P a g e 5 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r 2 0 1 1 MON T ANA COWB O Y HA L L O F F AME I N DU C T E E 1860 – 1 9 6 0 L E GA C Y AWA R D D I S T R I C T 1 2 The Brander Sisters - Violet (1904-1981) & Margaret (1905-1996) “Life wasn't easy” best describes two of the hardiest pioneer cowgirls in the State of Montana. Violet Elizabeth and Margaret Ruth Brander were born at Avon, Montana. They became known as the famous “Brander Sisters” throughout western rodeo circuits because of their daring rides on bucking horses and Brahma steers and bulls. Violet also did Roman riding races. “Let ‘er Buck” was associated with the sisters, though they were also contestants in bulldogging, calf roping, relay races, wild cow milking, wild horse racing, and horse racing. The girls’ exhibition rides on Brahmas had Margaret atop the animal’s neck backwards while Violet faced Margaret. Violet, or “Vi” as she was known, was a slender 5’11” blue-eyed woman with reddish-blond hair born on January 24, 1904. Margaret, nicknamed “Marg”, was a shapely 5’10” blue-eyed woman with dark brown hair born April 28, 1905. The girls were the fourth and fifth children of George and Fannie Brander who had fifteen children. During the early years, the family suffered extreme privation and at times, hunger. Vi and Marg had vivid memories of living off the land by eating wild service berries, wheat gleaned after neighbors harvest, and small potatoes left after potato pickers had sacked those worth sacking from nearby fields. Their father was a wood sawyer who didn't get paid often, as far as they knew and once left his family in the wilderness near Gold Creek to fend for themselves while he looked for more profitable work. In 1912, their mother through an agreement with their mother’s uncle, moved the family to Bradley, Montana. Fannie, a farmer at heart managed to put together a herd of dairy cattle, chickens, turkeys, and sheep. Her and the children put in an acre of garden and a potato patch. Apples and cherries from the orchard were canned. With a large root cellar for storage and hard work, there were no longer days of acute hunger. Vi and Marg worked hard caring for the garden, plowing and seeding field crops, caring for stock and their younger siblings. When they were 17 and 18, following a spat with their father, Vi and Marg decided to leave home and make it on their own. They rode bareback about 70 miles as the crow flies to the ranch for Bill and Fannie Steele who lived at Montana City. They had previously met Fannie Steele, the then World Champion Woman Saddle Bronc Rider. The couple taught the young sisters how to ride broncs. That summer the sisters also worked the Steele's fields, mowing, raking and stacking hay. They later returned home and ran a cross-cut saw to fell big trees, then limbed and skidded
6 Publizr Home