Chief Joseph Days celebrates 70 years of Western heritage

It’s been 70 years since Harley Tucker started the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo on the east moraine above Wallowa Lake. A local stock contractor, Tucker started the local event that attracted area ranchers who came to show their skills in riding, roping, and other contests that reflected the life of a working cowboy. Today, Chief Joseph Days draws top cowboys from around the country, competing in hopes of winning their way to the National Finals Rodeo. In a fitting tribute to Tucker, who died at the age of 57 of a heart attack, the queen for the 70th annual Chief Joseph Days is Addie Kilgore, the last of the Tucker great-granddaughters to serve on the court. Kilgore follows cousins Paige Bailey (queen 2008) and Kylie Willis (queen 2012) — also, their mothers all served on the rodeo court, as did their grandmother, Darlene Tucker Turner...more