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Western journalist and photographer Jeri Dobrowski's monthly column, Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews, is a regular feature of the Tri-State Livestock News. She welcomes submissions for consideration.
We're pleased to carry her monthly Cowboy Jam Session column, which is posted below.
Jeri is an award-winning writer and photographer with works appearing in publications nationwide. Among others, she has had feature and cover articles and photos in American Cowboy, Cowboy Magazine. Persimmon Hill, Country Woman, Grit, True West, and other publications.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews debuted in the Tri-State Livestock News in January 2005. Not just a book review column, Cowboy Jam rides a slightly wider circle encompassing an expanded offering of audio recordings and films. It’s a bigger herd but one whose bloodlines are familiar: historical characters and events; ranchers and ranches; cowboys, cowgirls and rodeos; poets and poetry; singers and songs. The delivery may be different but the common thread encourages readers to ponder, preserve, and perpetuate the heritage of the American West.

Dobrowski explains, "When cowboy poets and entertainers get together, one of their favorite things to do is 'jam.' Simply put, they circle the chairs or lay claim to a chunk of ground, pull out the guitars and start picking and telling. You never know what you'll hear: a timeless campfire classic, a freshly-penned composition, an occasional poem. Cowboy jammin' exposes participants and onlookers to fresh material and different voices. It broadens the horizons and excites the senses of Western heritage devotees."

Dobrowski welcomes submissions for consideration. Send CDs, DVDs, books, and magazines to Jeri L. Dobrowski, Cowboy Jam Session, 1471 Carlyle Rd. S, Beach, ND 58621. You may reach her at 406-795-8168 or at CowboyJam@robscabinets.com.

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Tri-State Livestock News is published weekly with a focus on the cattle industry. Additional coverage is devoted to the equine, sheep and bison industries, as well as pork, crops and hay. Established in 1963, the paper boasts a paid circulation of 10,700 households, rural addresses and ag-related businesses in all 50 states. The primary circulation area includes South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Colorado and Iowa.
Jeri Dobrowski is in good company at the Tri-State Livestock News, along with with Baxter Black, Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns and other columnists.

Books, CDs, videos and event announcements can be sent to:

Jeri L. Dobrowski
Cowboy Jam Session
1471 Carlyle Road
Beach, ND 58621
406-795-8168
email

copyright 2008, Jeri Dobrowski
National Folk Festival, Butte, Montana, 2008
View Jeri Dobrowski's Western Entertainers and Personalities Gallery—designed for those creating gathering programs and other publications—with photos of "entertainers, storytellers, authors, artists, and gear purveyors."

Working as a free-lance photographer/journalist since 1981, Jeri Dobrowski’s images appear on and in cowboy poetry and music recordings, books, programs and posters.

Visit more of Jeri Dobrowski's professional photo galleries here, which include photographs of Western interest and from various gatherings and events: the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering; Cody's Cowboy Songs and Range Ballads; the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo; the Heritage of the American West show;the Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering; and others. Also view the Western Entertainers and Personalities Gallery.
The site also includes examples of her wedding photography.
View the galleries at http://jeridobrowski.smugmug.com, where you can also order photos.
Also see some of her photography here at the BAR-D.
Read more about Jeri Dobrowski below.

2010

January

2009

December
November
October

September
August
July

June
May
April

March
February
January

2008

December
November
October

September
August
July

June
May
April

March
February
January

2005, 2006, 2007

On page 2

photo by Jen Dobrowski

About Jeri Dobrowski

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

January 2010

Catching up with Old Friends

As I headed out the door to run an errand this past week, I grabbed Gary McMahan’s Goin’ My Way? I hadn’t listened to it yet and was anxious to hear his first studio album since 1992. The first recording of Gary’s that I bought was a cassette tape version of Saddle ‘em up and Go! That tells you how long I’ve been listening to his music.

A Colorado native, Gary describes himself as "a singer, songwriter, yodeler, humorist, cowboy poet, and general nuisance." He’s all that and the recipient of a National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Wrangler Award for “The First Cowboy Song,” co-written with Doug Green. The song appears on his album, A Cowboyin' Day. Folks who have recorded Gary’s songs include Garth Brooks, Ian Tyson, Chris LeDoux, Riders in the Sky, Dave Stamey, and Juni Fisher.

But back to Goin’ My Way? It was good to catch up with Gary after so many years without a new recording. He scored a hat trick with three tracks in succession that I especially liked: “Yodel Poem,” “Okeechobee Joe,” and “Chaps.” Come to think of it, they’re the perfect combination of his talents: a yodeling poem, a song, and a poem. I also thought his arrangement of Sunny Hancock’s “The Horse Trade” was among the best I’ve heard. You can hear all 10 tracks and those from previous albums at www.singingcowboy.com under "Music."

Order Goin’ My Way? online at www.singingcowboy.com for $15 + shipping. To order by mail, send $17 to Horse Apple Records, PO Box 90, Bellvue, CO 80512.

It’s been too long since I’ve seen South Dakota cowboy poet Slim McNaught. We keep in touch via email, but it’s been a while since we’ve been in the same place at the same time. I hear him every now and then on Live! With Jim Thompson. Slim serves as the official cowboy poet laureate for the afternoon radio show which broadcasts from beautiful downtown Spearfish, S.D.

Raised on a ranch on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the South Dakota, Slim started writing poetry in high school. He and wife, Darlene, ranched and raised a family in the Buzzard Basin area south of Eagle Nest Butte. Since 1976, they’ve operated a custom leather shop. Nearing his 70^th birthday, Slim started reciting his Western heritage-based poetry in public. (Read several of poems at www.cowboypoetry.com/slimmcnaught.htm.)

Incredibly resourceful, Slim designs and prints his own poetry books and maintains a My Space page: www.myspace.com/slimthe1st I suppose a keyboard and printer aren’t that much of a challenge after carving and assembling leather projects for 35 years.

He did enlist the aid of a couple fellows when he recorded his album of cowboy poetry. His first spoken-word project, entitled Reminiscin’, was selected as the 2009 Cowboy Album of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists. Preview the 11 tracks at www.cdbaby.com/cd/slimmcnaught, where you can also order. If you prefer to order directly from him, send $18.50 to Slim McNaught, PO Box 274, New Underwood, SD 57761; 605-754-6103; www.slimscustomleather.com. Call or write to inquire about his selection of poetry books. He has several.

