COLD WEATHER, COWHANDS, AND CATTLE COUNTRY by Marisa Masterson

November started out feeling like January here in Michigan. The cold wind and blowing snow sent shivers down my back as I looked out the window. It was nasty weather to dart from car to store when I needed to shop for groceries.

Fall of the Cowboy by Frederic Remington

The cold started me thinking about cowboys and the winter weather. Here I am in my cozy, warm house. What about the cowhands?

Not every cowboy stayed employed year-round. The ranches required fewer hands after the fall cattle drive finished. The cattle still might wander during the winter so some hands were needed. Also, cowhands were kept busy cutting holes in ice so the animals could drink or checking on the herd as rustlers might strike, even during winter.

Waiting for a Chinook by C. M. Russell

One winter was particularly historic for the cattle industry. During 1886-1887, freezing temperatures and blizzards killed up to 90% of cattle that had been left to graze the winter range. No wonder that winter is also know as the Big Die-UP (a play on the term round up).

Prior to this winter, life had been relatively easy for ranchers with extremely mild winters in the previous two years. The summer of 1886 was brutally hot and dry which didn't allow for any hay to be harvested and stored in the winter.


That terrible winter began the end of the traditional cowboy way of life, at least that's what I've read. Ranchers faced foreclosure along with a range dotted by carcasses and live cattle that were far from healthy. (To read more about this, check out https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1887-blizzard-changed-american-frontier-forever-1-180953852/.)

Here I sit, much more than a century later, in my warm house kept warm by central heat. A little early winter might not be such a terrible thing after all compared with the life of a rancher or a cowboy in winter.

A man might homestead, but it takes a woman to turn that place into a home! This matchmaker will settle the West one couple at a time.

Under suspicion after his wife’s murder, Elias Kline  heads west. It seems a fine way to start over, but he’ll need a wife to raise his son and cook his meals. 

Reading the widower's letter, Ruby Hastings aches for the little boy and seizes on this chance to be a mama to him. It should be a convenient arrangement. 

What happens when danger follows him from Mills Bluff? Will Elias be able to keep his family together? 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YBK98P8

Christmas, 1921

Victrolas, flappers, and a rooming house where two lonely people live. Good thing for them that Mrs. Klaussen, their landlady, has Christmas magic at her fingertips.
Del Peale and Josephine Withers have both loved and lost. That is why neither has pursued their mutual attraction. A newborn left on the front steps brings them together. A cold house forces Del to face the home he shared with his wife and son. Is it enough to let them see that love is still possible if they share that love?
Will strange twists and an abandoned baby be enough to lead them to a Christmas wedding? Perhaps Mrs. Klaussen will need to step in with a miracle and a very special Christmas ornament?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081PBQCFY

Bill Pickett, an Extraordinary Black Cowboy by Sarah J. McNeal

Bill Pickett was born on December 5, 1870 to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary “Janie” Gilbert near Taylor, Texas. He was the second child of 13 with an ancestry of African-American and Cherokee. He left school in the 5^th grade to become a ranch hand and married Maggie Turner, once a slave and the daughter of a white southern plantation owner. They had 9 children together.

An extraordinary cowboy, Pickett invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground. Pickett had witnessed cattlemen using a trained bulldog to catch a stray steer. He figured, if the bulldog could do it, he most certainly could. He practiced this feat by riding hard, leaping from his horse, and wrestling the steer to the ground. I guess he mimicked the bulldog by biting the cow on the lip and then falling backwards. Kind of gross in my opinion, but the stunt changed over time into what is called steer wrestling which is still practiced in rodeos today, but without biting the cow’s lip. Thank goodness.

Soon enough, Pickett became known for his tricks and stunts which he performed at county fairs. Along with his four brothers, Bill Pickett formed The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. That’s a mouthful, for certain. His name became well known and synonymous with popular rodeos. He performed his bulldogging stunt as he traveled around Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

I’ve talked about the 101 Ranch before because of two rodeo posters dated May 1901 that I found in my grandfather McNeal’s trunk. Well, in 1905, Pickett joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured famous cowboys like Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Bee Ho Gray, and Lucille Mulhall. It wasn’t long before Bill Pickett became a popular member of the show and toured around the world and appeared in early motion picture shows in which he was known as “the Dusky Demon”. 

His ethnic background kept him from performing in many of the rodeos until he was forced to claim he was of Comanche heritage. In 1921 he performed the movies, The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull.

He retired from the Wild West Shows, but continued ranching. In 1932, a bronco kicked Bill Pickett in the head. After lying in a coma for several days, Bill Pickett passed from this earth.

A headstone for Bill Pickett was erected beside the graves of Miller brothers who owned Ranch 101 at the Cowboy Hill Cemetery, but his actual burial place is near a 14 foot stone monument in honor of the friendship of the Ponca Tribal Chief White Eagle and the Miller Brothers on Monument Hill. The monument is also known as the White Eagle Monument to the local people and is less than a quarter mile north east of Marland in Noble County, Oklahoma.

