Sunday, Jul. 06, 2008

Cowboy Capital: Two towns square off to see who can claim title

OAKDALE -- There's only one true Cowboy Capital of the World, right? Damn straight, say folks in Oakdale, who have laid claim to the "world" title for as long as anyone can remember.

With the town's rodeo cowboys having won 24 world championships, it's hard to argue there's a better place to call the capital.

But don't tell that to folks in Stephenville. The small Texas town, an hour's drive south of Fort Worth, also calls itself the cowboy capital, pointing to its heritage and its rodeo champs.

Are there still enough cowboys around to have two capitals? Not today, the towns have agreed, so one of them is going to give up the title -- but only for one year.

"Cowboys are proud folk, so no one wants to give up a title," said Christie Camarillo, executive director of the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. "The winner's going to have a good time, and you know the loser will hear about it."

The losers will have no one to blame but themselves, because it's a public "vote." The town selling the most $10 tickets to an online raffle gets the title for the next year, and a lucky winner from each town receives a side of beef (that's about 250 to 300 pounds). South Dakota will provide the beef.

The winners will be drawn and the winning city will be revealed July 26 to honor the National Day of the American Cowboy.

What better way to decide who gets the title than a competition?

That's the way it was done in the West, said Jerold Camarillo, one of Oakdale's champions and Christie's brother. Before rodeos arrived, cowboys staged their own contests to see who was best at breaking horses, riding bulls and roping cattle.

"It wasn't a job, it was a way of life," he said. "It's the work ethic this country was built on, and I still see that spirit in Oakdale."

Best of both worlds

Folks in Stephenville agree, including one resident who knows all about the cowboy spirit that dominates both towns.

Ted Nuce was a world champion bull rider in 1985 and proud to call Oakdale home until he recently moved to, of all places, Stephenville.

"It's just a coincidence, you be sure to tell the folks back home, OK?" said Nuce, who bought 43 acres in Stephenville and will be building a house on the land. "I love it here because it reminds me of Oakdale, with its rolling hills and those big ol' oak trees."

A small-town feel, love for cowboys and low land prices make Stephenville attractive to folks looking to put down roots.

"They call me a Prunee Texan because I come from California," said Nuce, who is married with two young children. "I'll always love Oakdale, but I've got the best of everything right now.

"I'm a cowboy who has a home in both cow capitals of the world. How many people can say that?"

If anyone questions Oakdale's Western spirit, direct them to the Testicle Festival. Each year, the town celebrates its heritage by serving heaping platters of bovine balls -- what separates the bulls from the steers. Folks say they look like meatballs and taste like ... well, most agree it's an acquired taste.

Jerold Camarillo often is credited with popularizing the delicacy. After roping, branding and castrating calves, the story goes, he would cook the testicles over a campfire. He'd toss a little seasoning on them, then he and the others would eat them like a snack -- sort of like salted nuts.

Stephenville can't match that commitment, though it does own a piece of history that Oakdale is unable to match: The Great Western Trail, which took millions of head from the ranch to market and once weaved past Stephenville.

That was in the day when men and horses were the tools to get cattle moving, unlike today's motorized methods.

If this were a numbers game, Oakdale would win hands down.

It boasts 15 cowboys who have won 24 world titles, including three all-around champs -- John Bowman (1936); Ace Berry ('72); and Leo Camarillo ('75), Jerold and Christie's brother.

Stephenville can't match those figures, but it points to the quality of its cowboys, such as nine-time world champ Ty Murray.

He's won seven all-around titles and two in bull riding, but carries an asterisk by his name: He won his first title while in Odessa, Texas, before being lured to the "bright lights" of Stephenville.

How long till those folks start claiming Nuce as their cowboy?

Bee staff writer Richard T. Estrada can be reached at restrada@modbee.com or 578-2304.