Among the folks I hope to see in Elko during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering the end of January are Belinda Gail and Kathy Musgrave. Belinda and Jim “Curly” Musgrave performed as a duo at festivals and venues across the country; Kathy and Curly were married. Curly died December 13, 2009, succumbing to an aggressive brain tumor. (For more on Curly and tributes to him: www.cowboypoetry.com/curlymusgrave.htm)

Curly and Belinda sent me an autographed copy of Forever West in July 2008, shortly after Belinda’s husband passed away. The 14 tracks include several Western and cowboy genre standards: “Roly Poly,” “Silver Spurs,” “Wheels,” “Texas Plains,” and several you might not expect on a cowboy album: “I Gave My Love a Cherry/The Twelfth of Never,” “Last Thing on My Mind,” I'll Twine 'Midst the Ringlets/For Lovin' Me.” There are also titles penned by Curly and Belinda, such as “This Cowboy's Missing You” and “Mule Ears in the Sand.”

To order Forever West, send $17 to Curly J. Productions, PO Box 512, Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352. Order online at www.belindagailsings.com.

Curly and Belinda were working on a gospel album at the time of his death. The Musgrave family has announced that memorials given in Curly’s honor will go toward production of that album. I’ll let you know when it becomes available.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

December 2009

Christmas Gift-giving Ideas #2

If you’re like me, you receive a lot of glossy, color catalogs that are of little interest. Lately, I’ve made a point of calling customer service as soon as they arrive, asking them to remove my name from their mailing list.

One catalog I’m always excited to see in the mailbox comes from Western Jubilee Recording Company (WJRC). The 2010 edition is hot off the press with a new CD release by Wylie & The Wild West entitled Unwired, and Michael Martin Murphey’s first-ever solo album, Lone Cowboy. Both were recorded live at the Warehouse Theatre; each is priced at $15, plus postage.

Two other offerings from among a collection of award-winning titles are from WJRC’s Moving Picture Collection: Don Edwards, America’s Cowboy Balladeer and Sons of the San Joaquin. The concert segments run an hour; both titles feature additional footage. The Sons’ is their first live recording in over two decades of performing. Their “From Whence Came the Cowboy” bonus video is stellar! The DVDs are $20 each, plus postage.

Here’s another reason to like the Western Jubilee Recording Company catalog: catalog customers can buy three CDs and get the fourth one free (offer applies throughout 2010). For Web purchases, there’s free shipping on domestic orders over $50. Contact WJRC at PO Box 9187, Colorado Springs, CO 80932; (800) 707-2353; www.westernjubilee.com

Cowboy poet Baxter Black is offering holiday pricing on his new book, The Back Page (Western Horseman, 2009, 174 pages, 8.5x11", illustrated; hardcover ISBN: 0911647856). For more than 15 years, Baxter’s “On the Edge of Common Sense” column has appeared on the inside back page of the Western Horseman. The book is a collection of these columns, accompanied by the original illustrations.

The Back Page is priced at $29.45 (priority shipping included). Baxter is offering a buy-two-get-one-free holiday special for $54.25 (priority shipping included). He proffers buy six, get three free and buy 428, get 214 free. You do the math. Send checks and money orders (US funds) to Coyote Cowboy Company, PO Box 2190, Benson, AZ 85602; 800-654-2559; www.BaxterBlack.com. Visa and MasterCard accepted.

If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for the camp cook or Western heritage buff in your life, check into the Chuckwagon Boot Camp. The motto of Hollis, Oklahoma rancher, hash slinger, and camp ramrod, Kent Rollins, is “We’ll teach you how to burn food the right way!” I met Kent at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko. Besides having mastered cooking for a crowd, he can entertain one with his stories and poetry.

Raised near the banks of the Red River, Kent and his family own and operate the Red River Ranch Chuckwagon. They cater traditional Western meals at company picnics, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and brandings. Twice a year–March and October–they share their knowledge with campers at an old cow camp in southwest Oklahoma. Students sleep in ranch teepees, on a cot and cowboy roll. Participants learn how to cook chuckwagon staples like those served up on old cattle drives and wagon trails. Kent also teaches the proper ways to season and clean cast iron and shares his experiences and knowledge from the catering business.

Expect your gift recipient (or yourself) to have fun. Kent says, “I like people who like to laugh and have a good time. I ain’t going if we’re not going to have fun.” Special rates are available for couples. For details and pricing on the Red River Chuckwagon Boot Camp, contact Shannon Keller at 303-219-0478; www.kentrollins.com

Should an easy chair next to a fireplace sound more inviting than a cowboy teepee next to a campfire, relax with this new book on Western artist Charlie Russell: The Masterworks of Charles M. Russell, A Retrospective of Paintings and Sculpture (University of Oklahoma Press, 2009, 304 pages, 12x10x1.2”, 133 color and 81 b&w illus; paperback ISBN: 978-0-8061-4097-1; hardback ISBN: 978-0-8061-4081-0).

Edited by Joan Carpenter Troccoli of the Denver Art Museum, it’s a beauty that will most certainly be cherished by the recipient! The generous format pages are brimming with reproductions of more than 150 of Russell’s finest examples of oil, bronze, and mixed media, most in full color. There are also select examples of his drawings, watercolors, and illustrated letters, as well as archival photographs placing Russell’s paintings and sculpture in historic and artistic context.

Order this sumptuous volume in either hardback ($58.50 + shipping) or paperback ($27.97 + shipping) from University of Oklahoma Press, Attn: Order Dept., 2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069-8218; www.oupress.com; 1-800-627-7377.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

November 2009

Christmas Gift-giving Ideas #1

Regular readers of this column know that come November and December, they’ll find holiday gift-giving suggestions with a rural, Western flavor. There’s a little bit of something for everyone: young and old; those who enjoy books; those who like music.

My pick for the little cowpoke in your life is Cora’s Cowgirl Yodel by 8-year-old Cora Rose Wood. I had the pleasure of meeting Cora at the Western Music Association Convention. She was there with her parents, Duane and Laurie, and little brother, Bonner. The family made the trip from near Encampment, Wyo., where Duane is the cow/calf manager on Colorado State University’s One Bar Eleven Ranch.