Pickett was indicted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1971.

The United States Postal Service included Bill Pickett in its Legends of the West commemorative sheet which was unveiled December 1993. Bill Pickett’s family informed the post office they has made the stamp with the wrong image which was of Bill’s brother, a fellow cowboy star. The United States Post Office corrected the image and reissued the stamp in Bill Pickett’s honor October 1994.

The Taylor City Council announced in March 2015 that the street that leads to the rodeo arena would be named in honor of Bill Pickett.

It is always exciting to me when I learn of someone from such humble beginnings makes something of themselves and becomes an honored icon for others to look up to and emulate. Bill Pickett was such an icon.

To read more about Bill Pickett:

•           Hanes, Bailey C. (1977). Bill Pickett, Bulldogger: The Biography of a Black Cowboy. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-1391-X. OCLC 02632780.

•           Johnson, Cecil (1994). Guts: Legendary Black Rodeo Cowboy Bill Pickett. Fort Worth, TX: Summit Group. ISBN 1-56530-162-5. OCLC 31374075.

Sarah J. McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER and Critical Care nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press. Some of her fantasy and paranormal books may also be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery and Victory Tales Press. She welcomes you to her website and social media:

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Jeff Davis Milton - Cowboy Turned Lawman

By Paisley Kirkpatrick

Cowboy Jeff Davis Milton was born in November 1861. After the Confederate surrender, Jeff Milton was raised on a once proud family estate called Sylvania, located in Florida. When it became evident the south would lose, his father had committed suicide near the end of the Civil War. When Milton was fifteen, he moved to Texas and took on a job as a cowboy, and then in 1878 lied about his age and joined the Texas Rangers.

After four years serving with the Rangers, he moved through west Texas and into New Mexico where he became a Deputy U.S. Marshal in 1884. For part of the 1880s he worked under Sheriff John Slaughter in Cochise County, Arizona. During that time the two were involved in several manhunts and shootouts with outlaws.

On June 21, 1895, while working alongside lawman George Scarborough, Scarborough shot and killed Martin McRose, a Texas rustler. McRose is buried near John Wesley Hardin, and Texas Ranger Ernest St. Leon. Milton was at that time, Chief of Police in El Paso, Texas, and Scarborough was a Deputy U.S. Marshal. McRose had been captured and was killed while being brought back from Mexico on an outstanding warrant by the two lawmen. Outlaw and gunman John Wesley Hardin claimed that he had paid Scarborough and Milton to kill Martin McRose. Milton and Scarborough were arrested, but Hardin later withdrew his comments and the two men were released.

In July, 1898 working with Scarborough again, the pair tracked down, shot, and captured Bronco Bill Walters near Solomonville, Arizona. They scattered Walter's gang from their hideout, killing another gang member in the process.

In February 1900 Milton substituted for another Express agent who was sick. When the train arrived in Fairbank that day, Milton was handing packages to the station agent. Former lawman-turned-outlaw Burt Alvord and five other robbers attempted to rob the express car of its cash. Milton shot outlaw Three Fingered Jack Dunlop, badly wounding him. He died days later. Milton also shot and wounded Bravo Juan Yoas during the gunfight. When Milton's left arm was seriously wounded, he improvised a tourniquet and stopped the blood loss from a severed artery. He then managed to throw the keys to the express car safe into a pile of packages at the far end of the car before Alvord and his men boarded the car. The gang was about to shoot Milton again when the train engineer intervened, saying he was already dead. The robbers were unable to open the safe and escaped with only a few dollars for their efforts.

The railroad dispatched a special engine and boxcar to transport Milton from Benson to Tucson for the treatment. The doctor tied the shattered bone together with piano wire. When the wound wouldn't heal, he sent Milton to San Francisco so he could be seen by experts at the Southern Pacific hospital. They wanted to amputate his arm at the elbow, but Milton refused and found a ride to his friend Dr. George Goodfellow's office. Goodfellow cleaned and treated Milton's wound, but gave him the bad news that he'd never have the use of his arm again.

Milton retired to Tombstone, Arizona and then settled in Tucson, Arizona in 1932, where he lived the remainder of his life. Louis L'Amour wrote in his book Education of a Wondering Man that he'd met Milton, who bought him breakfast and gave him a ride to Tucson.

CHRISTMAS SURPRISE Release November 11, 2015

Widower Hank Hughes has had it with his headstrong daughter. She'll be married by Christmas come hell or high water.

Nobody, including her father, would force Caroline Hughes to marry a man she doesn't love. She plans to choose her own husband. Her hopes are set on Tam MacGregor, but would he sever his family ties to stay with her?

