This morning, Terry and I shimmied down to Main Street to watch the kick-off parade for the 66th Annual Franklin Rodeo. As a general rule, the parade falls on the second weekend of May which just also happens to be Mother’s Day weekend. Since that is usually such a busy time, we have never had the opportunity to attend. This year, however, for the first time in eight years, we were able to join in on all the fun.
The Franklin Rodeo is the annual fundraising project of the Franklin Noon Rotary Club. Billed as the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi, cowboys and cowgirls have stampeded through downtown Franklin since 1949. Here’s how it all began:
Soon after its creation, the newly formed club began looking for a fundraising project. Long-time Franklin Rotarian Jim Hayes remembers hearing about it. “Someone hit on the idea of having a rodeo, but there was a small problem. We had one man, Dr. Harry Guffee, who had actually seen a rodeo and a couple of other people who had migrated up from Texas.”
The first rodeo was planned for Saturday, May 6, 1949 with a parade leading up to it and was a rousing success. It was led by then Tennessee Governor Gordon Browning, local Rotarians and visiting cowboys. Bands from Franklin High School and the Columbia Military Academy also participated. About 1,000 4-H kids and their parents were in town and they joined in too. Many county residents rode their horses to town for the event so they also joined the parade. That started a tradition that goes on to this day.
I admit, I have heard of rotary clubs my whole life but was in the dark as to what they were all about so I did a little research and here’s what I found. The first Rotary Club was founded in 1905 in Chicago by an attorney who wanted to create a club for professionals that recaptured the sense of community and kinship he felt growing up in a small town. The name “rotary” was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members’ offices. That one small mid-west club has grown into an international organization whose motto, Service Above Self, is reflected in its tireless commitment to addressing the needs of society wherever they may lie.
