Interview: Jim Aplan

Description

Originally from Ft. Pierre, Jim Aplan was a rodeo cowboy who grew up collecting arrowheads to pay for movies on the weekends. In the first part of his interview with Bev Pechan, he shares many tales about the rodeo life. Jim participated in rodeos all across the United States, including shows with Colonel Jim Eskew in New York.

In the second part of his interview, Jim talks about his many jobs over the years, including working at the Ft. Meade hospital, starting a museum in Keystone with Dr. Kenneth Leonard, and working at a bank in Midland, SD. He also details the purchases of several historical collections, like the Borglum papers, Hoffman collection, and a Custer battlefield gun.

Subject

antique collecting, cowboys, Ft. Meade, Ft. Pierre, gun collecting, Jim Eskew Ranch & Rodeo, Keystone, museums, rodeo clowns, rodeo cowboys, rodeos

Creator

Rapid City Oral History Project

Date

10-01-2014

Contributor

Rapid City Public Library
Historic Rapid City
Rapid City Library Foundation

Coverage

Keystone, (S.D.), Ft. Pierre (S.D.), Canon City, (C.O.), Midland (S.D.)
1930s-2000s

Interviewee

Jim Aplan

Interviewer

Bev Pechan

Location

Rapid City

Files

Date Added
May 19, 2021
Collection
Interviews
Item Type
Oral History
Tags
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Citation
Rapid City Oral History Project, “Interview: Jim Aplan,” Rapid City Oral History, accessed May 18, 2024, https://rcploralhistory.omeka.net/items/show/5.