Tam MacGregor and his brother came to the Northwoods to deliver horses and a new governess. Neither one of them expected to get caught up in a world of smuggling and even more dangerous, match making.

Caught between her own stubborn pride and the love she prays is enough to keep Tam in Wisconsin, Caroline is determined to have her Christmas wedding on her own terms.

http://amzn.com/1682949826

George Scarborough - Lawman/Outlaw

By Paisley Kirkpatrick

Recently I became aware of a dear friend's family connection to George Scarborough, one of the more modest frontier gunmen who helped tame the New Mexico and Arizona Territories. George was born in Louisiana October 2, 1859. He had quite a bit of gunplay and excitement in his limited career as a lawman. He had a considerable reputation among his peers and the outlaws he tracked throughout the southwestern wilderness.

The son of a Texas homesteader and parson, George knew firsthand the unsettled conditions of the southern frontier after the Civil War ended. His family moved to Texas where he worked as a cowboy for a while. After riding the range, he decided he'd rather deal with men than cattle. In 1885, when he was 26 years old, he took his first job as sheriff of Anson, Texas, then moved onto to work as deputy US Marshal in untamed El Paso, and finally worked as a private detective for the New Mexico Cattlemen's Association in the 1890's. At the time, El Paso was a rough town isolated from any nearby American towns. It was filled with gambling halls, bordellos, and unsavory characters, including John Wesley Hardin and John Selman.

Scarborough became well known for the unusual tactics he used while tracking a wanted outlaw. Often, he would disguise himself as an equal to those he pursued. He found this tactic extremely effective. He became hated and feared among lawbreakers. There have been many accusations that he was actively and ambitiously involved with outlaw gangs that he later betrayed, but no one could ever conclusively proved he was involved in unlawful actions.

In 1895 John Wesley Hardin claimed that he paid Scarborough and Jeff Milton, the El Paso Chief of Police, to kill outlaw and cattle rustler, Martin McRose. Milton and Scarborough were arrested but Hardin later withdrew his comments and the men were released. Later that year, gunslinger and latter-day lawman John Selman shot John Wesley Hardin in the back of the head while the man stood at the Acme Saloon Bar. On April 6, 1896, John Selman was murdered by Scarborough. George was put on trial for Selman's murder, but was acquitted.

Public opinion after his trial forced him to leave for the New Mexico Territory. He spent the rest of his days hunting down cattle rustlers and train robbers throughout the territory.

George had little appreciation for the overstated news reports of his exploits. In those days, the most effective lawmen had a dark side, but few were foolish enough to draw attention to themselves. In fear of revealing too much about his methods, George refused interviews by journalists. On April 5, 1900, Scarborough was involved in a shoot-out with George Stevenson and James Brooks. He was shot in the leg and taken back to Deming, where his leg was amputated. He died the following day.

After his death, the mysteries and legends surrounding George Scarborough were largely forgotten.

Cowboys and Cookouts

By Anna Kathryn Lanier

One of the things I like to collect is cookbooks. One book I picked up a few months ago is COWBOYS AND COOKOUTS: A Taste of the Old West by Lewis Esson.  Not only is it full of recipes, but quotes, songs, poems and stories straight out of the nineteenth century. 

As the introduction says, “It is a truly extraordinary phenomenon that a ragtag group of itinerant agricultural workers that really only flourished for a couple of decades … should have left such a lasting legacy.”  Esson goes on to say, “Even in its own time, the romance of the range and trail was recognized, and the native cowboys—including disaffected Texas Confederate soldiers, who couldn’t find a place in the post-Civil War Untied States—were joined, from quite early on, by young bloods from all points of the compass, hoping to savor the unique and heady mix of danger and freedom that was cowboy life.”

After the Civil War, ranches sprang up across the Great Plains and cowboys were hired to drive the cattle to railheads for shipment to the eastern and western cities.  “The cowboys,” Esson says, “usually traveled the trails in crews of twelve, including their leader—trail boss—and the cook. [The cook] drove and ran the “chuck wagon,” which not only served as a mobile kitchen but often carried all their supplies, including foodstuffs, medical supplies (if any), ammunition, and bedding.” Common cooking equipment included the all important coffee pot, assortment of pots and pans, skillets and ever versatile Dutch oven.

Here are a few recipes from Esson’s book for you to enjoy on your next campout or cookout.

BISCUITS ON STICKS

Ingredients

4 cups flour

1 ½ tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

¾ cup cold lard

About 1 cup cold milk

Directions

1.       Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Grate the lard into the bowl and mix in lightly with the fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2.       Make a well in the center and pour in three-quarter cup of the milk. Stir until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. If too dry, add a little more milk a little at a time.

3.       When smooth and pliable, turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead quickly for a minute or so, folding no more than ten times.

4.       Divide the dough into about 18 pieces and flatten each out with your hands. Wrap each piece around the tip of a well-scrubbed, thick, green, nontoxic shrub branch that is long enough to use safely on the fire.

