Nathan
Pierce (Pete) Kershner (1903-1958)
Pete was born March 10, 1903 at Vale, Oregon to George W. and Martha Pierce
Kershner. There were seven boys and two girls in the Kershner Family. Pete
was the fourth child in this large family. He received his education in Vale
and Ontario, Oregon. Pete spent his summers on the family ranch. The family
moved to Homedale, Idaho in 1916.
Pete was the best rider in the family. Ranch work and rodeoing came naturally
to him. Pete had a love for horses and he liked working with them, whether
it was running them or riding them.
In 1916, at the age of 23, Pete won the Idaho State Championship Cowboy at
the Nampa Harvest Festival. The Nampa Harvest Festival was the forerunner
to the Snake River Stampede. Pete was presented with a saddle made by Hamley
Saddle Company of Pendleton, Oregon. Pete made his winning ride on a horse
called “Widow Maker”, the most famous bucking horse in the Northwest
for several years. The following year Pete was making his winning ride for
the Championship in Winnemucca, Nevada when he was injured. He was in a coma
for about a month. After this accident Pete discontinued his rodeo career.
In the 1920’s Pete worked various ranches at Paradise Valley, Nevada.
Lay Land and Livestock Company owned by Albert Lay, Deer Creek Ranch, 96
Ranch, William Stock Land and Livestock Company and for Able and Curtner,
which is known as the Circle A Ranch.
Pete’s Grandfather George W. Pierce was a Blacksmith in Paradise Valley,
Nevada from 1874 to 1883. The family had roots in Paradise Valley before
Pete worked there. Pete also helped Arthur Drummond run wild horses on the
Owyhee Desert. He made several trips to Winnemucca, Nevada trailing chicken
feed horses to be shipped on the train.
On December 13, 1943, at the age of 40, Pete enlisted into the U.S. Navy.
He served in the South Pacific theatre; this was shortly after Pearl harbor.
He was injured in the New Hebrides Campaign in 1944. Pete was on a ship that
was being unloaded when a crane fell on him. He was paralyzed from the waist
down and had very little use of his left arm. He was confined to a wheelchair
for the rest of his life.
Pete married Josephine Fox of Oreana, Idaho on September 1, 1947 in Winnemucca,
Nevada. The couple made their home in Van Nuys, California until 1952, when
they returned to Homedale, Idaho. The couple had two children, Jack Melvin
and Linda Jo.
After Pete’s injuries he learned how to do leather craft. He did this
as a hobby to occupy his spare time. Pete owned a gravel operation in Homedale,
Idaho during this time. Pete’s enthusiasm for rodeos never waned and
he attended all of the local rodeos, viewing them from a “ringside
seat” in his wheelchair. Pete enjoyed going downtown, in Homedale in
his motorized wheelchair and visiting his friends. One person that he liked
to visit with was Leo Coc, a bronc rider. They would relive their rides and
discuss the different horses that they had ridden.
Pete Kershner passed away at the age of 55 in March of 1958 at Boise, Idaho.
He was an honorary member of the Homedale American Legion and an honorary
member of the Owyhee Wranglers.
Pete Kershner was inducted into the Buckaroo Hall of Fame in September
1995.
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