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Black Hills Stock Show Pioneer Breakfast 2014 honorees announced

John Harrington

The 22nd Annual Black Hills Stock Show® Pioneer Breakfast scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, is a chance to honor local friends who have excelled in the agriculture industry. The Central States Fairgrounds Fine Arts Building is the place to be for those wanting to participate. Doors will open at 7 a.m., with the breakfast beginning at 8 a.m., and the program at 9 a.m.

2014 Honorees include: Jon Harrington, Jim Ramey and Hugh and Eleanor Ingalls.

While celebrating the accomplishments of the honorees, guests can enjoy the music of Laurinda Price and Brent Burress.



The breakfast will be $10 for adults and $5 for children.

For tickets contact Dick Bray at 605-521-0472 or NanCee Maynard 605-390-0109 or Nmay2278@rap.midco.net



Jon Harrington

Jon’s first reaction when He was told he would be honored today was “ but I’m not an old timer.” But this is the “Cowboy Breakfast” and “cowboy “ is a perfect description of Jon.

Jon was born in 1944, the son of Eugene and Lois Harrington. He grew up on the Harrington homestead on Dry Creek north of Rapid City. He went to Elk Vale School through 8 grade and then graduated from Sturgis Brown High School. Jon then went on to SDSU for a couple years.

Jon met Lori Lee at a High School rodeo dance at the Sturgis Armory, they married in 1966. Jon had the privilege of being Lori’s favorite subject for her paintings. Most people who know them could even tell it was Jon from the back. Jon and Lori had one daughter Kathy. Kathy and her husband Wayne Fortune and two children Rolly and Elsie now live on a ranch south of Interior.

Jon is a “rodeo cowboy.” He competed in college qualifying for the College Finals in 65 and 66. Then moved on to semi pro, traveling all over riding bulls and roping. Now he is true fan of the sport. If there is a 4-H, Little Britches, High School, or any Rodeo you will see Jon,

Jon is a “ranch cowboy.” Starting with some Herford heifers and some rented land, Jon has built quite a ranch one piece at a time. He is quite proud of those heifers turning into a herd of black baldy cows. “There’s never been a time when an opportunity presented itself to me to run some cows someplace that I wouldn’t take it,” Jon said a few years ago.

Jon is a ”horseman cowboy.” He started riding and training horses in high school and over the years has raised and trained many horses that excelled in the arena and on the ranch.

Lastly Jon is a “Cowboy” in the deepest meaning of the word. Many call Jon a friend, wearing his black hat, he always has a kind word, willing to lend a helping hand, his lopsided grin spreading across his and twinkling eyes ready to share a story. Like he rode out of a Louis L’Amour story, a man of true integrity and honor.

James G. Ramey

Jim tells that his dad started cattle ranching in 1905 after a big blizzard. A neighbor had lost most of his cows and told his dad if he could find calves and keep them alive, he could keep them. His dad found 13 calves and kept them alive, thereby starting a life of cattle ranching. When his family trailed their cattle to Bear Creek not once did anyone have to “get the gate” because there were no fences between Dowling and Bear Creek. He remembered that quite well while ranching on the Belle Fourche ranch as it consisted of some 123 miles of fence!

After his dad died and Jim took over, he had a herd of cattle bigger than his horse herd. By the time he moed to Belle Fourche he was indeed a cattle rancher. He was on the St. Onge Livestock board for years. He has many memories of sitting at the salebarn for hours visiting with friends and fellow ranchers and buying and selling livestock.

The picture of Jim wearing his legendary hat was taken while he was riding on the 2001 Annual Western South Dakota Buck-a-roos ride.

Jim bought the hat in 1947 (which he is still wearing) when he shipped cattle from Interior, S.D., to Sioux City, Iowa. Cattle had been bringing 12 cents per pound but by the time he got to Sioux City, the government took the lid off frozen prices and Jim got 24 cents per pound for his cattle so he splurged and bought a new hat.

Jim has now hung up his chaps and spurs but he still wears his hat. That hat of a cattle rancher.

Hugh and Eleanor Ingalls

Hugh Ingalls is a man that is blessed to have his wife Eleanor of 63 years working beside him, and together they have achieved the goals they have set in their lives.

They years have yielded many days of joy and hard work. Hugh was born the second child in a family of five children. Mable, Elaine, Dale and Virginia were his siblings. Lawrence and Marie (Vig) were his parents and Marie passed away just 12 years after marrying Hugh’s father so Lawrence was left with five children to raise, ranging from age 11 years to 16 months.

Hugh met Eleanor Boe at a dance in Vale, S.D., and the two were married June 1, 1950, in Newell, S.D. They moved to the ranch where they remain today. The house on the ranch was a 14 by 16-foot home with a circular stairway so they dismantled the bed ad put it through the small upstairs window. Through the years they added rooms ad raised six children: Marie Lambing of Alaska, Peggy Rahn of Arizona, Dan Ingalls of Wyoming, Kenny Ingalls of Wyoming, Beth Hotchkiss of South Dakota and Laila Brown Lee of Kansas.

Good Angus cattle have seemingly forever been synonymous with the Ingalls name. The family purchased its first Angus bull in Illinois in 1895 with a hand written registration certificate. From this investment has grown the oldest Angus herd. The Ingalls showed the first Angus calf in the Western Junior Livestock Show in Rapid City. It was the only black calf in the show. Many prestigious honors have been bestowed upon the Ingalls family.

God has blessed Hugh and Eleanor with a comfortable house where everyone is welcome for a visit to talk Angus cattle. Many a rancher has been able to improve his heard with bulls from the Ingalls Ranch.

Hugh and Eleanor said that one of the highlights of raising their family was a camping vacation they enjoyed very year. The family would vote on a destination when the first day was complete and for ten days they would enjoy camping and learning about the big world. F