I was delighted to learn that Cora had recorded an album, and even happier once I listened to it. The album contains three poems penned by Cora and seven songs, the title cut co-written by Cora and Paul Harris. (See a complete track listing at www.cowboypoetry.com/corawood.htm.) Cora does a fine job all the way around. I was especially taken with her vocals on “Cora’s Cowgirl Yodel,” “Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” and “Daddy Was a Yodeling Cowboy.”

Earlier this year, Cora was interviewed for a New York Post travel article. It's safe to say the writer got more than he bargained for out of the deal. Besides discussing her upcoming appearance at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev., Cora gave detailed instructions on how to pull a calf. This pint-sized entertainer writes and sings from experience. (Watch Cora at   www.myspace.com/woodwesternmusic)

Cora's Cowgirl Yodel sells for $13 postpaid from Wood Western Music, c/o Laurie Wood, HC 63 Box 18C, Saratoga, WY 82331; www.woodwesternmusic.com.

Here’s a sure-to-please item for the cowboy poetry fan, a four-CD bundle of the highly acclaimed Bar-D Roundup. Edited and produced by the folks at CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, The Bar-D Roundup is distributed annually to libraries through the Rural Library Project and offered to Center supporters as a premium. Through Dec. 11, 2009, you can order the full set–all four volumes–for $65 postpaid. That’s a savings of $15.

Each CD offers recordings of yesterday’s and today’s best cowboy poetry, both classic and contemporary. Among the 25+ tracks on each album are vintage recordings of Badger Clark reciting “Ridin,” Robert Service’s rendition of “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” and Gail Gardner reciting his famous work, “The Sierry Petes (Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail).” The CDs have consistently received wide airplay and excellent reviews. Find links to all four volumes and complete track listings at www.cowboypoetry.com/cd.htm

Send $65 to CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133. (U.S. and Canadian orders are postpaid. Add $5 U.S. funds for other countries.) Order online by a secure credit card (Paypal account not required) at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9444828

If you prefer your poetry in print, consider My Father's Horses by Bainville, Montana day hand, DW Groethe. The 44-page chapbook contains thirty poems. Among them are two excellent examples of how a hard-working poet can effectively convey imagery in verse: “My Father's Horses” and “This Old Post.” (Read the former at www.cowboypoetry.com/dwgroethe.htm#Father)

Like Cora, DW has been invited to appear at the 26^th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko. The 2010 gathering, which runs Jan. 23-30, will be the sixth appearance for the Montana singer/songwriter/poet.

To order My Father's Horses, send $15 postpaid to DW Groethe, PO Box 144, Bainville, MT 59212. Groethe also has a hardback book, West River Waltz, and several recordings. For more on these items, go to www.cowboypoetry.com/dwgroethe.htm#Books or contact him at (406) 769-2312.

For a gift that will be enjoyed all year long, give the farmgirl in your life a subscription to MaryJanesFarm magazine. Developed by MaryJane Butters (www.maryjanesfarm.org)–who has 20 years of organic farming and ranching experience–the publication is devoted to healthy, eating, homecooking, and getting back to the farm. Besides having a charming outward appearance, the magazine is full of helpful and enjoyable features.

To get a feel for the magazine, take a peek at recipes and project instructions at www.maryjanesfarm.org/Recipes-Patterns-Instructions/ In the event you’re skeptical about just how down-to-earth it is, check out the slide show from the June-July 2009 issue: “Watch my milk cow, Chocolate, Giving Birth to Molasses.”

One year gift subscriptions (6 issues) of MaryJanesFarm are $19.95 U.S. for the first subscription; $14.95 for the second. You may pay by credit card or have them bill you: MaryJanesFarm Magazine Customer Service, P.O. Box 420235 Palm Coast, FL 33142-0235; www.maryjanesfarm.org/magazine.html; 1-800-476-4611.)

Back issues are available in bundles of 4-6 magazines. Prices vary. Back issues ship from MaryJaneFarm headquarters, PO Box 8691, Moscow, ID 83843; (888) 750-6004; www.maryjanesfarm.org/backissues.html.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

October 2009

Time Travel

For the past several weeks, I was completely and blissfully lost in a great book. Each evening, I anxiously rejoined the characters in Christy Leskovar’s One Night in a Bad Inn (Pictorial Histories Publishing, 2006, 608 pages, 200 photos, 6 maps, paperback ISBN 978-1-57510-142-2). It’s been a while since I was so absolutely transported to another place and time. It was a let down when I came to the acknowledgments and notes at the end.

An engineer, Leskovar left her job to research a series of family scandals, about which she had only the briefest of details. The quest began decades after the fact, ignited by a family member who casually mentioned Leskovar’s great-grandmother having been arrested for murdering her husband. The year was 1912; homesteaders were settling the remote recesses of Rosebud County, Montana. Eight years later, after traveling to every location where anything significant happened, Leskovar published the true story. It was a 2007 High Plains Best New Book Award finalist for first time authors. (Read an excerpt: www.onenightinabadinn.com/OneNight_ix-x.pdf)

One Night in a Bad Inn is described succinctly as, “A lively true story of scandal, war, murder, and mayhem, and courage and fortitude, stretching across the parched plains of eastern Montana to the raucous mining town of Butte to the bloody battlefields of the First World War” (www.onenightinabadinn.com). It’s all that and a Montana-and-world-history lesson too. I am in awe of Leskovar’s tenacity and devotion to the project. As I write, she is finishing a second manuscript, this one detailing the detective work behind her award-winning book. (Listen to a Montana Public Radio interview with the author: www.onenightinabadinn.com/Leskovar.mp3)

Order One Night in a Bad Inn for $24.95 from Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc., 713 S. 3rd Street West, Missoula MT 59801; (406) 549 8488. It is available nationwide from the Montana Talking Books Library for the Blind.

On a recent drive, while listening to a CD with a cool retro design, I was transported back to the golden days of Western swing. Herdin’ Cats, by the San Francisco Bay area Saddle Cats, celebrates California’s contributions to Western swing. Far from a simple matter of artwork or song selection, it feels as if the four-piece band is channeling the up-tempo beat that evolved in the 1920s and faded with America’s involvement in WWII.

