Ok, so if you don't live in Utah the day probably doesn't have much significance. But I grew up there and I always looked forward to the 24th of July. What kid doesn't love another excuse to watch fireworks?
On July 24th, 1847, Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in what is now Utah and heard then-president of the church, Brigham Young, say, "this is the right place." I always thought about how much relief they must have felt knowing the long trek from the east was over, but then I learned that they started farming and building homes that day. Their work had just begun! It would have been so hard to live in those days. Thank heaven for Trader Joe's.
Fast forward many decades and for me the 24th of July meant we'd get together with the Warnick family. We were really tight with my extended family growing up and the 24th was just one of our yearly traditions. This one meant we'd sit on lawn chairs and the curb, eat snacks, and light lots of fireworks. You know the cheesy legal kind, the ones that are pretty much all the same combination of colorful sparks, loud shrill noise, and some chance you'll blow your hand off lighting it? Yep, we'd do dozens of those on the Warnick street. It was awesome.
Let's talk about how amazing Grandpa Warnick is. I love the whole Warnick family, and at the head of the gang (he's my maternal grandpa), he's still making life fun for us.
Grandpa is a cowboy. The hat, shirt, belt buckle, Wranglers, boots - he's got it all. Last weekend he received a great honor at the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo. July 20 was the National Day of the American Cowboy (fourth Saturday of July each year - who knew?), and the rodeo chose an honoree from each county who provides an "outstanding contribution to the preservation of Utah's cowboy culture for future generations." (From the Ogden Pioneer Days website). Grandpa Warnick is the honoree from Salt Lake County. Wow!
Just about every Warnick came to the rodeo to surprise and support Grandpa as he took center stage (arena?) to accept the award.
This is Grandma and Grandpa Warnick!
Here's the writeup my Aunt Kelly submitted for the program:
At the young age of 75 years old, Mike Warnick is still living and supporting the "Western" way of life, where a hand shakes and man's word is something you can believe in.
Mike was raised on a farm in Delta, Utah. It was there that he discovered his love of horses, farming, and the sport of rodeo. He competed in hundreds of rodeos over the years and was always considered to be one of the best!
In the early 1970s Mike and his wife Lou moved to West Jordan, Utah with their 6 children. Wanting to share their passion for the western way of life and give back to the community, Mike and Lou started the Broncos 4H Club.
Mike became Rodeo Chairman of the West Jordan Western Stampede Rodeo in the early 1980s. Over the next 35 years, he donated countless hours and plenty of sweat to the success of this PRCA Rodeo. His knowledge and passion for the sport was contagious and transformed the volunteer based celebration into one of the largest rodeos in the state of Utah.
Always willing to give everyone a shot, Mr. Warnick was able to jump start the careers of many PRCA bull fighters, announcers, and specialty acts.
Mike Warnick is a true example of a real cowboy and what the West is all about. A little sweat and dirt has never made a greater impression than what Mike Warnick has brought to Salt Lake County and the state of Utah. For him it is an honor and very humbling to be awarded with such a prestigious award. As a family, we are proud of our father and honored to call him our dad!
We all want our kids to grow up to be cowboys! Long live
cowboys!
This is a much deserved award. Grandpa and Grandma both have contributed countless hours as rodeo chairs and have built up a legacy in the community. I'm so proud of Grandpa Warnick and glad he was acknowledged. Thank you, Ogden Pioneer Days!
May I add that it was AWESOME spending each Fourth of July weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's rodeo. I was always the prissy one who wore sandals and side-stepped the horse poop, but I enjoyed the spectacle more than I was usually willing to admit. You haven't truly seen a rodeo until you've been back with the livestock, watched the cowboys warm up by the chutes, hung on the arena fence as a bull passes by inches away from you, and played tag in the arena dirt when the show is over. That's how the Fourth of July is done.
I'm proud of Grandpa Warnick for being a true cowboy. I love him lots.
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