The Municipality was represented at the 100th Anniversary of the Chuckwagons at the Calgary Stampede July 12, thanks to a donation by NORTHBACK for the Dallas Dyck canvas.
Nicholas L. M. Allen
Jul 19, 2023
The Rangeland Derby: 100 Years of Chuckwagon Racing at the Calgary Stampede by Glenn Mikkelsen looks at the “Super Bowl of Chuckwagon Racing” which takes over Calgary every year.
A new book highlighting the origins and history of chuckwagon racing spanning over its 100-year run at the Calgary Stampede and beyond is now available.
The Rangeland Derby: 100 Years of Chuckwagon Racing at the Calgary Stampede by Glenn Mikkelsen looks at the “Super Bowl of Chuckwagon Racing” which takes over Calgary every year. Mikkelsen said he was introduced to Chuckwagon Racing at an early age by his family.
“I used to watch on the grainy black and white television in my grandmother’s house, and then was fortunate enough to be taken down to the grounds,” said Mikkelsen.
The nature of these unique races caught Mikkelsen’s attention and gave him a passion that has never left, eventually leading to the writing of this most recent book.
“I knew that this was going to be the 100th anniversary of Chuckwagon Racing and it was really a bucket list project to make it happen,” said Mikkelsen.
He said finding some of the older information required for the book was “definitely challenging” but was fortunate to find resources down in the United States and various archives, including old newspaper clippings.
He said the first year of Chuckwagon Racing at the Stampede in 1923 led to some interesting articles in the Calgary Herald.
“The reports from the Herald really did sound like the event was a real turning point, both in terms of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, as well as the City of Calgary,” said Mikkelsen, “It just was a really successful week... That atmosphere really was exuded through the various articles and interviews from the various dignitaries and the mayor it really sounded like Stampede was kind of a turning point for the city’s sense of optimism and confidence in itself.”
He said the success of the first stampedes were necessary to carry the event through the early 1930s, when there were plenty of economic troubles and setting them on the path to host it for 100 years.
Another part of these iconic races is the announcers calling the action, of which there have only been three in total. The first announcer didn’t have a sound system like today, shouting the action from the middle of the rodeo grounds through a huge bullhorn.
A difficult part of putting the book together included some of the archived photos. Mikkelsen said they had difficulty identifying the people in the photographs.
“There’d be no related information. That was tough, but I have to take my hat off to Billy Melville, who is unsurpassed as a Chuckwagon historian with his ability to recollect and know of the various people involved in the races,” said Mikkelsen.
The book is available for purchase online at canadabookdistributors.com/product/11002/ and through Chapters and KMC Sales.