N.D. Cowboy Hall of Fame earns national honor

The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame will be honored Thursday as the western museum of the year for 2010. The award, among the group’s American Cowboy Culture Awards, will be presented in Lubbock, Texas, at the 22nd annual National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration. Darrell Dorgan, executive director for the hall of fame, and Phil Baird, president, will be among North Dakota representatives on hand at the event. Dorgan said the nomination was somewhat of a surprise, coming from a visitor to the hall of fame’s center in Medora while researching a cattle trail running from Texas through Medora. “It’s one of those nice things that just happens,” Dorgan said. The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame joins an impressive list of past recipients of the award including the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. “This is a pretty healthy honor,” Dorgan said. “This puts us in a different league.” Dorgan said the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame differs from others in that displays and exhibits featured there are dedicated to telling the story and history of the state. “We tell the story of the plains horse culture,” he said, whether it relates to cowboys, American Indians, ranchers or former presidents of the United States...more