Welcome! Picture in your mind a little boy in the 1930’s growing up in rural Arkansas. With his horse, Midnight, this boy never aspired to anything other than the cowboy life. At six years old, he would ride the train alone to Wyoming to live and work on a ranch for the summer---year after year after year. Bunky Boger grew up to be a rodeo competitor, bullfighter, and circus performer.
At age 64, his journey took a new path when he entered the fair industry as a promoter of hands-on, interactive agricultural activities for kids of all ages. Along the way, he met his girl, Connie, with whom he built his life, family, and business. It’s a beautiful partnership that has endured the test of time and the ups and downs of life. Today, they travel to fairs with 225 animals housed in 4 tractor trailers. They’ve appeared in several TV shows, commercials, magazines, and newspapers. Listen in as Bunky and Connie share their favorite stories about their unusual life’s work. Join us!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Bunky’s story: The theft of three chickens trained to play tic-tac-toe
- How they secured a 3-year stint at an Atlantic City casino with people paying to “beat the chicken”
- How Bunky started out in the rodeo business and was introduced to bullfighting
- What it was like working on a ranch as a 6-year old boy
- Catching gophers for a penny each!
- How Bunky ended up in the circus—for $3000/week
- Buffaloes, horses, and circus stories
- Transition to the fair industry
- How they handle finances in their unique business
- How he knew in three days that he should marry Connie---43 years ago!
- The multi-talented cowboy, Connie
- Financial hardships, bankruptcy, and losing it all—except ONE buffalo!
- Why their kids rode horses at one day old!
- The story of one bothersome employee
- Connie’s advice for younger people in the fair industry? “Have a passion for what you do.”
- Find out more about Bunky and Connie at fairanimalspecialties.com and www.casinochicken.com.