An outgrowth of jazz, blues, Cajun music, and the Mexican polka, Western swing is further enhanced and identified by the distinctive sounds of the Hawaiian steel guitar. For audio samples of “Roly Poly,” “You Just Take Her,” and “Along the Navajo Trail,” plus a television news story about band leader (and classically trained violinist) Richard Chon, go to the band’s website: www.saddlecats.com. The group’s stated goal is “to celebrate the swing tradition of Bob Wills, Milton Brown and Spade Cooley with abandon, finesse and exuberant spirits.” I’d say they’re right on target.

The 13-track Herdin’ Cats sells for $17. For credit card orders, go to www.saddlecats.com. If you prefer to pay by check, mail to Saddle Cats, 4131 Oakmore Road, Oakland, CA 94602; (510) 469-8991.

David Wilkie and Cowboy Celtic took me back even further in time with Gunsmoke, Whisky & Heather, back to the American Civil War, to a father bidding his son farewell as the lad emigrates to North America, to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, to the time of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. Known for blending traditional cowboy music with the music of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, this Canadian group performs using old-world Celtic instrumentation. Expect to hear a flute, harp, bodhran (Irish drum), mandola, mandocello, and Scottish smallpipes, in addition to more familiar stringed instruments.

Folk music from the British Isles served as the basis for a great many classic cowboy songs, one such being “The Cowboy’s Lament.” The melody is the same as that of Scotland’s “The Unfortunate Rake” and Ireland’s “The Bard of Armagh.” Wilkie’s talents in melding the styles were honored with a Wrangler from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Cowboy Ceilidh was named the Outstanding Traditional Western Music Album in 1999.

Liner notes and audio samples from the 11-track Gunsmoke, Whisky & Heather can be found at www.cowboyceltic.com/gunsmoke_whisky_heather.htm. You’ll hear “Saltwater Buffalo,” “I Want to Be a Real Cowboy Girl,” “Black Diamond,” The Day that Billy Cody Played the Auld Grey Toon,” and “Marnie Swanson of the Grey Coast.”

The CD sells for $17.50 plus $3.50 shipping. Two CDs ship for $3.50, so consider ordering a second title. I’m partial to The Drover Road. Order from Centerfire Music, Box 868, Turner Valley, AB T0L 2A0, Canada; www.centerfiremusic.com; (403) 933-2210.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

September 2009

Telling Tales: Celebrating Family, Ranch & Community

A December 1 deadline is foremost in my mind these days. That’s when submissions are due for Beyond Echoing Footsteps, a sequel to Echoing Footsteps. The latter, published in 1967, chronicles the history of individuals and communities in Montana’s Powder River County. Broadus, the county seat, is celebrating its centennial in 2010.

I vividly recall my paternal grandfather–seated at our family’s dining table, in front of a newfangled, reel-to-reel tape recorder–recounting how he, his father, and one brother came to Miles City and southern Custer County in 1910. (The Montana legislature created Powder River County out of Custer County in 1919.) The question-and-answer session I eavesdropped on in 1964 provided information on both my father’s family and the Coalwood community where I was raised. That information later appeared in Echoing Footsteps. My mother and a neighbor designed the cover of the book, tweaking and refining pencil sketches until it met committee approval. The entire process was intriguing to me.

Fast forward; it’s my turn to contribute to a second edition. Over the past several months my brothers, mother, and I have discussed what photos and information to include as we prepare our individual stories. The process has prompted a lot of reminiscing along with one of my favorite pastimes–looking through old photographs. [Ed. note: see some links with family photos and stories below.]

A handful of Montana ranch families completed a similar task this year. In commemoration of the 125^th anniversary of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, owners of ranches that have been in operation for more than 100 years were invited to submit photos and a 1,000-word narrative about their heritage. Despite attempts to get the word out, co-editor Linda Grosskopf admits that not all the qualifying ranches are represented. Having said that, more than 142 ranches are included in The Weak Ones Turned Back, The Cowards Never Started: A Century of Ranching in Montana.

The 472-page hardback has a full-color dust jacket and b/w historical images. Three thousand copies are to be printed. They will be delivered in early December 2009, in time for Christmas. Approximately half of the books had already been sold as of mid-September. To order your copy send $50 to MSGA, 420 N. California, Helena, MT 59601; (406) 442-3420; http://aghost.net/images/e0242501/RanchBookOF.pdf

If you’ve ever attended an auction sale conducted by South Dakota native Bob Penfield, you’ve heard him stop the sale to expound on the history or significance of an item. Most of his stories relate to pioneering, homesteading, and ranching in the Dakotas and Montana. Penfield’s knowledge goes beyond providing bid-enhancing banter. He is a walking, talking treasure trove of regional facts and lore.

A couple years back, Bob told me he was writing a book and sent me a sample chapter entitled “Hill Brothers Horses.” Set in 1951, it chronicles the adventure of gathering 200+ head of range delivery horses near Lindsay, Mont. It is one of 18 stories from the 40s, 50s and 60s in Horse Tails.

I caught up with Bob at a book signing last month and discovered that he has a second book: Dad Lemmon’s Friends. Dad is Ed Lemmon (1857-1946), the boss cowman after whom Lemmon, S.D., was named. Lemmon once managed the largest fenced pasture in the world–865,000 acres–an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. He bossed the single largest cattle roundup in history and held the record for largest number of cattle (900) cut out, roped, and brought to the branding fire in a single day.

The 128-page Horse Tails, with horses as the common theme, sells for $19. Dad Lemmon’s Friends is 220 pages about the characters who lived in and around Lemmon prior to the 1950s. It sells for $21. Ever the salesman, Bob offers both books, postage included, for $35. Send orders to Bob Penfield, PO Box 111, Bowman, ND 58623; 701-523-3652; www.penfieldauctions.com/books.html (Note: Horse Tails is currently sold out. A fourth printing is expected to arrive by the first of November.)

Bob has two other titles for sale, both by Wyoming author Paul Hennessey. Paul moved into a nursing home not long ago, and Bob purchased his remaining inventory of books. Tipperary: The Diary of a Bucking Horse, 1905-1932 (1989, 157 pages) is available in paperback for $14 and in hardback $24. The hardback 'Tin Horn Hank' Keenen and the World's Youngest Cowboy (1993, 184 pages) is $19.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Find some of Jeri Dobrowski's photos of Coalwood, Montana Post Office, Janssen Mercantile, the Coalwood Community at her web site here and her photos of "William M. Janssen: All the Things He Ever Rode" here.

