Wild West Show Parade, August 29th 1902, Eugene Oregon
Posted by: 
TheBeanTeam
N 44° 03.092 W 123° 05.554
10T E 492584 N 4877600
On August 29th "Buffalo Bill" (William F. Cody) led a procession through the streets of Eugene Oregon as a promotion of The Wild West Shows two performances that occurred here on this date in 1902. Take a trip back to Eugene City in 1902.
Waymark Code: WM2YDW
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 01/10/2008
Views: 79
It is a warm August morning. A fresh hint of fall is in the air but
the real excitement in Eugene City is the visit of The Wild West Show that will be featuring the
Rough Riders of the World. If we get there early enough we can take up a post in the shade of the awnings of
Baker's Hotel. Hopefully we will be able to see past the throng that has come into the city to view the spectacle.
This morning the Rough Riders of the World will be marching through the streets of the city providing a free parade in the downtown area. Next, they will head south down Willamette Street to Stickney's Field where they have a sea of tents set up on about 5 acres of land. If we follow the procession down the street to the tents we will even be treated to a free performance outside the tents. There will be two performances. One this afternoon and another tonight. If the show is good enough we might consider staying for the evening performance.
This morning near the tents we even had the privilege of a glimpse of the famous Buffalo Bill himself. He was speaking with a Daily Eugene Guard reporter and while it wasn't our intent to eavesdrop during the interview we overheard him talking about Eugene;
..."you have a pretty country surrounding Eugene.
"What’s the population of the place?”
“Between four and five thousand.”
“Well, those hills over there,” looking toward Spencer’s Butte, "are just
grand enough to have a million eyes
look at them every day—and you’ll
have them here too someday. This
kind of a country only needs knowing
among people of the East to have
them flock this way. Oh, the West is
the only place for me.”
On the way out to the show we noticed the blind couple that was there performing on the street corner asking for nickels. The man, playing an accordion and his wife trying to sing. Showing pity we gladly share a coin or two. The paper even mentioned the couple in the Notes section of the Guard's evening edition. Unfortunately they were mentioned again in the Saturday edition, for graft. The Pinkerton's nabbed them in Albany just up the road. Seems they have been taking advantage of the crowds for a long time according to the newspaper account.