barge’s impact on the city could be felt in myriad ways over the years. photos of barge are part of the digital collection at the university of calgary and calgarians have done everything from suggesting a bridge be named after him to petitioning city hall to build a statue honouring him.
“this guy has been in our living rooms for 30 years, we just thought it would be great to honour him,” a petition organizer karen durrie said in 2015. “ there’s a lot of overwhelmingly warm memories of him out there.”
honours for barge have continued as recently as this year. in may, barge’s famous cowboy hat (undersized, slightly tattered and with turned-up sides) became part of an exhibit at the new sam centre, the stampede facility that showcases its artifacts. the centre i ncludes a wall of famous cowboy hats, including one worn by barge.
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buck shot’s guitar has also made an appearance at studio bell, where his daughter cindy barge wrote the following tribute : “the true impact of how much he meant to kids, and even their parents, didn’t hit until we became older. to see kids’ eyes light up when they saw him, and see adults turn back into kids when they met him; it was a beautiful sight.
in 2017, barge celebrated the 50th anniversary of the year his show first hit the airwaves. at that time, the show hadn’t been on tv for two decades, but he still had legions of fans.
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local kids who appeared on the buck shot show included laureen teskey harper, wife of former prime minister stephen harper.
former calgary mayor naheed nenshi wrote on x (twitter) that he never got to be on t he buck shot show when he was a kid, “but always got a thrill” when he would meet him around town as an adult. “we are so grateful for your legacy,” nenshi wrote.
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