Valley man shares his passion for rodeo

June 6, 2006

By JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - He walked through the door wearing a dusty cowboy hat, the sound of his stovepipe boots and clinking spurs filled the room. Lee Berry was an old-school California cowhand. He also happened to earn a little pocket money cutting hair on the side.

On that particular day, 3-year-old Charlie Willis stared spellbound at the towering cowboy-barber who gave him a trim he hasn't forgotten in 52 years.

&#8220Ever since that day, I had the cowboy in me,” Willis recalled last week from his CW Tack & Western Wear store in Wasilla.

Now a middle-aged businessman, Willis' dome is mostly smooth with a strip of white hair clinging around the edges. He's not an official cowboy, never really has been, but the ideals of the Old West inform most everything he holds dear.

Growing up, Willis fell in with a group of real California cowboys who loved to rodeo. They taught him to rope and wrestle cattle with the best of them, and Willis has chased steers ever since.

A young man in 1974, Willis left California for Alaska. Thirty-two years later, the cowboy way is still firmly branded into his soul.

Willis married his bride, Nancy, in 1978 and built a full-size rodeo arena in his front yard, just off Fairview Loop. There, the couple raised two kids who literally grew up in the dust and drama surrounding the family arena. The youngsters started roping themselves before reaching kindergarten.

Over the last three decades, the Willis clan has become a fixture at summer rodeos throughout Alaska. The family has won just about every award possible. Championship belt buckles and saddles line the walls of the Willis home.

The kids are now grown but the arena still bustles with activity. Half a dozen or more men and women still gather there two or three times a week. Friends, family members and acquaintances are drawn to the homemade rodeo oasis, where, since 1979, the Willis family has held their traditional sport.

Young men and women test themselves, build camaraderie and swap stories. On the weekends, many of them travel together to rodeos across the states. The man behind the tradition is still front and center.

Two weeks ago, with a dust cloud billowing behind him, Willis rode a stampeding horse across his front yard arena. He twirled a lasso over his head and tore after a young steer. Within seconds, the beast was roped.

&#8220If you ever knew what it is like to be on a good horse, moving as fast as we do and swinging a rope - it is part of the Old West,” he said. &#8220I guess the idea and mythology of the cowboy is a big part of the initial draw.”

The aches and pains are a little more bothersome now, and after three shoulder surgeries, Willis has given up certain events that require him to tackle rambunctious bulls by the horns. He still regularly competes against and often beats men half his age, however, in roping competitions.

Last month, Willis performed well at the first rodeo of the summer in Soldotna, where he took a second- and third-place finish in the team-roping category.

But Willis' roping passion extends far beyond personal glory. He loves to see young men and women enter the sport. His daughter Callie and son Garrett are now 22 and 25, respectively. They both still rope at their childhood home when in town, but many other ropers also swing through the Willis arena these days.

Military men from Fort Richardson regularly saddle up at the arena, and Willis also teaches a roping class for a small group of students.

When he's not roping, Willis patrols the arena, offering tips to younger riders and celebrating their accomplishments as if they were his own.

&#8220Once someone ropes their first steer, they are hooked for the rest of their life,” he explained. &#8220I think everybody has a little bit of cowboy in them.”

The cowboy Willis refers to is the better nature of people, as he describes it. It represents hard work, toughness and loyal friendship.

&#8220Whenever you get around the guys who've rodeoed or the guys who have cowboyed, most of the time they really don't have anything bad to say and they are always willing to help you out,” he said. &#8220This is something that a lot of people want to be a part of, and maybe we are just lucky that we got to do it.”

This weekend, Willis, his daughter and his roping comrades will saddle up for yet another rodeo in Soldotna.

Closing in on 55 years, Willis isn't sure how long his saddle-riding adventures will last. He knows time is catching up, but he doesn't see the end in sight just yet.

&#8220I'm getting older, and maybe my swing has slowed down a little bit, but I'll still compete with these young guys,” he said.

Fresh off a strong showing from the first rodeo of 2006, it's hard to argue with the grand old

cowboy.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.