Memorial in place for rodeo legend Larry Kane

In 1958 a Bear Paw cowboy named Larry Kane was honorably discharged from the United States Army and strode into a rodeo career that made him famous across North America, and Monday a memorial to Kane, who died in 2008, was placed in his hometown of Big Sandy for all who drive along U.S. Highway 87 to stop and admire, and to learn about the legend.

"It was a longtime coming," said Larry Kane's widow Gwen Kane who still lives in Big Sandy.

The inspiration for the memorial, Gwen said, came from Larry's cowboy friends in the U.S. and Canada and her own friends who felt that the town of Big Sandy should have a monument to Larry, so she took it on herself to initiate the process.

The memorial is a 6½ foot square, 4,500 pound boulder, which is actually a handcrafted, concrete sculpture designed to look like a boulder. The construction method allowed the manufacturers, Sibra Designs of Big Sandy, to incorporate lettering on the boulder face, a bronze plaque that details Larry's accomplishments and a metal-carved silhouette of him riding a bucking horse named Descent.

In the process of getting permission from the state to erect the memorial along the highway, Gwen said, the state official who was in charge of approving this turned out to be a former rodeo cowboy who had competed with Larry. She said he gave his approval "200 percent."

"A lot of the people who live here now never knew Larry because they are second generation the generation that knew him passed away, moved away or are in a nursing home," she said, adding "anybody, now, that sees this understands how important it was ... he was very famous in the '70s."

Among the many accomplishments of Larry's life - he earned Rodeo Cowboys Association Rookie of the Year in 1960, he qualified for the National Finals Rodeo four years in a row, 1960 to 1963, and rode the six-time bucking horse of the year, Descent, four times. - he also worked as a pickup man and was selected, by vote of cowboy contestants, to work as pickup man at the NFR in 1969, 1972 and 1975.

In 2010 he was inducted into the Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Larry and Gwen's son, Mike, and his two sons are traveling to Big Sandy from their home in Alaska to see the newly installed memorial and celebrate Homecoming, Gwen said, adding that they know the memorial was made, but don't know any other details.

"Someone told me the other day, 'Gwen this is long overdue. This should've been done a long time ago,' I said, 'Well, I know,' but it's been done now, it's been done right and it's good" she said.