No. Don’t have that cow.

Hiding from what? An urban cattle rustler. (Children’s Museum Art Cow/screenshot.ABC 13.com)

Round up the posse. Missing moo.

Would have loved to hear that conversation late Tuesday night:

“It followed me home. Can I keep it?”

Adult in the house or at least the sober one, “Don’t care where you rounded or pried it up from, no. Take it back.”

” But it’s heavy and I’m tired.”

“Dude. It’s from the Children’s Museum. Stealing from little kids is pretty low. At least put it where someone will find it – not here!”

Moostery Story and pictures of the stolen, but recovered Border Bovine Art Cow here.

Cows certainly have changed.

Who couldn’t love MoonWalking Cow. At one time pastured in Terminal A of Bush IAH airport. (Screenshot.Image: Campbell/Hou.Chron.)

Once it was “Outlaw meets outlaw” every weekend in October at the Prison Rodeo in Huntsville, Texas.

Enjoy what news reporting was like back in 1966:

.Vintage black and white newsreel featuring the Texas Prison Rodeo.  US National Archives and Records Administration. (The jokes on the prisoners’ banners were always fun)

My grandfather who died before I was born, moved his family off the farm into the town of Huntsville so his oldest boy could attend Sam Houston College. They ran a two-story wood frame boarding house which is still standing and still houses college students. While he worked as a prison guard, the younger boys helped by throwing papers, washing dishes, and trying to spot Bonnie and Clyde who stopped by the local cafe on the courthouse square for meals once in a while. While not liked or admired, the pair certainly had people terrified of their guns and reputation.

Each October, extra money was made selling parking spots in the front yard for the Prison Rodeo. People flocked from miles around for the event.

The Texas Prison Rodeo was the “Wildest Show Behind Bars”.

Not only was it real dirt in your face rodeo, you were inside the prison with prisoners! Dangerous convicts!

Big deal for kids. As I remember, it was thrilling.

Should the grounds have been preserved as historical?

First rodeo performance was in Oct 1931 with a wooden stadium on the old prison baseball field. In the 50’s and 60’s attendance could easily reach 100,000. Quite a money-maker for the prison system and gave the inmates a chance to earn some money, too. The traffic into town was always bumper to bumper. The last show in the “new” big brick and concrete building was in 1986.

The rodeo was actually created as recreation for inmates.

Now they only have team sports in softball, volleyball, and baseball. Inmates do still raise and train horses for law enforcement at one of the Huntsville units. And others foster and train dogs for service animals. Working with animals is considered a privilege. It’s a toss-up whether animal or inmate caretaker gets more out of the experience.

Read stories/pictures of actual rodeo prison inmates, the prison entertainers, as well as top name performers including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson:

• “Razing of Prison Rodeo Arena In Huntsville Closed the Door on History” (NY Times, 2012)
• “Texas Prison Rodeo” Yes, inmates did try to escape….(TX State Historical Association/Handbook of Texas Online.)
• “A look back at the Texas Prison Rodeo” (Texas Monthly, 2012)

As the sun slowly sets in the west, missing moo.

So long for a sweetheart of a rodeo,

Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge

1949. Now that’s bull. At this time, the bulls and horses all came from prison’s pasture stock.(Texas Tribune image)