MT Cowgirls Association set to honor locals at upcoming convention

Stevie Neuman and Marjorie Pribyl visited with 560 KMON about an upcoming event.

Stevie: the Montana Cowgirl Association representative is in 63 years of history with the Cowgirls and preserving the Western way of life. And we are continuing to document the current as well as the past. Our convention is going to be held January 21 at the Holiday Inn and we will be honoring three ladies this year, and one of them will be the Heritage Award winner and the other will be the Legacy Award winner.

 

Marjorie: each year we have a Heritage Award winner which recognizes a person to help preserve the Western ideals and ideas of our past. And this year's winner is Dee Dee Rains from Simms. We also have a New Award which was implemented in 2022, which is a Legacy Award, and it recognizes and honors ranch and rural women who we have lost in the last year. And this year's winners are Arlene McDaniel from Wolf Creek and Eleanor McKamey from Smith River. These people’s pictures are going to be put on the wall at the History Museum along with the Cowboys recognition this year, and then all the past ones are put in books which are stored at the History Museum. So they are always there for people to look at and if they're interested in past people in our rural communities.

 

Stevie: I think it preserves the way of life of the woman on the prairie and in the mountains and riding and working with cattle. And we accept anybody, any young lady or older lady that would have an interest in working with the Montana Cowgirls. Our group is growing and it's been a real treat to have the convention in Great Falls again. It will be January 21 at the Holiday Inn and you can call 468-2242 for reservations for the luncheon if you would like to have a bite to eat with the ladies.

I asked them what community activities they participate in:

Marjorie: mostly we are a social group, but we do things to support the younger people in our community who are living a rural life. And in the past, we have given scholarships and to young people who are going to college and this kind of thing. And so we're looking at setting this back up again. So this is going to be happening in the next year.

 

Stevie: we've also taken on a small project with the Montana Cowboys in Cleaning and Preserving and updating the History Museum at the Montana Cowboys.

Are you on social media:

Marjorie: we are setting up a Facebook page, but it isn't set up yet. We hope (to have it up) by our next meeting, which is coming up in February.

Anything to add:

Stevie: it's a fun group of ladies wanting to preserve history and the way of life of the woman on the ranches and even in the towns, the ladies that are interested in preserving and having fun.

 

Marjorie: as I was looking more at the history of the cowgirls, I felt that it was an interesting fact that their first meeting or their first convention was held at the Park Hotel in Great Falls and they had a tea, a style show and a banquet. And that was 63 years ago. So things have changed and we're are moving on.