He’s the man of steel, and he’s put up plenty of it at the Phillipsburg rodeo grounds throughout the years.
Cliff Van Kooten has been associated with the rodeo, either on the committee, as chairman, or as a volunteer, since 1982.
After graduating from high school in 1960, the Long Island, Kan. native spent three years in the military before coming back home to marry his wife, Helen, in 1964. The couple moved to Phillipsburg. He went to welding school and worked for the International Harvester dealer in Phillipsburg while he welded on the side.
In 1967, he started his own business, and two years later, he bought the location where Cliff’s Welding is situated, on the west side of Phillipsburg.
In 1982, a Phillipsburg businessman stopped by his shop, offering his rodeo share in the Rodeo Association for $100 to Van Kooten. But Van Kooten couldn’t afford it. “At the time, I didn’t have the money, so he said he’d keep it till I had enough. It wasn’t long, and I had the $100.”
(Read more: Hays Post)