Harrington history

The Armstrong surname is familiar in the Harrington area. There were probably three W.B. Armstrongs in their family charts, but there was only one "Sleepy," whose given name was Edgar Alan Armstrong. Sleepy was a son of George Albert 'Doc' Armstrong (1857-1945) and his wife Mary Eliza Goodwin (1860-1941). George's father was a large farm owner in Texas where he also owned a store and hotel. At the end of the Civil War, G.A. was just seven years of age. In later years he could tell tales of days he spent driving cattle on the Chisholm Trail and of being in Baxter Springs, Kansas the day the Dalton Brothers robbed the bank. He sought a homestead in Oklahoma, but when he got to the correct location for his property, he was met with a man with a Winchester rifle, and G.A. Armstrong thought he would find a different piece to call his own. George married in 1881 at Baxter Springs, and he and his wife had eight children, Sleepy being the third, born in 1887. In 1901, this family came to Harrington where they worked for L.P. Turner. It is interesting to note that G.A. Armstrong did not file for a homestead after arriving here, but opted to work for others on their land, in fact later farm, for his son W.B. Armstrong, first born son to G.A. and older brother to Sleepy.

And how is it that Edgar A. Armstrong would not be called Edgar? As the story goes, he fell asleep in the hay when a young lad, was dubbed 'Sleepy' and the nickname stuck for a lifetime. "As a lad of 14, he came with his family to Harrington in 1901. For fun, for sport and for money, Sleepy rode his heart out at the pioneer picnics on Crab Creek, and there he mastered becoming a jockey; horse racing was now in his blood. He set the world championship record for relay riding during his rodeo years, a record not broken while he was alive. From Harrington and then to the rodeo circuits, the talents of Sleepy took him to Hollywood where he made a name for himself in western movies. He supplemented this income by training jockeys and thoroughbred horses. His build, though slender, was too tall to be a jockey himself." In June 1912, Sleepy won a relay race. In 1913, his nephew Herb was born. But Sleepy made the news in 1914. "Successful Close of Pioneer Picnic. The only incident to mar the day's activities was the injuries received by E.A. (Sleepy) Armstrong, well-known race horseman of Harrington, who was thrown from his horse in the half-mile running race, resulting in a badly injured hip and probably internal injuries. One of the other horses in the race jumped over Armstrong as he was lying prostrated on the ground." His news story for 1915 was not about his body, but occurred from one of his horses: "John Coffin, jockey, riding for Sleepy Armstrong, met with an accident when his horse ran into a bank and threw the rider off, landing him on his head, stunning and shaking him, but with no serious results."

"Sleepy Armstrong Thrills Big Crowd at Plummer on 4th. W.L. Adams, who participated in the racing events at the Plummer Fourth of July celebration, returned home Monday and said: 'Sleepy Armstrong certainly thrilled that crowd at Plummer when he rode Red Pepper, the celebrated trained bucking horse that they tried to ride at the picnic this year. The third of July a rider stayed on her for 10 jumps and the next day another rider stuck on for three jumps. For a side purse of $100 for anyone who would stay with her for 15 jumps, Sleepy tackled the job and lasted 25 jumps and fanned her every jump. As she turned out of a corner in the arena Sleepy leaped off and alighted on his feet and that brought the grand stand to its feet in an uproar. It was the best exhibition of riding I ever saw by an amateur. Sleepy does not claim to be a 'buckaroo' but from the grand stand it looked like he was a top-notcher. Previous to this he had won the bucking contest at Condon, Oregon, in his jockey clothes. At Plummer he won four running races, the relay, and took some seconds and thirds. The derby at Plummer was won by Impression with Montana Bell second and Curlicue third. It was a very close race and was won by a nose." (Citizen: 7-11-1919)

Anything to do with horses, Sleepy can do it. He was rather proficient working with mules on the farm, but given a preference, Sleepy would rather be raising, breeding, riding, and grooming one of their fine stock. He had a reputation for being a solid horse trader and trainer. He and his nephew Herb Armstrong worked together on their spacious Valley Farm near Harrington.

Sleepy Armstrong had a tremendous start with local farming, Lincoln County Pioneer Picnic races and coming from a large ranch like Valley Farms which at one time consisted of 4,640 acres. The ranch was noted for its hay, grain, dairy and breeding of stock. In the late 1920s, W.B. Armstrong was instrumental in creating the Harrington Mule Days. By the late 1930s, Herb Armstrong was noted for his ranch sponsoring Sunday-afternoon rodeos. He even saddles cows for an event. "Local boys will be performers, and if you want to see daylight between saddle and chaps, be present. It is expected that some of the riders will be 'steered' in diverse and meandering courses as vigorous young bovines try to get out from under their overburdens." (Citizen: 7-23-1937)

The husky steers "had saddles on them, they invariably shed both saddle and rider in one pile, and in some cases stepped on the riders pretty hard and without much care as to what part of their anatomy they used for stepping stones. Herb Armstrong, Harrington, won the fist barrel race, and Ernest Gilbert won the second barrel race. Daybreaker 'Tex,' on one of Ray Lamp's mounts, won the pony race. Kenny Wyatt stuck to a steer for a couple or three broad, high jumps, then he and saddle went over the steer's head and the said steer walked all over him. Buster Talkington, local rider, appeared in society Monday morning all bandaged up, and there were many others whose overalls hid sore spots. Billie Richardson and his brother, Edgar, were often left up in the air while their bovine mounts escaped from under them and Mother Earth came up and kissed them with a smack that made them see stars for a minute. There was some attempt at calf roping, but the crowd was too dense for a good demonstration, and the calves escaped the noose of the lariats." (Citizen: 7-30-1937.) Of course, by 1937 Sleepy was nearly 50 and had already shaped his direction, but the atmosphere at Valley Farm was much the same in his formative years.

In 1946, Sleepy was severely kicked in the stomach and incapacitated. His wife took over for him in the preparation of his horse for the Futurity at Longacres. Yes, Sleepy was married, not once but three times. His last marriage was to Ethel Strange on October 15, 1935, in Redwood City, Calif., and lasted nearly 40 years, ending with his death in June 1975. As a side note, Edgar's other brother, George Armstrong, was Harrington's first war-time casualty in WW I, dying from pneumonia at Camp Lewis in June 1918.

The Harrington history was composed by Marjorie Womach with the aid of back issues of the Harrington Citizen newspaper.