August 6, 1924
Arthur Wayne Lockhart was born August 6, 1924 to Richard and Harriett (Colburn) Lockhart. He was born at the family home near Stapleton, Nebraska, and was the third child of the five children they had. There was Richard, Elizabeth, Arthur, David and Ruth. Richard and Harriett raised their family on their farm. Arthur went to a country school nearby until the eighth grade. In 1946, at 22 years old, he entered the Army. He took his basic training at Camp Polk, Louisiana and then was sent to Yokahama, Japan. He served in the Occupation Army following World War II, in the Medical Corp. He was in the service eighteen months, returning home in 1947.
Art worked in North Platte, Nebraska, for Calhouns and later for Ted McGinley’s at Valentine, Nebraska. February 27, 1951, Arthur came to work for Walter Wilson. Most of Arthur’s employment with the Wilson’s was spent in Arthur County. However, he did spend a few years in Broadwater, Nebraska, working on a ranch owned by Walter. Walter and Arthur were good friends. Arthur knew Walter’s father while he was alive and has seen Walter’s children and grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. We have all learned a great deal from Arthur thru the generations and his lessons continue to impact the way we live and ranch today.
Arthur received recognition from the AQHA for 35 years of registering colts. He has been a member of the AQHA for over 50 years. This picture was featured in the NebraskaLand calendar in 1986.
Unfortunately, I cannot do justice to why Arthur Lockhart should be an inductee in the Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame. Arthur is everything the title suggests, a true Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy. Born and raised in Nebraska, he found his first and last love, horses. His family farmed with horses and later as a hired hand, bought his first Quarter Horse and started breeding, selling and breaking them. His delight and pride at seeing a new colt is comparable to a new parent’s. He loved leather work and for years made things for people and himself that promoted the “cowboy way.” He has seen five generations of our family since coming to work for our family. Mark’s Great Grandfather was alive when he came to work for Walter on February 27, 1951. He has been much more than a hired cowboy. He is family. He has seen us through the bad and good times. He has helped to teach my husband and his brother the tricks of the trade and now gives tips to my six year old daughter on how to rope and ride. He believes we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and thinks that horses are the ornaments on it. He loves to rope and ride. He likes to say, “I have seen as much country horseback as anyone.” He would live and die on a horse if he could and he is a Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee in my mind. I know without a doubt, our neighbors feel the same. He is first to volunteer to help a neighbor, from fixing a tire to working cattle. Our neighbors and we have truly valued his friendship for all these years. He is a loved Cowboy.