Aaron "Duke" Pursley
Gordon Charles "Buck" Boyce
On August 16 the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame announced the ninth class of inductees into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame.
For those of us who live in Big Sandy, our district is District 4 which includes Blaine, Chouteau, Hill and Liberty Counties.
This year only two inductees were chosen from this district which is puzzling because two legacy inductees and one living inductee can be chosen from each district.
This year from District 4 were chosen the living award to Aaron "Duke" Pursley from Big Sandy and Gordon Charles "Buck" Boyce from Havre as the legacy award.
Here are their amazing stories. "The Mountaineer" is honored to honor these true Montana cowboys!
Montana Cowboy
HALL OF FAME
INDUCTEE
AARON "Duke" PURSLEY
2016 DISTRICT 4
NOMINATION
Cowboy, rancher, saddle bronc rider, artist, knife maker, gunsmith, husband, dad, Papa Duke, friend, partner and all-around good guy, Aaron "Duke" Pursley is a multi-faceted diamond in the rough. This man, who was born in his grandparents' home at the foothills of the Bear Paw Mountains, a short distance from Big Sandy, Montana, has a rare talent.
Duke was born in 1935 to James and Mildred (Rickert) Pursley. His dad had come to the area in 1928 from North Dakota and worked as a ranch hand and coal miner. Jim established his own ranch in the 1940s on Coalmine Road. The ranch included land purchased from Mildred's parents. Jim and Mildred ran cattle, had milk cows and horses, and raised hay, wheat and barley. Duke and his older brother, Allan, grew up with a respect for the land, the people, and the Code of the West.
From his youth, Duke loved the challenge of seemingly unrideable broncs and had passion for breaking horses. He entered his first rodeo in 1954, shortly after graduating from Big Sandy High School. He rode saddle bronc at the Havre, Montana, rodeo, performing quite well. Rodeo became Duke's way of life for the next 14 years. A flamboyant, stylish rider, he scored high on the rough stock of the day. While rodeoing, he also worked on the family ranch and dabbled in numerous artistic avenues. After a short stint of amateur rodeos, Duke gained a Professional Rodeo Circuit Association card and rode saddle broncs throughout the West and in Alberta, Canada. In summer 1955, Duke rode every night at West Yellowstone, performing for the summer tourists. In 1961, he won the Alberta, Canada, circuit and was on his way to qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo when a saddle bronc in Sidney, Iowa, fell with him and crushed his femur. He never exactly regained his carefree riding style but went down the road with the best of them for another seven years.
During his rodeo days, Duke married Dolly McNeill who was raised on the McNeill Ranch in the Bear Paws, 60 miles from Big Sandy. Dolly also graduated from Big Sandy High and, lucky for Duke, she had been to nursing school, was a great cook, and enjoyed traveling down the road to rodeos in a pickup and camper. They started their family during those years. Sons, Mike and Kip, and daughter, Julie, spent their early years traveling, too, learning from the rodeo family and watching their dad ride.
Duke retired from rodeo about the time Mike started school, and he worked full time with his dad. The Pursley's welcomed a third son, Ted, in 1970. That year, with the help of family and friends, the Pursley's built the log home they still live in today at the base of Mount Centennial on land that they purchased from Duke's uncle, Milton Pursley. The land and cattle kept Duke busy, but kids were expensive, so he added to the family income by trapping beaver, building fur caps, raising mink, and honing his talents.
Duke was blessed with artistic talents from both his parents. As a master engraver, Duke creates exquisite scroll and design work, animals, scenes and even portraits on pistols, knives, and rifles.
Duke began engraving when he was around 20. He had always been a gun enthusiast and intrigued with the beautiful engravings he saw on pistols. He could draw beautiful scrolls. His dad built him his first chasing hammer and gravers to engrave those scrolls. His tools have been refined since those days, but he remains resourceful.
He engraved a handful of pistols in those early years. In 1975, he was inspired by a custom knife maker/engraver to build and engrave his own style of pocket knives. The Great Falls Tribune of February 23, 1986, says, "within a few years he had gained master craftsman and artisan status. He was soon appearing in such prestigious events as the New York Knife Show, Anaheim Knife Show and Las Vegas Gun and Knife Show." He has created and engraved a couple hundred custom knives. Priscilla Presley and Peter Fonda are among his famous customers.
In the April 1991 issue of Gentleman's Quarterly, Stephen H. Foreman, wrote, "Pocket-size Treasure knife maker Aaron Pursley transforms an object of utility into a thing of grace. ... He marries exotic wood to fine metal, and he engraves lacy scroll work on the blade and the bolsters with Lilliputian tools."