Jeri Dobrowski has contributed some of those photos and many additional family photos to Picture the West, including:

Photos of her family's veterans for Veteran's Day

A special Fourth of July photo

Family photos of generations of veterans and some additional World War I photos

Family photos from Yellowstone, from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s

1940s-era photos about McNierney Livestock

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

August 2009

Western Gypsy

A half-dozen communities in our area celebrated centennials this summer. With each came a smorgasbord of activities, in addition to the usual summer offerings of rodeos, fairs, weddings, milestone birthdays, and festivals. It was easy to be entertained and hard to completely unpack before heading off again. I was beginning to wonder if my English ancestors might not have had a bit of Gypsy in them.

Photographer John Hockensmith, who produces the official Kentucky Derby Winner’s Print and Winner’s Collection, spent two summers traveling with the Romani Gypsies of northland country England. His adventures are chronicled in the superb Gypsy Horses and the Travelers Way: The Road to Appleby Fair (University of Oklahoma Press, 2007, 184 pages, 235 travel images, 15 historical images, 40 artistic images, hardback, ISBN: 1599755971). Peek inside this exquisite coffee table book that is part travel log and part history lesson: www.finearteditions.net/book.htm

Invited to join a prominent Gypsy family during their annual 60-mile horse-drawn pilgrimage to Appleby Fair, Hockensmith was allowed unusual access to the shielded society. Camera in hand, he traveled with the caravan of bow-topped wagons as they made their way through quaint villages, along busy and often dangerous highways, camping in lush pastures as families have for more than 300 years.

Chartered in 1685 by King James II, Appleby Fair has been conducted ever since without fail. It’s a spirited gathering where thousands of Gypsies and non-Gypsies assemble to participate in and watch the festivities. The Romani heritage is celebrated with music, food, drink, fortune telling, trading, and contests.

Gypsies prove their horsemanship and the prowess of their beloved “cobs” in contests. They also sell the colorful, calm-natured horses. Essential to work and play, the Gypsy cob is thought to be a combination of Shires and Clydesdales, Dales and Fell ponies, Friesians and Galloway trotting ponies. There are no written records of bloodlines; no breed registry. Horses are sold and traded on the seller’s word. To question his word is an insult.

Gypsy Horses and the Travelers Way: The Road to Appleby Fair retails for $49.95 and is available at Amazon.com. You may also order from the author at www.finearteditions.net/books.htm; Hockensmith Fine Arts, 146 E. Main St., Georgetown, KY 40324; (800) 972-8385.

Montana’s horse culture—and that of the American West—was the focus of the 2009 National Folk Festival held this summer in Butte, Montana. Performers and craftsmen from across America made their way to the Richest Hill on Earth to share their talents. As one of the Nation’s largest and most prestigious celebrations of the arts, there was traditional music, food, crafts, dance, culture, and plenty of family fun: www.nationalfolkfestival.com/2009/ We joined friends at the festival and immersed ourselves in the rich and colorful atmosphere. I encourage you to attend the 72nd National Folk Festival when it concludes its run in Butte, July 9-11, 2010. It’s an amazing gathering. Best of all, admission is free!

On our way back from Butte, we passed through Reed Point and Columbus, Montana. Singer/songwriter Stephanie Davis makes her home in between on a working cattle ranch. (Find out what’s happening at her Trails End Ranch at www.stephaniedavis.net/ranch%20news.htm.) Whether or not you’re familiar with her name, it’s likely you’re familiar with her work. Davis wrote “We Shall be Free” and “Wolves,” both recorded by Garth Brooks. Others who have cut her songs include Don Edwards, Trisha Yearwood, Maria Muldaur, Roger Whittaker, Daniel O'Donnell, and Martina McBride.

A Montana native and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, Davis released two albums this year: Western Bliss and Western Bling. I knew she was working on the pair and was anxious to hear what she did with the standards she selected. You read right—standards—with a dose of Western swing. Think Bob Wills, Bobby Darin, Billie Holiday. (Davis talks about the CDs and studio musicians at www.stephaniedavis.net/Bliss%20and%20Bling.htm.)

Davis’ rich, almost sultry voice is reminiscent of the days when couples flocked to ballrooms to enjoy an evening out with their favorite dance band. (Listen to sample tracks at www.cdbaby.com/Artist/StephanieDavis.) On Bling, I favor “Nevertheless,” “Beyond the Sea,” “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” “Goin’ Away Party.” On Bliss you’ll find “Montana Cowgirl,” “Leanin’ on the Old Top Rail,” “Navajo Trail,” “Texas Blues.” For complete track listings and liner notes: www.cowboypoetry.com/stephaniedavis2.htm

Western Bliss and Western Bling sell for $17 each (postpaid) from Recluse Records, 838 Countryman Creek Road; Columbus, MT 59019; (406) 326-2180; www.stephaniedavis.net

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

July 2009

Hay Days

No matter which direction you travel in our neighborhood these days, you’ll find haying equipment running full tilt. Following on the heels of last year’s dismal crop—fed down to the last leaf during a Plains winter that would not go quietly—producers are reveling in record-setting yields. Alfalfa, tame grass, barley, oats ... balers are churning out compressed bundles that polka-dot the landscape from creek to ridge; borrow pit to backyard.

Hay was nonexistent in Hollywood’s romanticized West. A movie cowboy spent his day in the saddle fighting the bad guy. No thought was given to what his horse or the cattle might eat. All was well as long as the hero was horseback and could ride off into the sunset in the end. In reality, all available hands are put to work during haying season. It’s serious business. How much hay you are able to put up for the winter—to supplement pastures and crop residue—determines how many animals you can “carry” or feed. Farmers and ranchers are joined in the endeavor by wives, sons, daughters, hired hands, nephews, city cousins, former classmates, retirees, banker friends ...

Barry Ward knows a thing or two about hay. You sense it, and you hear it in his latest album, Whispers of the West. A fourth-generation farmer, stockman, and singer/songwriter, the Kansas-raised Ward now resides in Colorado. Sound-board guru and musician Butch Hause produced the CD, which easily ranks among the year’s best Western genre releases.

