It seems like we’re changing tradition more and more as this year progresses—from how we celebrate, to how we dress on special occasions and events. One famous tradition in this city is the Reno Rodeo, also known as the “Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West.” Since the start of the rodeo in 1919, crowds have consistently anticipated this event each year. Here at Southgate Coins, we choose to participate in this rich tradition as well—read on to hear more about how some of our Reno Rodeo traditions have subtly changed over the years.
Traditions create some of the fondest and warmest memories here at Southgate Coins, and many of these traditions have gone on for as long as Rusty and Marie have owned a retail coin shop. Whether it’s birthday celebrations, Kentucky Derby Days, or company events and dinners, these traditions add to the exciting life inside the coin shop. But as time goes on, sometimes traditions alter slightly, varying from differences of time and culture, with each group of girls.
Rodeo Day as I (Nicole) know it at Southgate Coins, involves a day of cowboy hats and good BBQ eating! (I have now participated in three Rodeo Days here.) But it wasn’t always like this. This occasion has evolved over the years, from what I’ve been told and seen through past years’ pictures. This tradition used to be a full dress-up rodeo week, where everyone went all-out in Rodeo gear. It has now evolved into a one-day tradition of cowboy hats only. It’s always involved BBQ food, where we enjoy ribs and other home-style cooking for Free Lunch Friday. In recent years, we’ve gotten Claim Jumper’s ribs, but this year since we have a new BBQ restaurant in town, Famous Dave’s, we figured we’d give their ribs a shot!
This year, our lunch was served on a gigantic platter filled with the most mouth-watering food! It had everything, including savory ribs, chopped pork, BBQ chicken, corn bread muffins, the most amazing pork-and-beans, corn on the cob, and potato wedges. It’s to die for! Not a whole lot of conversation happened as we were feasting—the food was thatgood!
In general, the Reno Rodeo is a well-known, Western 10-day sporting event. Because there are over 140,000 attending fans, we rarely have to explain our attire to customers who come into the store (unlike Kentucky Derby Day). Each year we still get comments on our cowboy hats. (If Rusty’s in the showroom, his full-on cowboy attire always sparks an interest.) This year, one customer who saw Rusty wearing his rodeo gear and cowboy hat, asked him, “Where’s your cattle?”
With time, new traditions have developed and old ones have faded away. I feel like with every weblog I say, “this is one of my favorite traditions,” but I guess I’ve now come to the conclusion that they’re all my favorites! With great food and lasting memories, how could they not be?!
-Nicole