Cowboy Hall of Fame induction date set

Two Crook County natives will be honored as part of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 this weekend at an event to be held in Newcastle. Joe Graham and Gerald McInerney will be celebrated alongside honorees from Campbell and Weston Counties during the cowboy-style event.

The Region 1 inductions will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 at the Weston County Fairgrounds and will celebrate Graham and McInerney alongside Harry Aaron Borgialli, Warren Richard “Dick” Shaw and Lora Reynolds Johnson of Weston County. All five will officially be seated on September 22 during the statewide ceremonies in Casper.

On Saturday, the celebrations are expected to include a silent auction, food prepared by Woody’s Food Center and music from Kenny Fordyce’s Cowboy Band.

Graham moved to Crook County at the age of 16 and ranched here for 77 years, purchasing four other ranches during that time to tie in with the home ranch his parents bought in 1942. His two sons with wife Eunice continue to operate the Graham Livestock Inc. ranch.

McInerney grew up on his parents’ Deadwood ranch and has spent his adult life in Wyoming, working with horses and cattle. As well as ranching, he is known to many as a rodeo mentor and owns a small business building roads, basements and sewer systems around the county.

The Hall of Fame finds and celebrates the men and women who introduced this state to its ranching heritage, honoring the cowboys and ranchers who helped to break those first trails.