5.       Cook over the fire or barbecue for about 10 minutes, turning from time to time, until golden brown all over.

6.       When cool enough to handle, pull out the branch and fill the center of the biscuit with butter, cheese, jam, or even shredded meat and gravy.

 TEXAN SPARE RIBS

Ingredients

6 ½ pounds pork spare ribs, separated

For the marinade:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1-2 tsp English mustard powder

1-2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 tbsp white wine vinegar

5 tbsp tomato paste

Juice of 1 lemon

1 small onion, finely chopped

Directions

1.       First prepare the marinade by mixing together all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmering the mixture over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

2.       Arrange the ribs in a single layer on a large sheet of heavy-duty foil with its edges folded up to make a tray.  Pour the marinade over the ribs and wrap the foil around them to make a big parcel. Double wrap with another sheet of foil. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to cook.

3.       When ready to cook, place the parcel on the side of the fire or barbecue and cook slowly for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Once in a while, using oven mitts, remove the parcel and give it a quick shake in order to baste the ribs.

PORK ‘N’ BEANS

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds cooked beans, such as navy or kidney beans

                or two cans of beans, drained and rinsed

8 oz salt pork or fatty bacon, diced

1 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4-6 tbsp tomato ketchup

Salt and pepper

4 oz cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

1.       Fry the pork or bacon, stirring regularly, until the fat runs. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Remove the pan contents, leaving as much of the fat as possible.

2.       Add the beans to the pan and lightly mash them with a fork as you mix them with the hot fat.

3.       Add the bacon and onion mixture back to the pan and mix with the beans, ketchup, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add a little water if the mixture isn’t creamy enough.

4.       Cover, set over a very gentle heat, and cook until a crust forms on the bottom of the pan, about an hour.

5.       Sprinkle with cheese to serve (optional).

You can also add chopped chilies, chili flakes or pepper sauce to taste.

**Texan and President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president to host a barbecue on the lawn of the White House.

Anna Kathryn Lanier
Romance Author, A GIFT BEYOND ALL MEASURE

http://aklanier.com/

Never let your memories be greater than your dreams. ~Doug Ivester 

The Most Beloved Cowboy by Sarah J. McNeal

Sarah McNeal is a multi-published author of time travel, paranormal, western, contemporary and historical fiction. Her stories may be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery and Prairie Rose Publications. 

The Wonderful and Beloved Will Rogers

Of all the western cowboys I admire, Will Rogers is at the top of my list. I remember him as a rope twirling, quiet talking, funny man. He was so much more than the Mark Twain of rope wranglers.

Birthplace of Will Rogers

Known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son", Rogers was born on the Dog Iron Ranch to a prominent Cherokee Nation family in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma) near present day Oologah. The house he was born in had been built in 1875 and was known as the "White House on the Verdigris River". His parents, Clement Vann Rogers (1839–1911) and Mary America Schrimsher (1838–1890), were both of part Cherokee ancestry. Rogers quipped that his ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower, but they "met the boat". His mother was quarter-Cherokee and a hereditary member of the Paint Clan. She died when Will was 11, and his father remarried less than two years after her death. He was the youngest of eight children and named for the Cherokee leader, Col. William Penn Adair. Only three of his siblings survived into adulthood: Sallie Clementine, Maude Ethel, and May (actually, Mary).

His father, Clement, was a leader in Cherokee society. Clement was a Cherokee judge, a Confederate veteran and served as a delegate to the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. Rogers County, Oklahoma is named in honor of Clement Rogers. He served several terms on the Cherokee Senate. Clement Rogers achieved financial success as a rancher and used his influence to help soften the negative effects of white acculturation on the tribe. Clement had high expectations for his son and wanted him to be more responsible and business-minded. Will, on the other hand, was more easygoing and oriented toward the loving affection offered by his mother rather than the harshness of his father. The personality clash increased after his mother's death, and young Will went from one venture to another with little success. Only after Will won acclaim in vaudeville did the rift begin to heal, but before a full reconciliation, Clement died in 1911.

Will was a good student and an avid reader of The New York Times, but he dropped out after the 10th grade. He later claimed he was a poor student, saying that he "studied the Fourth Reader for ten years". He was much more interested in cowboys and horses, and learned to rope and use a lariat.

Rogers' vaudeville rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies, which in turn led to the first of his many movie contracts. His 1920s syndicated newspaper column and his radio appearances increased his visibility and popularity. Rogers crusaded for aviation expansion, and provided Americans with first-hand accounts of his world travels. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programs, and a host of other controversial topics in a way that was appreciated by a national audience, with no one offended. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: "I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat." Another widely quoted Will Rogers comment was "I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."

