Sun Valley Sun from Augusta, Montana • 1

Mont historical Society 225 Roberts Street Helena MT 59601 25C VOL I NO 19 TELEPHONE 562-3877 JAN 20 1983 PHIL PINGS' DEATH LEAVES VOID HERE AUGUSTA This northern Lewis and Clark community has lost a long and trusted friend who served his country in Vorld War II and as Augusta postmaster Philip Pings 67 died Jan 11 In a Great Falls hospital Rosary was rec copy of a prayer that Patton provided his men before the crucial Battle of the Bulge After leaving the Army Pings returned to Augusta where he worked in the Manlx Store He and Kathleen Rebman were married in March 1947 in Oakland Calif The couple operated the Sun Theatre where the ambulance garage now sits and the Augusta Variety Store Pings also worked for Benson Scale Service In June 1964 Pings was appointed postmaster for Augusta He retired from that job in January 1980 His maternal grandfather Phil A Manix was Augusta's first postmaster and developer of the town Pings loved music He played trumpet with the top bands in the Creat Falls area for many years and was a member of the Musicians Union A daughter said her father 8 playing at an Augusta High School dance was one of the highlights of her high school career Pings in later years was an avid San Francisco Giants baseball and 49er football fan largely because of comraderie with his son-in-law in California Whenever in the Bay Area he attended their home games He was a member of St Matthias Church American Legion Post 51 and the Senior Citizens He had been a member of the volunteer fire department and Woodmen of the World Survivors Include the widow two See PINGS on Page 12 ited at 7:30 pm last Friday in St Matthias Church His funeral was at 1 pm Saturday In the church with Fr William Gannon officiating Betty Chamberlain played the organ Interment followed in the Augusta Cemetery with military honors by Augusta American Legion Post 51 As pallbearers carried the casket to the grave Pete Peterson well-known Great Falls musician played "Stardust" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" on his trombone Augusta students Shonie Anderson and Scott Witt also bugled at the cemetery Pallbearers were Vern Hindberg A Bender James Hardy Paul Mihalovlch Victory Krueger and Philip Doughty Bender is from Escondido Calif the others from Augusta Honorary pallbearers were John Manlx Spokane Wash John Rice Oscaloosa Kan Howard O'Connell Longview Wash Vincent Pings Dr Harry Power and Arnold Peterson all of Great Falls and Floyd Barnard and Carl Christian both of Augusta Pings was born Dec 11 1915 in Augusta and spent his life here except for three years in the US Army He entered service on St Patrick's Day 1942 and served under Gen George Patton in the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion and participated in the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge He was in the same unit with the late Sen Lee Metcalf and they became close friends One of Pings souvenirs was a Cook MRA-NRA Bullfighter of Year The bull may paw the dirt snort and shake his head but Rick knows he won't advance until he sees the muscles in his chest tighten up for the charge off his front legs "You can't outrun a bull" Cook said "You wait for him to charge and at the last second quickly step aside not allowing him time to turn in your direction" That's much as a Spanish matador does with a cape The wiry 5-foot-8 145-pound Cook doesn't use a barrel He said they are for clowns Although Cook makes up as VAUGHN The top 15 bull riders in the Montana and Northern Rodeo Associations voted Rick Cook Bullfighter of the Year for 1982 and he will do his best to protect them at their joint association finals in the Yellowstone Metra at Billings Feb 4-6 The previous four years the Vaughn man who recently moved to Ulm worked the NRA Finals only He also has worked three Montana Indian Rodeo Finals Cook 25 started in rodeo in 1975 after graduation from Simms High School He soon learned that riding broncs bareback wasn't for him and asked Don Jacobs who provides livestock for Montana rodeos if he could work with the bulls Jacobs gave him the opportunity and Cook worked three rodeos late in 1975 two with another bullfighter and one by himself During that winter Jacobs purchased a dozen top bulls at a National Finals sale in Texas and he wouldn't rehlre Cook in 1976 until he attended a bullfighting school in Alberta Cook did and has been working Montana rodeos as a bullfighter since Ninety percent of the time he works for Jacobs whose feedlot is near the Interstate 15 Northwest Bypass exit The other 10 percent have been for Reg Kessler Dale Small and Harry Void The latter produces college rodeos What does a bullfighter look for? First Cook said he watches the mid-section of the rider and when he sees him being unseated he immediately strives to get the bull's attention and whenever possible get between the dismounted rider and the bull RICK COOK above after a day of trapshooting last Sunday at Bowman's Corner At right in his make-up to fight bulls.