ly, well-known rodeo names such as "Tuff" Hedemann, Monty "Hawkeye" Henson, and local standout Jason Lahr have thrilled rodeo crowds as they participated in events such as roping, dogging, and riding broncs and bulls.The charm of the Flint Hills rodeo also lies in the many extra features that rodeo weekend offers. One of the most popular events is the Saturday morning rodeo parade, a practice which dates back to the early years. On of the first recorded parades, if not the first, can be traced to the year 1939; however, it was strongly promoted in 1944 by The Chase County Leader with the following call to the community.Get out that ten gallon hat, brush off those old chaps and shine your spurs and saddle up and be at the southwest corner of the C.C.C.H.S. grounds at 9:45 Saturday and get into the big parade opening the two days performance of the Flint Hills Rodeo. Or, if you are that old, get out the "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" because each rider or driver of a decorated vehicle will be given a ticket to the Saturday afternoon performance. To be eligible for the ticket you must be at the assembly point and stay with the parade until it completes its course. ("FlintParade")With such an enticing offer, it is a wonder that there were spectators at all that day. However, the parade in honor of the 50th anniversary drew huge crowds; it is estimated that 15,000 were on hand for that historic parade, including 103 year old Mabel Harris, a former resident of Cottonwood Falls who faithfully attended the Flint Hills Rodeo parade for many years (Birk and Harak).Another popular event of rodeo weekend is the annual dance, which had its beginning in the year 1941. During that year, two dances were held; the first took place on Friday evening at the Civic Auditorium in nearby Emporia, and the second at the municipal building in Cottonwood Falls on Saturday night ("FlintEnlarged"). A more recent addition to the weekend event is the Flint H...