Rogers and a friend went to Argentina in 1901 to start a ranch, but it failed. His friend returned to the United States and Will went to South Africa where he joined Texas Jack’s Wild West Show. Texas Jack wasn’t much of a roper, but he proved to Will, showmanship is more about how you perform than actual skill. With gratitude for all that he’d learned, Will quit the circus and went to Australia. Texas Jack gave him a reference letter for the Wirth Brothers Circus there, and Rogers continued to perform as a rider and trick roper, and worked on his pony act. He returned to the United States in 1904, appeared at the St. Louis World's Fair, and then began to try his roping skills on the vaudeville circuits.

A Young Will Rogers before 1900

Sometimes fate intervenes and changes a person’s life. On a trip to New York City, Rogers was at Madison Square Garden when a wild steer broke out of the arena and began to climb into the viewing stands. Rogers roped the steer to the delight of the crowd. The feat got front page attention from the newspapers, giving him valuable publicity and an audience eager to see more. Willie Hammerstein, father of later songwriter Oscar Hammerstein II, came to see his vaudeville act, and signed Rogers to appear on the Victoria Roof (literally on a rooftop) with his pony. For the next decade, Rogers estimated he worked for fifty weeks a year at the Roof and at the city's numerous vaudeville theaters.

Rogers described these early years at the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Columbia Theater in New York City. "I got a job on Hammerstein's Roof at $140 a week for myself, my horse, and the man who looked after it. I remained on the roof for eight weeks, always getting another two week extension when Willie Hammerstein would say to me after the Monday matinee, 'you're good for two weeks more'... Marty Shea, the booking agent for the Columbia, came to me and asked if I wanted to play burlesque. They could use an extra attraction... I told him I would think about it, but 'Burlesque' sounded to me then as something funny." Shea and Sam A. Scribner, the general manager of the Columbia Amusement Company, approached Rogers a few days later. Shea told Scribner Rogers was getting $150 and would take $175. "'What's he carrying?’, Scribner asked Shea. 'Himself, a horse, and a man', answered Shea." Scribner replied, "'Give him eight weeks at $250'".

In 1908, Rogers married Betty Blake (who died in 1944), and the couple had four children: Will Rogers, Jr., Mary Amelia, James Blake, and Fred Stone. Will Jr. became a World War II hero, played his father in two films, and became a member of Congress. Mary became a Broadway actress, and Jim was a newspaperman and rancher; Fred died of diphtheria at age two. The family lived in New York, but they managed to make it home to Oklahoma during the summers. In 1911, Rogers bought a 20-acre ranch for $500 an acre near Claremore, Oklahoma, which he intended to use as his retirement home.

In the fall of 1915, Rogers began to appear in Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic. The variety revue began at midnight in the top-floor night club of Ziegfeld's New Amsterdam Theatre, and drew many influential as well as regular customers. By this time, Rogers had refined his act to a science. His monologues on the news of the day followed a similar routine every night. He appeared on stage wearing his cowboy outfit, casually twirling his lasso, and said, "Well, what shall I talk about? I ain't got anything funny to say. All I know is what I read in the papers." He then made jokes about what he had read in that day's newspapers. The line "All I know is what I read in the papers" is often incorrectly described as Rogers' most famous punch line, when it was, in fact, his opening line.

His run at the New Amsterdam ran on into 1916. Rogers' increasing popularity led to an engagement on the more famous Ziegfeld Follies. By this time, Rogers' act was strictly physical, a display of daring riding and clever tricks with his lariat. He discovered that audiences identified the cowboy as the archetypical American which was probably enhanced by Theodore Roosevelt's image as a cowboy. Audiences loved his frontier style and Oklahoma twang. Once on Broadway, he moved into satire by transforming the "Ropin' Fool" into the "Talkin' Fool". Once when President Woodrow Wilson was in the audience, he improvised a "roast" of presidential policies that had Wilson, and the entire audience, in stitches and proved his remarkable skill at off-the-cuff, witty commentary on current events. The rest of his career he built around that skill.

Rogers branched into silent films for Samuel Goldwyn's company Goldwyn Pictures. He made his first silent movie, Laughing Bill Hyde, filmed in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1918. His early films were mostly made near the major New York performing market, so Rogers could make the film, yet still rehearse and perform in the Follies. He eventually appeared in most of the Follies, from 1916 to 1925.

Once he signed a three year contract with Goldwyn, at triple the Broadway salary,  Rogers moved west. He bought a ranch in Pacific Palisades and set up his own production company. Even though he wrote most of his own cards for his silent films, silence was not his great talent. In 1923, he worked for one year for Hal Roach and made 12 pictures. After that he did not return to movies until the 'talkies' began in 1929. His first sound film, They Had to See Paris, gave him the opportunity to show his real talent—talking. He played many roles depicting small town, rustic characters. Among the great talents he worked with in his 21 movies were Lew Ayres, Billie Burke, Richard Cromwell, Jane Darwell, Andy Devine, Janet Gaynor, Rochelle Hudson, Boris Karloff, Myrna Loy, Joel McCrea, Hattie McDaniel, Ray Milland, Maureen O'Sullivan, ZaSu Pitts, Dick Powell, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Mickey Rooney, and Peggy Wood. His favorite director was John Ford.   He was directed three times by John Ford.

