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While the days of bustin' bulls, ropin' cows, broncin' horses and running the business side of Wilde and Lawless are well behind him, the affable Tommy hasn't forgotten how to 'play' an audience.
He often holds court at his new Lutheran Peace Care Home residence, spinning endless yarns about charting new Territory in the Yukon for government surveyors, and about being the 'main man' for the U.S. Army to whom Tommy provided more than 200 horses to help with the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942.
From his wheelchair 'pulpit' which he manoeuvres around his room, the dining area and social room with the speed and 'driving' skill of a Mario Andretti, Tommy 'preaches' lessons of the hard life he's endured for 84 years ... and the wild times, too.
For a man who acquired his formal education on the back of a horse throughout California, Oregon, Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon and Northwest Territories - so far to the North he could see Siberia through binoculars - he has a superb command of the English language. Inspired by the neatly stacked memorabilia in his living quarters - two hand-crafted saddles; an aged lassoo; an embroidered cariboo vest; embroidered sheepskin horse blanket made for him by 105-year-old Therese Desjarlais from the Blueberry Reserve; show posters; and a large photograph of much younger Tommy - his words are well chosen. "The place for children is in school," said Tommy. "That's where they belong, I did pretty good on my own, but I wandered all across this country packin' horses, bein' a rodeo cowboy, and runnin' our show. Had a lot of fun, too. But that's not the life for young people today. Get 'em into school and keep 'em there. That's where they're gonna learn. "I've had a good life, but a hard one, too. One year I helped cut a trail from Dawson Creek all the way up to Haines, in the Yukon. Hard, hard work. Weather... miserable, freezing. Problems with horses. Scrapin' for food. It was pretty tough."
Tommy can't recall the circumstances of his meeting up with his rodeo show partner, Lawless.
"It was about the time I was doin' a little performin' myself," said Tommy. "Lawless was in the rodeo business, too. Had a wild west show in Texas. That's how I got to know him, but I can't tell you how we come to start our own show. Hell, I didn't even know his real name. He just said one time that 'Jack is good enough.' "I do know he was a pretty smart cookie. Spoke English, French, Spanish and he could play a lot of musical instruments. And he was quite an accomplished rodeo performer, too. Anyway, Jack and I got together to form this rodeo show. Wilde and Lawless we called it. Quite a name, eh?"
Ripley's Believe It Or Not deemed it unique enough to mention it in one of its newspaper advertisements.
"I still sometimes chuckle to myself about the name, 'cause, at times, it was kinda wild and lawless," said Tommy. "I handled the business end of it. Jack rounded up the performers. One of 'em was REAL good. His name was George Welsh, Canada's champion trick roper who had performed before the King and Queen (George V and Elizabeth) and the Czar of Russia."
Headquarters for the show which toured much of North America was at nearby Taylor.
Tommy owned the land. He built the chutes and fence, handled the money, and paid the bills.
"We had a pretty good run with our shows at Taylor and Fort St. John," said Tommy. "We were packin' 'em in pretty good. A lot of the army guys workin' on the Alaska Highway did a little performin' for us. Kinda crazy guys they were. They were pretty brave with a couple of snorts before they climbed onto a horse. Kinda funny, too. Things were goin' just great until the government caught up to us for amusement taxes.
"But... what the hell, we had a lot of fun. That's what life's all about."
Used with permission from The Northerner, Feb. 14, 1990
Tommy Wilde passed away in 1995.
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