The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Fueled by unseasonably warm and beautiful weather last Saturday, volunteers from the Sisters Rodeo Association descended on the grounds to start preparing for the year's events. Most of the projects involve repairs and general maintenance; however, there is a new office for the secretary in the wind.

"We are going to increase the size of the building to accommodate the rodeo secretary. The rodeo secretary has been sequestered in the little office, and there is no room in there," said Bob (Bucky) Buckmann, work party director. "When this is finished, the contestants will be able to come in one door, sign up, do the paperwork and then exit the other door. There will be a nice counter there and room for everything."

A small aspen tree growing next to the building was on the hit list for the work crew. Not only is it in the way of the proposed addition of the new secretary's office, but it has also been causing some problems with the roof.

"These are beautiful trees, but they just don't belong next to a building," Buckmann said.

It has been a standing tradition that Chef Hans Teufl prepares the main course for the monthly meeting of the Sisters Rodeo Association, and the appetizers, salads and desserts are prepared by the members. His cuisine has proved so popular with the association that he has taken to preparing a lunch for the volunteer work crews that flock to the rodeo grounds each Saturday morning.

Everyone helps to restore the grounds back to the operational level necessary for the upcoming events. General maintenance and clean up were happening inside and out. Trees and shrubbery were being trimmed.

"We are doing all the girl tasks, trimming all the vegetation around the front door," said P. J. Turner. "We took down all the picture frames in the interior so the guys could do their work inside. We moved everything around for the upcoming wedding. I hope that these shrubs will start budding before then so they will look nice."

Work was proceeding everywhere.

"Actually, we are working very hard to get everything ready for the season," Buckmann said. "The first big event is the Small Farmers Journal Auction (April 20-22). Then, of course, we have the rodeo which will be in the first week of June. This year there will be a second rodeo that will be a rough stock rodeo that will be held in September. It is great that we have a couple of folks that are coming in here to use the grounds for events. This is an awesome place to hold events, and we are doing everything we can to make people comfortable here," Buckmann said.

The Sisters Rodeo is scheduled this year for June 8-10. Some sections are already sold out for a few of the events, and tickets sales continue to remain brisk. There is a plan to add additional seating so that more fans can attend the popular events, but a date has not yet been set for this addition. For more information about the rodeo or to purchase rodeo tickets, call 549-0121.