Will Rogers star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

His voice was so familiar, he mostly just played himself without makeup, and threw in ad-libs when he felt the need. The clean moral tone of his films led to various public schools taking their classes, during the school day, to attend special showings of some of them.

Will Rogers, "politician"

Will Rogers even got involved in politics—sort of.  Naturally, Rogers thought all campaigning was hogwash. To prove the point he mounted a mock campaign in 1928 for the presidency. His only vehicle was the pages of Life, a weekly humor magazine. Rogers ran as the "bunkless candidate" of the Anti-Bunk Party. His only campaign promise was that, if elected, he would resign. Every week, from Memorial Day through Election Day, Rogers caricatured the farcical humors of grave campaign politics. On election day, he declared victory and resigned.

Here are a few of his campaign issues:

When asked what issues would motivate voters? Prohibition: "What's on your hip is bound to be on your mind".

Asked if there should be presidential debates? Yes: "Joint debate — in any joint you name".

How about appeals to the common man? Easy: "You can't make any commoner appeal than I can".

What does the farmer need? Obvious: "He needs a punch in the jaw if he believes that either of the parties cares a damn about him after the election".

Can voters be fooled? Darn tootin': "Of all the bunk handed out during a campaign the biggest one of all is to try and compliment the knowledge of the voter".

What about a candidate's image? Ballyhoo: "I hope there is some sane people who will appreciate dignity and not showmanship in their choice for the presidency".

What of ugly campaign rumors? Don't worry: "The things they whisper aren't as bad as what they say out loud".

Will Rogers had many talents. Not only did he read voraciously, but he was also a writer. From 1922 to 1935, he wrote a weekly column for The New York Times titled "Slipping the Lariat Over". He also wrote frequent articles for the famous, Saturday Evening Post. His favorite topics were about being neighborly, avoiding foreign influences, democracy and aviation. Like his good friend, General Billy Mitchell, he felt the United States needed a military air force. He published a book of wisecracks and began writing humor books with regular frequency.  

He continued making personal appearances and made radio broadcasts in which he won the hearts and admiration of the American people as he poked fun with charming wit at the issues of the day, prominent people, and most especially, politicians.

Keeping a neutral point of view, he became friends with politicians of both parties. He became to the hearts of Americans, the new Mark Twain, just as Bob Hope became the new Will Rogers using humor to poke fun at politicians and issues.

Will Rogers standing on the wing of a seaplane with Wiley Post in front of the propeller. August 1935. Last picture ever taken of Will Rogers. 

Will became an advocate for the aviation industry and was friends with the famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh. He wanted America to embrace commercial aviation the way Europeans did and wrote many articles in his newspaper column. He emphasized the safety record, speed, and the convenience of commercial transportation to influence political opinion.

The famous aviator and fellow Oklahoman, Wiley Post, was working on modifications for a plane to fly from the West Coast to Russia with the idea of a mail and passenger air route. He applied special floats on the landing gear to enable the plane to land on lakes in Alaska and Russia. Will visited Wiley while he was making his modifications on his aircraft and asked Wiley to fly him to Alaska to research new material for his newspaper column. The floats Wiley originally ordered didn’t arrive in time, so he used a type for a larger plane which made the heavy nosed plane even heavier in the nose. After making a test flight in July, in early August of 1935, Wiley and Will left Lake Washington in Seattle in the Lockheed Orion-Explorer and made several stops in Alaska. Will typed away on his typewriter while Wiley flew the plane. They left Fairbanks on August 15 after they signed and mailed a special flag belonging to the South Coast Corinthian Yacht Club and headed out for Point Barrow, Alaska. The weather turned bad and they were uncertain about their position so they landed in a lagoon to get directions. On takeoff, the engine failed at low altitude and the plane plunged into the lagoon, sheared off the right wing, and finally, inverted in shallow water. Will and Wiley died instantly.

Will Rogers monument of Rout 66 western terminus 

Many years before his death, Rogers had written his famous epigram: “When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: ‘I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.’ I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.” No one else could have written a better epitaph.

