2002 Member of the
Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame
James Richard Akridge Sr
Birth 29 Apr 1898 in Red Falls, Bell, Texas, United States
Death 4 Nov 1976 in Beaver, Beaver, Oklahoma, United States
Mabel Elizabeth Patton
Birth 29 Dec 1900 in Goree, Knox, Texas, USA
Death 3 Mar 1968 in San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
------------------------
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES RICHARD "J R" AKRIDGE
COWBOY
13 JUN 1927 - 17 FEB 2002
born Megargel, Archer County, Texas
My HEROS Have Always Been Cowboys
........This poem was written by a nurse
who cared for J R after the rodeo accident
that severed his spine. She wrote it for
our special COWBOY and it is printed on
these pages in memory of J R AKRIDGE !
He could ride, boy, could he ride,
he was a straight shooter, he could
sing and pick the guitar
and he loved every day he spent in
the rodeo arenas of the West....!
------------------
Poem by Katherine Smith
HE'S OKLAHOMA
HE'S a COWBOY
HE'S MY FRIEND
He's as Oklahoma as the sun
that warms the Cimarron.
He's as cowboy as the man
who rides the saddled roan.
His life survived the dustbowl days,
His memory will not end !
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy, but mostly
He's my Friend.
I never saw him ride a bull
or rope a runnin' calf,
But I've heard him tell a winnin' tale
and listened to him laugh.
I never saw him set a horse
or tie the fastest knot,
But I've seen him grin a cowboy grin
and give hard times a shot.
I never saw him speed his horse
across a rodeo ring,
But I've seen him play his
big guitar and heard him pick and sing.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
While I was still in saddle shoes
and lived under Eastern skies,
I dreamed of cowboys like this man
who grins with crinkled eyes.
He rode the circuit in the days
when gas cost nineteen-nine.
He drove his truck from place to place,
Then moved on down the line.
He rode some broncs that threw him off
and some he stayed full time!
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
The day he was hurt
and they picked him up,
they knew he'd never mend,
But his cowboy heart pulled him through
and he lived to be my Friend.
Though his saddle now is a rollin' chair
that keeps him in one place,
You wouldn't know the pain he has
by lookin' at his face.
Oklahoma sunshine
beams from past his wide-tooth smile,
I know its been his cowboy heart
that's kept him all this while.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a cowboy,
He's my friend.
Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame
James Richard Akridge Sr
Birth 29 Apr 1898 in Red Falls, Bell, Texas, United States
Death 4 Nov 1976 in Beaver, Beaver, Oklahoma, United States
Mabel Elizabeth Patton
Birth 29 Dec 1900 in Goree, Knox, Texas, USA
Death 3 Mar 1968 in San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
------------------------
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES RICHARD "J R" AKRIDGE
COWBOY
13 JUN 1927 - 17 FEB 2002
born Megargel, Archer County, Texas
My HEROS Have Always Been Cowboys
........This poem was written by a nurse
who cared for J R after the rodeo accident
that severed his spine. She wrote it for
our special COWBOY and it is printed on
these pages in memory of J R AKRIDGE !
He could ride, boy, could he ride,
he was a straight shooter, he could
sing and pick the guitar
and he loved every day he spent in
the rodeo arenas of the West....!
------------------
Poem by Katherine Smith
HE'S OKLAHOMA
HE'S a COWBOY
HE'S MY FRIEND
He's as Oklahoma as the sun
that warms the Cimarron.
He's as cowboy as the man
who rides the saddled roan.
His life survived the dustbowl days,
His memory will not end !
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy, but mostly
He's my Friend.
I never saw him ride a bull
or rope a runnin' calf,
But I've heard him tell a winnin' tale
and listened to him laugh.
I never saw him set a horse
or tie the fastest knot,
But I've seen him grin a cowboy grin
and give hard times a shot.
I never saw him speed his horse
across a rodeo ring,
But I've seen him play his
big guitar and heard him pick and sing.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
While I was still in saddle shoes
and lived under Eastern skies,
I dreamed of cowboys like this man
who grins with crinkled eyes.
He rode the circuit in the days
when gas cost nineteen-nine.
He drove his truck from place to place,
Then moved on down the line.
He rode some broncs that threw him off
and some he stayed full time!
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
The day he was hurt
and they picked him up,
they knew he'd never mend,
But his cowboy heart pulled him through
and he lived to be my Friend.
Though his saddle now is a rollin' chair
that keeps him in one place,
You wouldn't know the pain he has
by lookin' at his face.
Oklahoma sunshine
beams from past his wide-tooth smile,
I know its been his cowboy heart
that's kept him all this while.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a cowboy,
He's my friend.
