Biography:

Earl W. Bascom

Around 1933, Earl W. Bascom entered Brigham Young University, majoring in fine arts and graduating about 1940. He also spent summers working on various ranches in Canada and the United States to earn extra money for his education. Bascom, his brother, Weldon, and cousin Jake Lybbert moved to Columbia, Marion County, Mississippi, in 1935 to work on the Hickman Ranch, which was also known as the B Bar H Ranch. During his three years on the ranch, Bascom helped to organize the first rodeo in Mississippi, as well as the first nighttime rodeo.

Bascom married Nadine Diffey of Columbia about 1939. The Bascoms and their children, Denise, Dona, Doris, Glen, and John A., eventually settled in Victorville, California. Bascom was a rodeo participant for twenty-three seasons and later promoted the sport by making brief motion picture and television appearances. He received many honors, including induction into the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. Bascom also invented several pieces of rodeo equipment.

Achieving fame as a sculptor, Bascom was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London in 1993. He was also an ordained bishop and patriarch of the Mormon church. Bascom died of congestive heart failure at his ranch in Victorville on August 28, 1995, and was interred at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Apple Valley, California.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of a typewritten article, a typewritten narrative, a news release, two lists, and two color images. The article was written by Earl W. Bascom and is entitled "Bareback Bronc Riding--Early History and Development." The article details the sport of bronc riding and the evolution of basic equipment used in the sport. The narrative is entitled "Master Sculptor Earl W. Bascom, Cowboy of Cowboy Artists." This unsigned item, presumably written by John A. Bascom, offers biographical and genealogical information on Bascom and the Bascom family of Rhode Island, Utah, and Alberta, Canada. Also included in the narrative are some of Earl W. Bascom’s reminiscences about living and working on the Ray Knight Ranch in Raymond, Alberta, Canada. The circa 1994 news release concerns a memorial cattle drive and an art exhibit organized in Brackettville, Texas, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first cattle brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus. Bascom participated in both the cattle drive and the art exhibit, which featured his twelve-inch bronze sculpture entitled The American Longhorn: 1494-1994. The two flyers list some of Bascom’s more notable achievements in rodeo and art. Of interest are two color images, one of The American Longhorn: 1494-1994, and the other, an oversized postcard (8"x10") of Bascom’s bronze sculpture of Apache chief Cochise.
 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Papers. ca. 1994; n.d. 1 folder.