By KRISTI MAYFIELD
From the moment that Pat Kuhn and her mother stepped foot in Oakdale more than 40 years ago, Kuhn knew this would be her future home and the rest, as they say, is history.
Kuhn, former Mayor of Oakdale and an educator who taught for more than 38 years at multiple schools here, was proud and extremely grateful to be honored at the 2025 Cowgirl Luncheon. The event was part of Rodeo Week, hosted at the Bianchi Community Center on April 9.
“When Bill (Sanguinetti) called and told me that I was being honored this year at the luncheon, I was overwhelmed,” said Kuhn when Sanguinetti, a longtime friend and fellow Rodeo lover, shared the good news with her.
Originally from Oregon, Kuhn was drawn to Oakdale because of the small community, a love of horses and the cowboy way of life.
“My mom and I toured three spots when I was looking at relocating from Oregon: Scottsdale, Arizona; San Rafael, California; and Oakdale, California and as soon as we came to Oakdale, we knew this was home,” said Kuhn.
An avid horse rider, Kuhn wanted to begin her career in education somewhere where she could ride her horses as often as possible in a warmer climate and she found what she was looking for in The Cowboy Capital of the World. Even though she didn’t know anyone in the community, through other friends she met Bob and Nancy Cook, cowboys from California that just happened to know all about Oakdale and took Kuhn and her horses in when she relocated to Oakdale.
“Pat met the Cooks in the 1970’s and they took her in, like they did many of us, and helped her learn all about the rodeo way of life and made her part of the family and she continued to serve Oakdale from there on out,” said Sanguinetti when discussing why selecting Pat Kuhn as this year’s honoree at the luncheon was a “no-brainer.”
Sanguinetti went on to highlight some of the similarities between himself and Kuhn, noting that they are both transplants, him being from the not-too-far-away Stockton area and Kuhn coming from Oregon. As he elaborated, “There is a special group of people here in Oakdale that helped to make it what it is and Pat is one of them.”
From her work with timing rodeos to working with horses, she has continued to exemplify the Oakdale way of life.
Through the many years she spent teaching, Kuhn was able to impact quite a few students along the way, which is one of her proudest accomplishments.
“When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I thought of going into politics because I just knew that I wanted to change things and make things better, especially for children,” said Kuhn, adding that she decided to move toward a career in education instead of pursuing a career in politics. Kuhn was compelled to join the ranks of educators all over the nation in her journey to advocate for and support children. Though she taught at multiple schools here in town including beginning her career at Cloverland Elementary School teaching third grade, Kuhn taught multiple grade levels and served in administrative positions as well before returning to teach third grade at Magnolia Elementary School. As it turns out, Kuhn did end up getting into politics at the local level, including her service on the Oakdale City Council as well as serving as the Mayor of Oakdale for 12 years, being the first woman elected to do so.
Angie Gutierrez, Vice President of the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, and her team were thrilled to honor Kuhn and noted that though there is a lot of work that goes into hosting a successful Cowgirl Luncheon, the results are definitely worth it. From gathering raffle prizes to recruiting cowboys to serve the ladies at the luncheon, the entire team at the museum worked together to pull off an incredible event that celebrates the cowboy and ranching way of life. Due to the success of the original Cowgirl Luncheon, which sells out quickly every year, there are other venues now hosting rodeo week luncheons to accommodate all of the cowgirls that enjoy gathering every year.
Ryderz hosted a luncheon filled with western themes and fun prizes; the H-B celebrated the many years of rodeo and ranching; Bistro 120 offered an elegant take on the cowgirl way of life and The Reata served up fun and festivities along with a mechanical bull. With the original Cowgirl Luncheon at the Gene Bianchi Community Center, each venue honored The Cowboy Capital of the World.
“It’s great to be here, good kickoff to the rodeo week,” said Jeramy Young, Police Chief for the City of Livermore and former Mayor of Hughson and one of the many cowboy servers for the day.
Jeremy Ellis, a member of the Cowboy Museum Board of Directors, noted how their events really bring the community together and though this is Ellis’s first year serving on the board, he is looking forward to many more events that will bring visitors and attention to both the museum and the community.
With some 500 attendees at the luncheon at the Cowgirl Luncheon and packed houses at the additional venues, the events were a success and a testament to how the western way of life are still alive and well in the Cowboy Capital.
