On the south side, the hill where the spectators sit.

In the middle, the arena.

On the north side, behind the fence, that’s where many of the volunteers do their work so the people on the south-side hill will have a great show.

Earl Hanson, of Dayton, has been making a lot of noise at the rodeo for over four decades. He fires the fireworks charges that signal the start of the night’s show and the wild horse race. He still has all his fingers.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Earl Hanson, of Dayton, holds one of the charges he launches to start the rodeo performance and the wild horse race. Hanson has been doing the booms for over four decades.

“I need new ears,” he joked.

Hanson relies on a signal from someone up above the chutes to tell him when to launch. Most of the time, it works as planned.

Most of the time.

“I had one that came back down,” he said. “It felt like it bent my hat brim down. I had one land in the bullpen, it went poof. That could have been pretty bad.”

Dan Pelican, of Madrid, has a volunteer job on the north side, too. He lights the fireworks display at the end of the night. He’s been doing it for four years. He’s been a volunteer a lot longer than that.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
The Rev. Kay Christie, of Dayton, operates the video camera at the Dayton Championship Rodeo Sunday night. This was her sixth year of filming for the rodeo.

“I started when I was 8 selling in the stands,” he said. “I worked the chute; I helped feed animals; now I’m doing the fireworks.”

Danny Hansen, director of the Dayton Rescue Squad, gets to coordinate the emergency medical care at the rodeo. An ambulance is stationed ringside. Another is stationed on top of the hill.

“We never want to use them,” he said. “But if we do, the rodeo will stop until the other rig is brought over here.”

The cases differ.

“Down here in the arena, it’s trauma,” he said. “Up there it’s basic first aid — bee stings, twisted ankles, people out of breath.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Danny Hansen, director of the Dayton Rescue Squad, holds a run bag at the Dayton Championship Rodeo Sunday night. Members of the squad provide emergency medical care in case of an injured rider or medical emergency in the crowd.

Hansen is very proud of the members of the squad.

“All the credit goes to the core group that’s helped rebuild the service,” he said. “We could not do it without them. They’re the important ones, not me.”

The video of the ongoing rodeo action that’s displayed during each performance doesn’t get there by accident. Pastor Kay Christie, of Dayton, has been running the camera for a few years.

“This is my sixth year,” she said. “They keep asking me back.”

She enjoys it.

“I get the best seat in the house for all four performances,” she said.

Boyd Polhamus, of Sparta, Wisconsin, is the ring announcer at the rodeo. He attends about 35 rodeos a year and announces about 200 performances.

All on horseback, of course.

How does he rate the job done by the volunteers?

“This is a professional, well-run rodeo,” he said. “Like a football game, there’s all sorts of people behind the scene you don’t see. Rodeo is the same way. Ninety-five percent of our people don’t get paid. They come out and work for free and they’ve been doing it here for 87 years.”