If you would like to know more about Will Rogers, here are a few links and places where you can find him:

The Official Will Rogers Website

http://www.willrogers.com/

The Will Rogers Memorial Museum and Birthplace Ranch in Claremore, Oklahoma

Learn more about

Will Rogers Memorial Museum

Magnificent museum of native limestone overlooking the city of Claremore and honoring famed humorist and philosopher Will Rogers (1879-1935)
• Learn about life, wisdom and humor of Will Rogers, Cherokee cowboy
• Experience his passion as a family man, trick roper, actor, and philanthropist
• Marvel at his saddles, art, memorabilia
• Hear his voice on radio replays
• Stroll the beautiful sunken garden
• Research in our vast library and archives
• Watch one of his 71 motion pictures
Learn more about

Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch

Rambling scenic drive leads to birthplace house of Will Rogers and historic 400-acre ranch
• Wander the grounds and enjoy the view of beautiful Lake Oologah
• Step into the two-story house built in 1875
• View the log-walled room in which Will Rogers was born
• Pet the goats and burros grazing around the 1879-era barn
• Picnic under the shade trees while watching the longhorn cattle roam the living history ranch
Learn more about

Will Rogers Plays Daily in Claremore

Check out the Movie Schedule for the Will Rogers Mini Theatre. Will’s movies show play continuously from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day).
See schedule

Helpful Information

• Hours | 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  Sunday through Saturday
  (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day)
• Main Number | 918.341.0719
  Toll-Free | 800.324.9455
  Tours | 918.343.8113
  Special Events | 918.343.8113
  Research | 918.343.8124
  Birthplace Ranch | 918.275.4201
• Will Rogers Memorial Museum
  1720 West Will Rogers Blvd.
  Claremore, OK 74017
• Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch
  9501 East 380 Road
  Oologah, OK 74053

Statue of Will Rogers and his horse, Soapsuds

Will Rogers memorials and statues are present throughout the United States, especially in the west. It would be quite an adventure to seek them all out and visit them. The best memorial of all is in the hearts of Americans. 

(Please note: all photographs are from public domain, Wikipedia)

You may find Sarah J. McNeal and her books at the following places:

Website 

My Amazon Author’s Page

Sweethearts of the West

Prairie Rose Publications Blog

The Wildings

Hallie Crawford Stillwell – The “Grande Dame of Texas”

If you’ve ever lived in west Texas, especially in the Big Bend area, you know the name Hallie Stillwell. She’s a legend and a person respected and admired by people across the nation as well as Texas.

Hallie Crawford was born in Waco, Texas, in 1897. In 1900 her parents moved the family to Ozona, and in 1905 to the San Angelo area.  Searching for a better life and education for their children, the Crawfords moved their family five times in twelve years. Their last move was in 1910 to Alpine. Hallie and her sister shared driving duties of the family's Conestoga wagon.

In 1916 Hallie graduated from Alpine High School, spent six weeks at the Normal School for Teachers and earned her teaching certificate by passing the state exams. The same year she took an elementary teaching job in Presidio. Her father, concerned about her safety said, “You’re going on a wild goose chase.” She flippantly answered, “Then, I’ll gather my geese.” He insisted she carry his pistol with her as she walked the half-mile to and from school. This was a time of turmoil in Texas. Pancho Villa had captured Ojinaga, the town directly across the border from Presidio and often raided over on the Texas side.

A year later, much to her parent’s relief, she took a job teaching elementary school in Marathon, a small town thirty-one miles east of Alpine. The couple she boarded with introduced her to Roy Stillwell, a friend of theirs, “a tall, handsome cowboy who drove a Hudson Super-6.” The couple invited Roy to attend a dance with them and Roy and Hallie danced until sunrise. Roy took her for drives in his car, a real luxury in those days, to picnics and all the social function in the community. He was old-fashioned and believed proper courting included gifts of candy and night serenades. However, Roy couldn’t sing or play the guitar, but he found a fiddler and a blind man who could play the guitar. The two serenaded her below her window, often waking her to the music of “Listen to the Mockingbird” and “The Reagan Waltz.” Though he was twenty years Hallie's senior, the blue-eyed cowboy made her heart flutter. She was in love with Roy Stillwell.

Her father felt Roy was too old for her and didn’t approve of their engagement, but after four months, they drove to Alpine and eloped. When they returned to tell her family the news, both Roy and Hallie were nervous. Hallie’s family sat at the dinner table eating when they arrived. She announced they were married. Her father took the news better than they’d expected. He suggested they might as well sit down and eat.

Though Roy owned a house in Marathon, he and Hallie would live on the ranch and come to town on occasion. Roy hadn’t told Hallie much about the ranch, so she didn’t know what to expect. The house was one room, about twelve by sixteen feet. The only furniture was a table, one chair and two benches, a cabinet like a pie safe, a wood stove, a large kettle and a blackened coffee pot. In the corner was a bedroll consisting of several rolled up quilts wrapped in a tarp.

Hallie was determined Roy would not see her disappointment, especially after the three men who worked for him with muttered “That woman school teacher won’t last six months down here.” After a rough night in the bedroll on a dirt floor, her new life began. She was determined she would learn and become an integral part of the ranch.

