Virgil
C Piquet (1908-1986)
Virgil was born March 23, 1908 at the ranch of his Grandfather, Jules Adrian
Piquet, located near Marcola, Lane County, Oregon. His Grandparents came
to Oregon from France. He was the first born to Charles Adrian and Mary Dae
Piquet.
All Transportation those days was by horseback or by horse drawn wagon. Virgil
started riding a horse by himself when he was two years old. When he was
four, his parents purchased a ranch about 300 miles east of the home ranch.
They made the journey with one wagon and a team to transport their belongings,
four head of saddle horses, and twenty head of cattle. Virgil rode horseback
all the way, helping his mother herd the livestock. His father drove the
wagon, the more perilous job due to the lack of roads in many instances on
their route. Their new ranch was located about 35 miles southwest of Pendletion,
OR, 7 miles from the community of Gurdane, OR which consisted of a one room
school house (to eighth grade) and a Post Office operated at the ranch house.
No stores of any kind. Travel to get supplies was all done by horse and or
by horse and wagon. The nearest store was in the small town of Pilot Rock
, which had a very limited supply.
Virgil started attending the Gurdane School at the age of six and finished
through eighth grade there. He rode fourteen miles to school on school days.
Weekends and summers he helped his father and neighbors ride and gather cattle
as well as other ranch related work.
At age 14, Virgil started working full time. He operated a horse drawn Fresno
scraper in the building of the McKay Creek Dam. Then he decided that he liked
riding horses rather than driving them. Buckarooing became his choice of
vocation. He started working on a cattle ranch near Pendleton and work his
way south toward his dream destination at the widely known Miller and Lux
Ranches. The first Miller and Lux ranch he worked at was located in the Silvies
Valley. He was sixteen at the time. He became a cowhand for the company and
was moved from one ranch to another until he arrived at the Alvord and White
Horse ranches in southern Oregon. Here he continued to buckaroo on a daily
basis and rode horseback from daylight until dark. Once a month or so Virgil
would ride up to fifty miles one way to attend a rodeo and/or a dance. During
this era of his life, he learned to do whatever was needed for such a remote
life-style. He learned to cut other buckaroo’s hair, as well as trimming
his own, ran the chuck wagon when the cook broke his leg, repaired wagons
and corrals, broke horses or anything else that needed doing.
In 1926 Virgil participated in a cattle drive from Oregon to the the railroad
corrals at Winnemucca, NV. They camped on Miller and Lux land every night
of the drive. This was a long and tiresome drive and the sight of Winnemucca
was an exciting event. Virgil liked the area there and when he was offered
a job on a horse raising operation, he took it. He further developed his
horse training skills, but after a year he decided it was time to visit his
family and look for a job closer to home. He continued to buckaroo there
for another nine years.
During the 1930’s, Virgil had several different experiences. He and
some friends started a traveling rodeo and horse racing show. They had bucking
horse events, steer roping, and horse racing. Virgil rode in the Roman races
and the relay races. While the show was very popular, it had too much pay
out and not enough income so it only lasted for one season.
Virgil liked good horse gear, and he had the Hamley and Co. of Pendleton,
well known saddle makers, make him a saddle. Hamely’s called it the
“The Piquet” and featured it in their catalog for many years, due
its popularity.
In 1936 Virgil served as official Royalty Escort for the Pendleton Round-Up
Queens’ Court.
Virgil married a Long Creek, OR rancher’s daughter, Ruth Porter in 1937.
They started a ranch operation of their own. They became parents to a son
Virgil John (V. John) in 1940. Ruth’s father became ill in 1942, so
they sold their ranch and moved back to her father’s ranch and Virgil
ran the operation. Then on April 5, 1944 their triplet boys were born, David,
Tebeau and Allen. Two years later they bought an adjoining ranch and move
the family there. The boys all started riding horses at the age of three
and riding for cattle at four. The boys helped out with the ranch duties
from then on.
Over the next fifteen years, Virgil became involved in many community activities.
His boys participated in all sports and Virgil was a chaperone for many of
their field trips. He was a leader for the 4-H club, served on the local
school board, county Rural School Board, charter member of the Grant County
Sheriff’s Posse, President of the County Cattleman’s Ass'n. In
1960 he was the recipient of the Oregon Cowbelles “Father of the Year”
award, and runner-up for the National award. As member of the Sheriff’s
Posse, Virgil took part in a three day hunt on horseback for an eight year
old boy lost in the wilds. He had the great joy of finding the boy uninjured
and unharmed. He carried the boy on his horse to the nearest phone and called
for a helicopter which transported the boy to the hospital where he was found
to be okay.
Ruth’s father’s health continued to deteriorate so they bought
his cattle operation. Their four sons all wanted to ranch. Tebeau married
in 1963 and moved to the old ranch. Virgil remembered his liking for the
Winnemucca, NV area and started looking for a ranch in that vicinity. They
bought the Rock Creek Ranch south of Golconda. Tebeau and Allen operated
the ranch in Oregon. Virgil and Ruth moved to the Rock Creek Ranch where
they were joined by sons V. John and David after he finished his service
with the U.S. Navy Reserves.
V. John was killed in a truck accident in 1972. Allen received a spinal fracture
in a cow chasing accident and could no longer ride a horse. Now, Virgil had
too much land and too few sons. They sold the Oregon ranch, Tebeau and family
moved to NV. Virgil purchased the Circle Bar Ranch near Winnemucca in 1978.
He still continued to ride horseback and was the first recipient of the Nevada
Cattlemans Assoc. 100,000 mile club award (set up to honor those individuals
who had totaled 100,000 miles) riding horseback.
Virgil was breaking a colt to saddle the day before he suffered a massive
cerebral hemorrhage which caused his death on March 8, 1986. His subtle sense
of humor, his love of life, his honesty and his kindness will remain with
family and friends forever. He was inducted in the Buckaroo Hall of Fame
in 2007.
Compiled from documented sources by Ruth Piquet |
