By Mona Lange McCroskey

Friends gathered yesterday morning at the Congregational Church to say goodbye to Danny Freeman, who passed away in Prescott on January 14, 2003. Born in the Texas Panhandle, he was raised in Swisher County. He was in college as a New Mexico Aggie during the Depression. His "first job" with the Soil Conservation Service lasted thirty-eight years. During that time he worked in range management, married schoolmarm Norita Voelker and raised three children, and served as an area conservationist for Northern Arizona, overseeing five counties and thirty-nine million acres of land.

Danny excelled in his work, and he received recognition from the Soil Conservation District in 1959 when he was presented with their first ever plaque. He was awarded an agricultural service medal from the Vietnamese government for his work there with rice crops, and another from the Society of Range Management. His extensive writing career began as part of his vocation, as editor of Rangeman's Journal in 1956. He also wrote ranch histories and Twenty-one Years of Progress of Arizona Soil Conservation Districts for the SCS. 

In 1941, Danny's job brought him to Prescott where he became deeply involved in community affairs. His association with the Yavapai County Fair Association and fairgrounds-related activities continued for more than sixty years. It included Frontier Days, 4-H, Kiwanis, and horse racing. He wrote and published the history of the County Fair Association in 1984. Danny became the first associate member of the Yavapai Cattle Growers in the 1940s, penned the History of Yavapai Calf Plan for the 50th Anniversary in 1982, and continued to write ranch histories for their newsletter until recently. He was the first Sheriff of the Prescott Westerners, and with Bruce Fee, authored the history of the corral. Dr. Robert Stragnell recently updated it. 

After his retirement from the Soil Conservation Service in 1973, Danny continued his commitment to "non-payin' jobs." With the editorial aid of his wife, Norita, Freeman wrote histories of the Smoki Snake Dance, the Yavapai Cattle Growers, and the Prescott Kiwanis Club. He spent six years researching and writing his major work, "World's Oldest Rodeo." He interviewed innumerable cowboys - rodeo and otherwise - and traveled to archives in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Colorado in his quest for information. Danny's foresight enabled him to publish the book in time for the centennial celebration of Prescott Frontier Days in 1988. 

Danny received countless honors and awards. Most meaningful to him were the Fred Renner award in 1982 (the highest honor in range management), and the dedication of the rock house at the Fairgrounds as the Freeman Building in 1990, which came as a complete surprise to him. Longevity was the theme of his life: He and Norita celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 2000; his involvement in farming and ranching activities was life long, and his Yavapai County affiliations endured for more than fifty years. He wrote his life story, "My First Eighty Years," in 1981 and kept it up to date. Danny opined that 1911 was a very good year: Ronald Reagan was born in February; Tom Rigden was born in August; and he was born in October. He regretted being born so late in the year until he remembered what his dad had told him, "The best calves are born in the fall." 

Recently a cattleman remarked, "Danny has a lot of historic knowledge tucked away in his head, and he researches to the max. There is nothing fancy about what Danny does, but he gets the facts and he puts them on paper for someone to remember one day." Yavapai County has lost a nonrenewable resource. However, his histories survive as valuable research tools. Mostly, he will be missed as a friend who left happy tracks. We are grateful for the gentle man from Tulia, Texas, who said, "I grew up around cattle people - they are my kind of people. My happiest moments are while around ranchers, men and women. "Godspeed, Danny. 

(Mona McCroskey is an oral historian for the Sharlot Hall Museum. She says, "Whether 'Driving With Danny' and Richard Sims, waylaying him in the Sharlot Hall Museum Library, or calling him at home for information, Danny Freeman was always helpful. I will keenly miss having the benefit of his expertise and his congeniality.") 

 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (po2273pa)
Reuse only by permission.
Danny Freeman's "first job" with the Soil Conservation Service lasted thirty-eight years. This photo was probably taken shortly after he arrived in Prescott in 1941. 

 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (pb020f30i8)
Reuse only by permission.
By the mid-1960s, Freeman was very much a part of his new community. Shown here at the Cattle Growers Annual meeting in 1964, he was also very active in the Prescott Corral of Westerners International, the Yavapai Fair Association, Kiwanis, and of course, the Rodeo. 


Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(db330f60). Reuse only by permission.
Danny, at the yearly "Old Timers Gathering" in 1998. Ropers, bareback riders and rodeo queens from half a century ago met at the fairgrounds to catch up, trade stories and just have a good time. Danny organized this yearly event in 1988 for anyone who participated in the rodeo before 1950.