The title track describes a few of the things that Ward loves about the West, presented in a comfortable, soothing style. “Dance around the Barn” was written for his wife, Victoria, who favors old-fashioned barn dances: “We’ll dance around the barn my dear, we’ll shuffle through the loft, we’ll waltz through the hay ...” (Listen to audio snippets at www.barrywardmusic.com/recordings.html)

Ten of the 12 tracks are Ward originals. Eli Barsi joins him on the cover, “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.” Whispers of the West sells for $18 (postpaid). Order from Flying W Productions, 2782 CR 98, Elbert, CO 80106; www.FlyingWProductions.com; (303) 648-3605.

Sweethearts in Carhartts: Ranch Life 101 is a collection of poetry and song by Yvonne Hollenbeck, Jean Prescott, and Liz Masterson. The 18-track album, inspired by a DW Groethe song, invites the listener into the work-a-day world of the ranch wife. The trio’s offerings capture the beauty, joy, angst, and rewards of the life.

Hollenbeck’s “Ranch Wife in the Making” was written about her granddaughter who helps out on the family’s South Dakota ranch. Although less than a minute in length, it says much about the heritage and tradition associated with ranching. “The Old Felt Hat” is another of Hollenbeck’s poems that I find especially meaningful.

Prescott (www.jeanprescott.com) does a bang-up job with Randy Huston’s “One Cowboy Left” (when it’s time for Sarah to marry). It’s a touching tale of family values and connection to the land. S. Omar Barker’s “Ranch Mother,” which Prescott set to music, is a beautiful tribute to women whose “sons are horseback men.”

Colorado singer and songwriter Liz Masterson (www.lizmasterson.com) brings a traditional flare to the ranch tutorial. Her “Little Green Valley” is a delight. For those who enjoy yodeling, she offers “Cattle Call” and “Wide Rollin’ Plains.”

Sweethearts in Carhartts is available for $22 from Yvonne Hollenbeck, 30549 291st Street, Clearfield, SD 57580, 605/557-3559, www.YvonneHollenbeck.com.

Andy Hedges and Andy Wilkinson cut right to the chase about citizenship of the cowboy nation in the title track from Welcome to the Tribe. The 12 eclectic tracks are smart with a bit of fun thrown in. Combining spirited originals with time-honored classics, the two Andys serve up a heapin’ helpin’ of principled Western music.http://www.andywilkinson.net I was immediately taken with the Texans’ album when I first heard it, but couldn’t quite put a finger on what I was hearing. They describe it as cowboy folk music.

Besides being songwriters, poets, and performers, Hedges (www.andyhedges.com) and Wilkinson (www.andywilkinson.net) are also folk historians. Perhaps that’s the source of the energy and depth they bring to the classics. Hearing them sing “Diamond Joe” and “Old Paint Medley” is like hearing the songs for the very first time.

Welcome to the Tribe sells for $18.50 (postpaid). Order from Yellowhouse Music, PO Box 505, Snyder, TX 79550; www.yellowhousemusic.com.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Read Cowboy Jam Session at the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

June 2009

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Last weekend, business took me on a 425-mile loop on either side of the quartzite monolith-marked boarder separating North and South Dakota. The area received record snow this past winter. Ranchers and farmers managed the best they could as roads and corrals clogged, feed-and-bedding inventories dwindled, and yet more snow fell. Livestock death losses were high, then the snow melted, causing more agony.

Effects of the bonanza-turned-bane were evident as my husband and I navigated state highways running alongside the 46^th parallel. Neither of us could remember a time when we’d seen the Dakota hills and meadows so green, the cattle so fat, horses so sleek, and stock dams universally filled to near-overflowing. No matter which direction we turned, the green rolled on before us. After a tenacious winter that only begrudgingly released its hold, we felt that surely this was the most wonderful time of the year.

The drive was as humbling as it was enjoyable. Sitting in air-conditioned comfort, I marveled at vital ranch headquarters and derelict, abandoned homesteads. It took courage, faith, stamina, and determination–and no small amount of careful planning and good fortune–to make a go of homesteading on the Plains. When all those ran low, it helped to have resiliency, ingenuity, and good neighbors.

More than a century later, we live a life of relative leisure. Much of the day-to-day toil for survival has been resolved; as a whole, we have grown soft and demanding. Let’s reconsider those who settled the West–and live here yet today–producing food and fiber for a hungry, and sometimes unappreciative, world.

Ace Canadian poet, emcee, and church pianist Doris Daley honors her great-grandmother with “Mary’s Window” from her Beneath a Western Sky CD. The introduction alone is fascinating. In it, Daley tells of the diary that pioneer and ranchwife Mary Daley kept, of her marrying an Irish-born Canadian Mountie, and settling down to ranching and raising a family 18 miles from Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. In the diary, Mary confesses if it weren’t for the knowledge of winter coming and all the rivers she’d have to cross, she would have headed back to Ontario.

Another of Daley’s stand outs on the album is “100 Years from Now,” in which she addresses those who will come after us in the next century. Read it at www.cowboypoetry.com/dorisdaley.htm

There are two songs on the 18-track album. “Riding Home to You” and “Shades of the West” are collaborations written with, and performed by, Eli Barsi. The latter is exceptional, a fine example of Daley’s mastery of words. In it she describes green: “Green is the sweet smell of April, green runs the frost from the ground, green is the jingle and jig in your step when beef brings a dollar a pound.”

To order Beneath a Western Sky, send $18 US ($23 Canadian) to Doris Daley, Box 103, Turner Valley, AB TOL 2AO; (403) 933-4434; www.dorisdaley.com.

Ken Cook’s new CD, Cowboys Are Like That, is drawing quite a bit of attention, and rightly so. Cook and his wife, Nanc, raised their family horseback, working on ranches in southern South Dakota. Besides being a better-than-average poet, it’s obvious that this cowhand knows what he’s talking about. It comes through in the original poetry Cook writes, as well as the pieces penned by others that he selects for recitation. (Read examples of his poetry at www.cowboypoetry.com/kencook.htm. Give a listen to “Come with Me” and “The Conversation” at www.kencookcowboypoet.com/cds.htm.)

When Cook says, “A good day spent horseback feels like sittin’ in God’s hand,” you know it comes from deep within his soul. When he describes rain as “every drop’s a gift,” you know he’s needed it, prayed for it, rejoiced when it finally fell from the omnipotent sky. In his world, spurs are worn for work, “never just for show.” Here’s a man who finds joy in doctoring sick cattle with the help of his boys, sorting pairs with his daughter, and showing up at a neighbor’s place with four good hands who will make a difference in the day’s work.

