the comradery of his fellow saddle tramps -- he; never knew a more considerate group of people. When it was time to leave for the next rodeo, the cowboys made sure everyone had enough gas in their car to get to the next rodeo and a little cash to eat on. “We always took care of our own," Hilmoe said. Expenses consisted of food, motel, gas and entry fees. Most traveled in groups of two or three cowboys. "When someone had money, we all had money," Hilmoe said. Hilmoe worked as a ranch hand off and on at various ranches. One job near Wood, lasted five years. His job was to help break nearly 700 horses. He was paid $5 per horse and $20 per month. Life was not glamorous. A saddle tramp had two Levi Strauss suits -- he wore one suit while the other was at the laundry which was taken care of by the motels they roomed in at night. Hilmoe said in the cities the cowboys did their best to disguise themselves because "all of the city girls wanted to get their hands on a real cowboy." After the rodeo performance they slipped into shoes and caps to go out on the town for entertainment. Hilmoe set his eyes on a ranch girl that could "sit a horse and knew ranching" as a real business and way of life, Lola and he were married in 1939 when he was in his 30s. Marrying later in life was not as common then but Hilmoe knew the rodeo circuit was no place for a wife and children. The couple followed the local circuit for a couple of years and then hired on to ranches as part of a haying crew. They retired in 1979 and now live in Reliance – close to their families’ homesteads near Presho and White River. Hilmoe’s grandfather homesteaded near Presho in 1890. Hilmoe’s days of competing are gone but he has countless memories of his years on the circuit. One of his favorite is the best horse he ever rode, Tip Top. Hilmoe said he was the horse that took cowboys to the pay window if they could stay on top of him which was not often. Hilmoe said the credit for the formation of the association goes to the stock contractors because of their organization and assertiveness. The saddle tramps merely followed the rodeos. Rodeo has changed much since those first exhibition rides in the hills and on the plains of the Midwest. Hilmoe saw many changes come and the improvements meant betterment of the association. Hilmoe enjoys being a spectator at area rodeos during the summer and comparing them to the earlier rodeos. He is currently searching for some of his travel partners. He hopes to contact them to see what they did with their lives and what made them stop rodeoing. Hilmoe’s saddle tramp friends would find it hard it hard to believe Whitey quit rodeoing. Wayne Barber, one of his travel partners might go as far as to say, “Wouldn’t that jest kill yer ‘ol soul?”

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe's memorial?
Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe's memorial is located at: Medicine Creek Cemetery, Presho, Lyman County, USA.
When did Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe death?
Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe death on 1990 in
Where are the coordinates of the Ole Clarence “Whitey” Hilmoe's memorial?
Latitude: 43.9053001
Longitude: -100.0952988

Family Members:

Parent

Gudmond "Gilbert" Hilmoe

(1865 - 1916)

Christiana "Christine" Christensen Lubean

(1875 - 1954)

Spouse

Lola Pearl Hilmoe

(1916 - 2002)

Siblings

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Medicine Creek Cemetery
Presho, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9053001, -100.0952988

2. Presho Cemetery
Presho, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9108658, -100.0631256

3. Holy Angels Cemetery
Presho, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.8911018, -100.0643997

4. Vivian Cemetery
Vivian, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9233017, -100.2652969

5. Earling Cemetery
Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9206009, -99.9143982

6. Hilmoe Cemetery
Presho, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.7510986, -100.1793976

7. Prairie View Cemetery
Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.7891998, -99.9032974

8. Saint Michaels Cemetery
Kennebec, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9057999, -99.8431015

9. Kennebec Cemetery
Kennebec, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9047012, -99.8427963

10. Hillsdale Cemetery
Kennebec, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9056015, -99.8424988

11. Vera Cemetery
Draper, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 43.8504130, -100.3753260

12. Holy Faith Cemetery
Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 44.1356010, -99.9878006

13. Saint Catherine Cemetery
Wood, Mellette County, USA
Coordinate: 43.6666370, -100.2805800

14. Saint Georges Cemetery
Badnation, Mellette County, USA
Coordinate: 43.6633000, -100.2917000

15. Rosebud Cemetery
Mellette County, USA
Coordinate: 43.6632996, -100.2917023

16. Trinity Cemetery
Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.8513985, -99.6860962

17. Red Hill Cemetery
Hamill, Tripp County, USA
Coordinate: 43.7066994, -99.7830963

18. Huffunugs Cemetery
Reliance, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.8254500, -99.6836800

19. Messiah Episcopal Cemetery
Lower Brule, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 44.1011800, -99.7380800

20. Draper Cemetery
Draper, Jones County, USA
Coordinate: 43.9322014, -100.5475006

21. Ascension Cemetery
Canning, Hughes County, USA
Coordinate: 44.1523700, -99.7927100

22. Rattlesnake Hill Cemetery
Badnation, Mellette County, USA
Coordinate: 43.6620120, -100.4439850

23. Koenig Cemetery
Ideal, Tripp County, USA
Coordinate: 43.6367000, -99.7786200

24. Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery
Reliance, Lyman County, USA
Coordinate: 43.8931007, -99.6046982