And she did. Hallie worked along side her husband and the cowboys but it wasn’t always easy. She’d been raised to wear a split skirt while riding and her bonnet. Her attire didn’t suit Roy and he insisted she wear one of his hats and pants while out riding with him and the cowboys. He couldn’t leave her at home alone because of the danger of Pancho Villa’s raids. The Mexican Border was just twenty-five miles away. She didn't own any pants, so they drove to Alpine to get Hallie's mother to make her some. Her mother was horrified her daughter would be dressed like one of the men, but gave in and got to sewing. She made Hallie's pants full through the hips and gathered at the waist. Just below the knee they tapered to fit and were buttoned up each side of the leg. You'll have to read the book to discover the mishap she had wearing those. Not only were they dangerous, but they weren't durable for riding on the rugged land.

The first morning she rode out with them, Roy grew impatient as she put on her lipstick. She’d been taught to protect her skin and not go out without her her makeup. Frustrated, Roy said, “You think those cows are going to notice if you have on lipstick or not?”

Roy taught Hallie everything she needed to know to be a successful rancher. She worked as hard as Roy and the cowboys.  Though their life had rough spots--droughts, illness--they were happy and survived WWI and the influence epidemic with their family intact. They raised three children—Son, Dadie, and Guy—at the ranch. Over time they added a couple of rooms to the house and Roy and the cowboys built Hallie an arbor so she had a cool place to sit. A revolver hung above the door and used to shoot the rattlesnakes while visiting the outhouse. The children were never allowed to go without an adult.

In 1930, Hallie began work as a correspondent at the Alpine Avalanche.

In 1948 while hauling hay, Roy had a wreck and he didn’t survive. Hallie and Son took over the running of the ranch. In the 1950s drought ruined many farmers and ranchers. It was a struggle to survive. To avoid bankruptcy, Hallie began giving lectures across the state. In 1956, for additional funds to run the ranch, she began her Ranch News Column. In 1957 and 1960 she became a stringer for the four well-known newspapers—The Fort Worth Star Telegram, the El Paso Times and the San Angelo Standard Times and San Antonio Express. She also became a reporter for United Press International and the Associated Press. She co-authored, with Virginia Madison, a book titled How Come It’s Called That? In 1964 she is elected Justice of the Peace for Brewster County. One of the largest counties in Texas, it covered 6,193 square miles. In addition to the above, Hallie had several other jobs. She was a hard worker and determined the Stillwell Ranch would survive.

If you’ve ever been to Terlingua you know about the Terlingua Chili Cook-Off. It’s a big to-do in the Big Bend area and folks come from all over the country to vie for the championship. Hallie judged the contest in 1967 and in 1968 was made the permanent queen of the Terlingua Chili Cook-Off.

Having lived in Brewster County for around six years, I have a deep respect for the people who live on the ranches and have built a life amid the dry, barren landscape. Many people thing it’s ugly country, but nothing is more beautiful than a west Texas sunset, or a field of blooming ocotillo, sage and other indigenous plants. I taught school in Presidio for a year and a half and know how Hallie must have suffered when walking home from school in the hot months. The temperature could easily reach 108 and on occasion reached 115. 

Texas Monthly dubbed Hallie the “Grande Dame” of Texas in 1991 as she traveled the state to promote her book, I’ll Gather My Geese, which she began in 1988 as a memoir.  Hallie was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1988, a year after her death. She passed away in April of 1997 just two months and two days before her 100^th birthday.

 In 1994, Hallie was inducted into the Texas Woman’s Hall of Fame and after her death was inducted into the Texas Heritage Hall of Honor.

For being a woman school teacher, Hallie spent seventy-nine years on her beloved ranch. When she was away, it was never far from her heart, mind and spirit. The Stillwell Ranch is still in operation and is run by Roy and Hallie's descendants. I wish I had pictures to share with you but all I found on the internet were copyrighted. If you're interested, google her name and a multitude of photos pop up. Walk through Hallie's life with her as she became the "Grande Dame of Texas."

Before her death, Hallie was able to write ten chapters of the second volume of her memoirs, My Goose is Cooked, which chronicles her life after Roy’s death. Hallie’s daughter Dadie Stillwell Potter asked Betty Heath, whose grandfather was Hallie’s first cousin, to complete the work.

 I’ll leave you these powerful words written by Betty Heath. 

“In the final analysis, Roy Stillwell chose well when he picked the unlikely school teacher to be his life’s companion in that remote and difficult land.”

References:

Stillwell, Hallie Crawford. I’ll Gather My Geese, Memorial Printing. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1991.

Stillwell, Hallie Crawford. My Goose is Cooked, Assembled by Betty Heath. College Station: Texas A&M Press, 2004.

Today I'll be giving away a PDF copy of Forever Faithful. Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing.

Forever Faithful

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Thank you for stopping by and reading Hallie and Roy's love story. 

Linda