In this episode, we explore the 1936 Boston cowboy strike, a one-day wildcat strike that became the founding moment for a labor union that still exists today. Staged by an organization that became known as the Cowboy Turtle Association at the old Boston Garden, this was the first rodeo strike in the world. While I call it a cowboy strike, cowgirls were an important feature of this particular rodeo, and the union’s longterm success is due in no small part to the wife of a champion cowboy. Why was a cowboy union formed in Boston, of all places? And how did it get the name Cowboy Turtle Association? Listen now!

Hat tip to listener Sam S for suggesting this week’s topic!

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/313/

Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

The Boston Cowboy Strike

• Thanks to listener Miles Howard, I got quoted in the Globe!


• “The Boston Strike,” Randy Witte, Western Horseman (includes a photo of the strikers, including Hugh Bennett)


• A few photos of the 1936 WT Johnson rodeo from Leslie Jones (our header image is from an older Wild West show in Boston to avoid copyright issues)


• “The Wild West in the West End: The Boston Garden Rodeo,” Meyer Aviles, The West End Museum


• MILAZZO, LEE. “Southwest Chronicle.” Southwest Review, vol. 70, no. 2, 1985


• Florence, Patricia. “Field Notes.” History News, vol. 47, no. 2, 1992


• Stoeltje, Beverly J. “Paredes and the Hero: The North American Cowboy Revisited.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 125, no. 495, 2012


• News articles (paywalled)
  
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Thu, Oct 29, 1936: “Angel of the Rodeo”
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Wed, Nov 04, 1936: Strike is by the riders, not the rodeo animals
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Sat, Oct 31, 1936: Children’s rodeo preview
  
  
  • The (Springfield) Republican, Mon, Nov 02, 1936: First rodeo strike in history
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Tue, Nov 03, 1936: “Cowboys Win Rodeo Strike”
  
  
  • The Berkshire Eagle, Tue, Nov 03, 1936: Scabs coming from Chicago
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Tue, Nov 03, 1936: Election returns to be announced at the rodeo
  
  
  • The Springfield Daily Republican, Wed, Nov 04, 1936: Economics of rodeo competition
  
  
  
  

Related episodes

• Boston’s Wild West (episode 99)


• When Boston Invented Playgrounds (episode 111)


• When the US Army Invaded South Boston (episode 198)