2002 Member of the
Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame
James Richard Akridge Sr
Birth 29 Apr 1898 in Red Falls, Bell, Texas, United States
Death 4 Nov 1976 in Beaver, Beaver, Oklahoma, United States
Mabel Elizabeth Patton
Birth 29 Dec 1900 in Goree, Knox, Texas, USA
Death 3 Mar 1968 in San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
------------------------
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES RICHARD "J R" AKRIDGE
COWBOY
13 JUN 1927 - 17 FEB 2002
born Megargel, Archer County, Texas
My HEROS Have Always Been Cowboys
........This poem was written by a nurse
who cared for J R after the rodeo accident
that severed his spine. She wrote it for
our special COWBOY and it is printed on
these pages in memory of J R AKRIDGE !
He could ride, boy, could he ride,
he was a straight shooter, he could
sing and pick the guitar
and he loved every day he spent in
the rodeo arenas of the West....!
------------------
Poem by Katherine Smith
HE'S OKLAHOMA
HE'S a COWBOY
HE'S MY FRIEND
He's as Oklahoma as the sun
that warms the Cimarron.
He's as cowboy as the man
who rides the saddled roan.
His life survived the dustbowl days,
His memory will not end !
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy, but mostly
He's my Friend.
I never saw him ride a bull
or rope a runnin' calf,
But I've heard him tell a winnin' tale
and listened to him laugh.
I never saw him set a horse
or tie the fastest knot,
But I've seen him grin a cowboy grin
and give hard times a shot.
I never saw him speed his horse
across a rodeo ring,
But I've seen him play his
big guitar and heard him pick and sing.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
While I was still in saddle shoes
and lived under Eastern skies,
I dreamed of cowboys like this man
who grins with crinkled eyes.
He rode the circuit in the days
when gas cost nineteen-nine.
He drove his truck from place to place,
Then moved on down the line.
He rode some broncs that threw him off
and some he stayed full time!
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
The day he was hurt
and they picked him up,
they knew he'd never mend,
But his cowboy heart pulled him through
and he lived to be my Friend.
Though his saddle now is a rollin' chair
that keeps him in one place,
You wouldn't know the pain he has
by lookin' at his face.
Oklahoma sunshine
beams from past his wide-tooth smile,
I know its been his cowboy heart
that's kept him all this while.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a cowboy,
He's my friend.
Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame
James Richard Akridge Sr
Birth 29 Apr 1898 in Red Falls, Bell, Texas, United States
Death 4 Nov 1976 in Beaver, Beaver, Oklahoma, United States
Mabel Elizabeth Patton
Birth 29 Dec 1900 in Goree, Knox, Texas, USA
Death 3 Mar 1968 in San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
------------------------
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES RICHARD "J R" AKRIDGE
COWBOY
13 JUN 1927 - 17 FEB 2002
born Megargel, Archer County, Texas
My HEROS Have Always Been Cowboys
........This poem was written by a nurse
who cared for J R after the rodeo accident
that severed his spine. She wrote it for
our special COWBOY and it is printed on
these pages in memory of J R AKRIDGE !
He could ride, boy, could he ride,
he was a straight shooter, he could
sing and pick the guitar
and he loved every day he spent in
the rodeo arenas of the West....!
------------------
Poem by Katherine Smith
HE'S OKLAHOMA
HE'S a COWBOY
HE'S MY FRIEND
He's as Oklahoma as the sun
that warms the Cimarron.
He's as cowboy as the man
who rides the saddled roan.
His life survived the dustbowl days,
His memory will not end !
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy, but mostly
He's my Friend.
I never saw him ride a bull
or rope a runnin' calf,
But I've heard him tell a winnin' tale
and listened to him laugh.
I never saw him set a horse
or tie the fastest knot,
But I've seen him grin a cowboy grin
and give hard times a shot.
I never saw him speed his horse
across a rodeo ring,
But I've seen him play his
big guitar and heard him pick and sing.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
While I was still in saddle shoes
and lived under Eastern skies,
I dreamed of cowboys like this man
who grins with crinkled eyes.
He rode the circuit in the days
when gas cost nineteen-nine.
He drove his truck from place to place,
Then moved on down the line.
He rode some broncs that threw him off
and some he stayed full time!
He's Oklahoma,
He's a Cowboy,
He's my Friend.
The day he was hurt
and they picked him up,
they knew he'd never mend,
But his cowboy heart pulled him through
and he lived to be my Friend.
Though his saddle now is a rollin' chair
that keeps him in one place,
You wouldn't know the pain he has
by lookin' at his face.
Oklahoma sunshine
beams from past his wide-tooth smile,
I know its been his cowboy heart
that's kept him all this while.
He's Oklahoma,
He's a cowboy,
He's my friend.
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