Johnnie Burson of Silverton modestly said about this award, “I’m real glad to have this honor of being inducted into this organization here. I don’t think I deserve it. There’s a lot more people that are better cowboys than I am.”
But the Briscoe County rancher noted he has been recognized before for his cattle work. “I’ve had lots of fun and I enjoyed working cattle. Several years ago I won the Tom Blasingame Award at the Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock.” A horseman known for such good horses as Tater and others, Burson tickled the awards dinner crowd by telling about one of his horses named Buckshot who pitched him. Burson got back at the horse by selling him. “And I was glad to see him go,” Burson told the chuckling crowd.
“I never did work on anyone’s ranch except the one owned by my father, my mother and myself. I used to to go to the JA’s. I’d go down and visit with them, spend the night at the wagon.” He and his son, Jimmy, had a chuckwagon and would take it to the JA Ranch. But he eventually told his son, “Jimmy, you need to get someone else to help you with this wagon. I’m getting so staggering and old I’m afraid I’m going to fall in that fire and get burned.”
His son replied, “Daddy, you won’t be in any danger. You’ll be over on the back side washing dishes.”