Cowboys Are Like That is available for $15 from Ken Cook, 23154 Teal Lane, Martin, SD 57551-6601; (605) 685-6749; www.kencookcowboypoet.com

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Ed. Note: Ken Cook was recently named the Lariat Laureate at CowboyPoetry.com.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

May 2009

Going to the Blogs

A recent after-branding conversation touched on blogs. Not dogs, although there was a stray at the corral earlier in the day. Blogs.

“Blog,” short for weblog, was coined in 1999. Think online diary—a running account of the author’s personal life or viewpoint—written for public consumption and accessed via the computer. Beyond posting short essays, some bloggers share breaking news, opinions, gossip, recipes, and poetry. Others use the format as a marketing tool. Most allow readers to write a comment or respond to a question within a forum or chat room. Some offer contests. The more ingenious the author, the more varied the features.

Annika Nelson, a staff assistant with North Dakota Horizons and contributing member of the blogosphere, triggered the discussion as we visited after supper at the Box O. She likes to embellish her posts of seasonal North Dakota happenings with photos: horizontal-lines.typepad.com. Unfortunately, her camera battery ran low that day, so she went home with only a few images. That’s too bad. Had handing her camera to someone been an option, she could have been photographed doing duty as half of an all-important calf wrestling team.

As a blogger, Annika likes to stay on top of what’s happening in the genre. She mentioned her favorite, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, touting the author’s engaging writing and incredible photography. I wanted to know more and discovered that Annika has excellent taste in blogs.

Confessions took honors for best-designed weblog, best photography, and best weblog of the year at the 2009 Bloggies, which recognizes the best in blogging. City-girl-turned-ranchwife/blogger, Ree Drummond, married a cattle rancher. They live in rural Oklahoma, where she home schools their four children. “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels” is the continuing saga of their courtship and marriage. But wait, there’s more! Ree also dishes on topics such as home schooling, cooking, and home & garden. It’s easy to see why fans voted it tops: thepioneerwoman.com.

Here are several other ag-related blogs I hope you’ll enjoy:

Western South Dakota rancher and saddle maker Robert Dennis has been blogging from Red Owl since September 2006. His Dennis Ranch Blog, dennisranch.wordpress.com showcases a refreshingly simple snapshot of work and family life on a northern Great Plains cattle operation. It’s a horse-and-saddle outfit. No four-wheelers here. Robert’s photos add a great deal to the ongoing dialogue. His “After the Blow” is exceptional, portraying winter in the bucolic setting: dennisranch.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/after-the-blow/p3310012.

Sharon O’Toole started her weblog in 2006 as well. She and husband, Pat, ranch in the Little Snake River Valley on the Wyoming-Colorado border. Her blog traces the activities and life on their six-generation family ranch, “from the mundane to the fabulous.” Sharon is one of the most disciplined bloggers whom I follow, faithfully chronicling what’s happening with the sheep, cattle, dogs, horses, and family. As with Annika and Robert, Sharon’s photos add depth to the narrative. Be sure to check out the entry for May 23, 2009, entitled “Shearing, shearing, shearing, lambing”: westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/sharono.

College student and South Dakota cattle producer Amanda Nolz launched her BEEF Daily Blog in the fall of 2008. The subject of her first installment was Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling. On May 11, 2009, Amanda posted a photo and caption taken on the occasion of her graduation from South Dakota State University. She has since returned home to work with her parents on the family ranch. I like Amanda’s Quick BEEF Daily Fact at the end of each post: blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily.

Raised on a corn and bean farm in Ohio, Alex Tiller runs a national farm management company based in Denver, Colorado. As such, he visits a variety of farms in different areas of the country, and around the world, that grow all kinds of crops. He shares his experiences and news about commercial farming, family farms, organic food production, sustainable agriculture, the local food movement, alternative renewable energy, hydroponics, agribusiness, farm entrepreneurship, farm economics, and farm policy in his blog on agriculture and farming: blog.alextiller.com.

Washington State’s MaryJanesFarm includes not one but two farmgirl blogs on the website devoted to organic gardening, life skills, and community. Rural Farmgirl Blog™ is hosted by René Groom at maryjanesfarm.org/RFBlog. City Farmgirl Blog™, penned by Rebekah Teal, is at maryjanesfarm.org/MJFBlog. (Learn more about MaryJanesFarm magazine at maryjanesfarm.org.)

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

April 2009

Cowboy Poetry Week: April 19-25, 2009

Rural librarians across the West are hanging a poster featuring vibrant artwork by noted Western artist Bob Coronato and busting the shrink wrap off The BAR-D Roundup, Vol. 4. The poster and CD are made available at no cost to participating libraries by the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. The Center sponsors Cowboy Poetry Week and CowboyPoetry.com.

Cowboy Poetry Week is celebrated during April–designated as National Poetry Month in the U.S. and Canada. This year marks the eighth annual celebration of Cowboy Poetry Week. It runs April 19-25, 2009. The United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing the celebration in 2003. Since then, it has been recognized by 21 states’ governors and other officials. A variety of festivities take place in communities across the West and beyond.

Through the outreach of the Rural Library Project, even the smallest communities in the rural West can experience the folklore and tradition associated with cowboy poetry. Each year, an exciting new CD is offered to libraries, along with a Cowboy Poetry Week poster. Some libraries host events and exhibits to celebrate: www.cowboypoetry.com/week2009.htm#Events

This year’s official poster (http://www.cowboypoetry.com/bobcoronato.htm) features artwork by Bob Coronato, courtesy The Greenwich Workshop, Inc. An East Coast native, Coronato now divides his time between Hulett, Wyoming (near Devils Tower), and Atascadero, California. His works are often set in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming. An astute observer of detail, Coronato gets the details right, as evidenced by the title of the painting: “The Horse Wrangler Gather’d The Morning Mounts: ‘One That Had’n Lived The Life ... Couldn’t Paint a Picture ...To Please The Eye, of One That Had!’”