Duke next created a rifle. In 1996, Duke and partner, Ron Otto, founded the Little Sharps Rifle Company to create a 20%-smaller version of the original Sharps rifle. The Lil' Reliable is manufactured in 11 different calibers, and Duke engraves each rifle.
Duke has always been generous with his gift, donating numerous original engraved
See Page 8: Cowboy pieces to be auctioned or raffled in fundraisers and mentoring beginning engravers, knife makers and children.
Duke, now in his 80s, continues to engrave. He gained master engraver status in the Firearms Engravers Guild of America, in the early 1990s, and the FEGA website says Duke is one of only 45 master engravers in the U.S. Duke has contributed to beauty in this world. When you receive something from an artist, you gain a piece of the artist's heart, soul and life. Duke's art is his life.
Sources:
FEGA
According to the Great Falls Tribune of February 23, 1986,
April 1991 issue of Gentleman's Quarterly, Stephen H. Foreman,
MCHF & WHC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE:
GORDON CHARLES "BUCK" BOYCE
YEAR OF NOMINATION: 2016
DISTRICT OF NOMINATION: 4
Gordon Charles "Buck" Boyce, or "Chub" as his family and friends called him, was born in Glasgow, Montana, on June 19, 1925, to Stephen Charles and Sadie (Haymaker) Boyce. He was the fourth oldest of nine children.
In 1936, Buck moved with his family to a ranch south of Havre, Montana, in the Bear Paw Mountains. At the young age of 11 you could always find Buck out riding the range and even breaking horses for his father. In his elementary years, Buck attended Eagle Rock Country School and then went on to attend high school in Havre for a couple of years.
Buck also had an unwavering passion for the rodeo life. His determination to succeed in the sport led him to build an arena and bucking chutes on the family ranch in order for him to practice his events. His persistent efforts to prosper in the arena paid off as he became incredibly successful at the sport.
Buck rodeoed from 1947 through 1958. He worked four events: saddle bronc, bull riding, bareback and bull dogging. Buck competed at every major rodeo including Houston, Fort Worth, Cheyenne and Pendleton. The highlight of his career was winning the "World Series Rodeo" bull riding in Madison Square Garden in 1950 and making top 10 in the all-around cowboy standings. His determination earned many rewards including winning the bull riding at the Calgary Stampede in 1955, as well as placing in the top 15 in the world standings for more than 10 consecutive years. Bucks success didn't stop there, however. In 1956, he was named Outstanding Cowboy at Range Rider Rodeo in Miles City, Montana, and also placed second that same year in the Brahma bull riding contest at the National Rodeo in Madison Square Garden.
During his rodeo career, Buck was married briefly and became the father to two sons, Ben and Jim. He later divorced and in 1956, married Valerie Webb at a rodeo in Camdenton, Missouri, in the presence of fellow performers. They established the Spanish Seven Ranch near Little Rock, Arkansas, where they raised registered Brahmas and a commercial herd. They also operated a veterinary and chemical supply company. He and Valerie remained happily married throughout the rest of Buck's lifetime.
While serving in 1952 as the bull riding director in the Rodeo Cowboys Association, which later became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Buck helped initiate an accident insurance program for members of the RCA. This was after one of his dear friends died in a hospital after treatment was refused because there wasn't any proof the bill could be paid. Buck was also an advocate in efforts to getting the horns of rodeo bulls "tipped", or dehorned, to avoid injury. He even gave the stock contractors a small list of bulls he did not want to see in Kansas City. Once there, he told them to draw the stock over which was unheard of at that time. That night, his buddies tipped the bulls he objected to, which prevented any possible injuries to the competitors.
After his rodeo career, he and Valarie retired and moved to Sumner, Texas. Buck passed away July 20, 2014, at the age of 89. His ashes were then brought back to the place where his story began, Havre, Montana. He was then laid to rest alongside his deceased family members.
"Each generation owes a debt to the earlier one, when the World War Two troops struggled home to a better rodeo environment. Thanks to the Turtles (Cowboy Turtle Association, forerunner to the PRCA) who risked all to improve rodeo. I hope that our generation has helped the working cowboy of today." - Gordon "Buck" Boyce
Reference and Source Directive for Use with MSHF & WHC Nominations
l. Interview Boyce, Robert. Handwritten for nomination. October 2014
2. Other Important information is: Fugitt, Brenda. Handwritten biography of Gordon Boyce in 2009.
Boyce, Valerie. Handwritten notes about her husband Gordon Boyce August 1986
Newspaper clippings saved by family members without dates or publication.
