The year was 1922. World
War I was done, and the Roaring Twenties were well underway. All over America the jazz age was in full
swing and Prohibition laws were in effect. Flappers were dancing, smoking, drinking,
cussing, and voting. Housewives were
getting new-fangled appliances like washing machines and vacuum cleaners. Yes, indeed, the U.S. of A. was in high
cotton in those days.
Here in little ole Alvin, Texas (population 1,519) John Owen
lived on the corner of Hood and Cleveland, and bought himself a new Ford Model
T to park in his new garage. It was the
first residential garage in town, and legend has it that people came all the
way from Angleton and Columbia just to get a glimpse. The Gem Drug Store even had a radio!
Perhaps to match John Owen and his wealth, eight other
prominent men decided that Alvin needed a rodeo. As reported in the Alvin Sun, Gerald Abbott, W.K. Flora, George Pennock, Kiddo
Tacquard, George Seibel, Johnny Wehrly and Armour Savell (son-in-law of Alvin Morgan
himself) pooled their resources and started organizing the construction of rodeo
grounds way out on Mustang Road. The American
Legion pitched in and the project was finished in record time. For many years the Rodeo Parade was held on
the Fourth of July.
Eventually the old Mustang grounds were moved to Tovrea and
eventually closed to make room for a housing development. But to this day, several generations of Alvin’s
little buckaroos (now called elderly citizens) fondly remember the excitement
of the annual parades, the hot dogs and fireworks and of course the thrill of watching
that old wooden gate open with another cowboy hanging on for dear life.
