In 1985, Father Joe Geders came to Cheyenne to assist at St. Mary’s Cathedral during the summer. Parish member Will Kallal, who happened to be Chairman of the Contestants Committee, invited the young priest to a “behind the scenes” tour of the rodeo. Impressed with the spirit and effort of the volunteers who make the event into the Western celebration that it is, Fr. Joe expressed his desire to become a volunteer on the Contestants Committee. It took Kallal a while to believe he was serious about the request, but the following year, Fr. Joe became a member of the Committee. After being introduced, it took some time for members of the Contestants Committee to adjust to the fact that a Catholic priest was now a member of their crew. Fr. Joe, however, quickly made many life-long friends through his dedication and resolve to contribute.
During his early days at CFD, the Contestants Committee consisted of a much smaller group of members who rotated through a number of work positions during the week. As a result, Geders rotated from one responsibility to another around the arena. He policed the contestants area and ran the arena gates. He assisted officials, bullfighters, and barrel men. Geders also shared his love of cooking by organizing the cooks for the Committee’s lunches, preparing many of the meals himself. Eventually, Father Joe was recruited to work as a member of the strippin’ chute crew under Wes Schaffer, which involved removing saddles and equipment from the bucking stock. Fr. Joe ultimately had two objectives working for the team. One was to keep all his fingers, while the other was to dodge being the target of Wes’ legendary barrage of “colorful Western metaphors” that he consistently launched at the uncooperative horses. While the horses may not have acknowledged that Father Geders was there to help, Wes and the rest of the strippin’ chute crew were grateful for his assistance. Today, Fr. Joe continues to work behind the bucking chutes, operating the slide gates.
Amidst his responsibilities as a member of the Contestants Committee, Father Geders also made himself available when an appeal to a higher power was needed. He has accompanied many volunteers and contestants in prayer. When Harry Vold arrived at Cheyenne Frontier Days™ each year, he and Father Joe would pray together for the safety of the cowboys and everyone in the arena. Outside of Frontier Days, Fr. Joe has traveled back to Cheyenne for the funerals and memorial services of volunteers. In recent years, the General Committee has relied upon him to offer a prayer at the beginning of each rodeo for the benefit of all. For his support of CFD, Father Geders was inducted into the HEELS in 2002.
As a man of the cloth, the demands of Fr. Joe’s calling have taken him away from Cheyenne to Chicago, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, Jackson, Wyoming, and even Rome. He currently serves in Perryville, Missouri as pastor for St. Vincent DePaul Parish in the Diocese of St. Louis. No matter where his assignments take him, however, he has made it a point to continue returning almost every single year to volunteer for Cheyenne Frontier Days™.