This year’s 28-track, fourth-edition BAR-D Roundup combines classic and contemporary cowboy poetry from a Westerner’s viewpoint. Like Coronato, the poets and authors represented on the album “get it right.” Joel Nelson, one of the genre’s most respected contemporary poets, opens with “The Men Who Ride No More.” There’s also the epic “The Red Cow” by the late Larry McWhorter, and “Tracks that Won't Blow Out” by the late Ray Owens.

Classics by Bruce Kiskaddon and Henry Herbert Knibbs are recited by Randy Rieman and Jerry Brooks. Dick Morton offers the traditional “The Cattleman’s Prayer,” and the late JB Allen does “Roundup in the Spring.” Jesse Smith recites the melancholy “The Black Beauty.” There is a fourth annual selection from Grass, by the late Buck Ramsey, the recognized spiritual leader of cowboy poetry.

The viewpoints expressed are not just from men. On the contrary, there’s a refreshing abundance of womens’ perspectives: “The Cows Came First” by Jane Morton; “Housewife” by Georgie Sicking; “A Plain Ol’ Housewife” by Yvonne Hollenbeck; “Average Girl” by Doris Daley; “Ida’s Bread” by Jo Lynne Kirkwood, and “Half the Hand” by Diane Tribitt. Even Rodney Nelson’s crowd-pleasing favorite, “Cowboy Laundry,” gives voice to a cowboy’s wife.

The adorable lad pictured on the album cover is Gail Gardner. Reproduced from an 1890's tintype, it hints at the vintage recording of Gardner (1892-1988) reciting/singing his famous work, “The Sierry Petes (Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail).” Gardner’s grandson Gail Steiger recites another of his grandfather’s works, “The Dude Wrangler.”

Other poets serving up contemporary and classic poems on the Vol. 4 include Allen Clark, Ken Cook, Elizabeth Ebert, DW Groethe, Linda Kirkpatrick, Slim McNaught, Rod Miller, Pat Richardson, Jay Snider, and Andy Nelson. Nelson, a Wyoming poet, humorist, emcee and radio host, co-produced the project. Baxter Black sticks a fork in the project and calls it “done” with a radio public service announcement, written and delivered as only he can.

Continuing a tradition of excellence established with The Bar-D Roundup Vol. 1-2-3, this latest release is a must-have for those who savor cowboy poetry.

Look for The BAR-D Roundup, Vol. 4, at your rural Western library. To purchase your own copy, send $20 to CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133. Previous years' releases are available. Purchase Vol. 3 and 4 together for $35; Vol. 2, 3, & 4 for $50. (U.S. and Canadian postage included. Add $5 for all other addresses.) Pay by a secure, on-line credit card at www.cowboypoetry.com/cd.htm. Proceeds support the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry.

Posters are not available for purchase. They are offered to libraries and to supporters of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. Become a supporter at www.cowboypoetry.com/donors.htm#joinus.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

March 2009

Musical albums substitute for family photo albums

’Long as I can remember, I’ve been enthralled by vintage photographs. As a child, I spent hours entertained by black-and-white images held fast to black paper stock lashed firmly within hand-tooled leather albums. Although I knew each scant description written beneath, I read them nonetheless, committing to memory the dates and information noted. I relished the occasions when Grandad Bill or Dad unfurled a fragile, shimmering projection screen on which we’d watch home movies and 35mm slides.

The best songwriters are every bit as capable and effective in capturing memories of the human experience. And, in the instance where no camera was present, can reconstruct the events with such vivid clarity that you’ll never miss the picture.

Zion Canyon Song Cycle captures the landscape, heritage, and contemporary work-a-day world of Utah’s Zion National Park. Written by composer Phillip Bimstein, the 16-tracks are based on oral histories he collected from friends and neighbors. They portray the area’s imposing rocks, river, and ubiquitous red soil, inhabited–but never completely tamed–by a cast of local characters (and maybe a ghost or two). The research, composition, and performance were funded by a grant from the nationwide Continental Harmony commissioning program of the American Composers’ Forum.

As with any family album worth its salt, Zion Canyon Song Cycle covers both the milestones and the mundane. Performed by the 6-piece ensemble, Red Rock Rondo (redrockrondo.com), it is not Western music, but rather music of the West. The vocalists and musicians employ an assortment of folk and orchestral instruments: guitars, violins, oboe, English horn, mandolin, banjo, mandocello, harmonica, button accordion, jaw harp, and upright bass. (Listen to six full-length tracks at profile.myspace.com/redrockrondo.) Members of the ensemble are Kate MacLeod, Hal Cannon, Phillip Bimstein, Harold Carr, Flavia Cerviňo-Wood, and Charlotte Bell.

Included within the above-mentioned files are two of my favorites: “Marvelous Flood,” recounting Nathan Tenney’s son’s birth amid an 1862 Virgin River flood, and “Boy Who Never Saw a Train,” about Tom Mix’s fascination with Lloyd Crawford, 14-year-old boy growing up so rural that he’d never seen a train in the early 1920s.

The Salt Lake Tribune named Zion Canyon Song Cycle among their 2008 Top Ten Albums, tapping it as the best local album of the year. It also appeared in the top ten of the International Folk DJ Charts with “When President Harding Came to Zion.”

Purchase Zion Canyon Song Cycle by mail for $18. Send a check to Red Rock Rondo, 983 Lincoln St., Salt Lake City, UT 84105. Order online from CD Baby: cdbaby.com/cd/redrockrondo.

Cowgirl balladeer Juni Fisher imprints her great-grandfather’s story in our minds in the award-winning Gone for Colorado ... to live a cowboy’s life. Fisher, known for her masterful, multi-layered storytelling, takes the listener along with John E. Overstreet as he journeys from the family farm in Missouri, to Colorado and New Mexico. She reins-up at the ranch of her own childhood, in the San Joaquin Valley of California.

In 1880, at 14 years of age, Overstreet ran away from home and headed west to be a cowboy. Processing genealogical research, family lore, and supposition, Fisher develops poignant and touching snapshots of his experiences along the way, family members lost, and family members never known. Dovetailed with her own original compositions are the traditional “Railroad Corral” and “Colorado Trail,” and tracks written by Ian Tyson and by Gary McMahan. Texas record producer extraordinaire, Rich O’Brien, one of the genre’s greats, lent his talents to the album.

Listen to Fisher’s folksy, cowgirl style and you’ll understand why Gone for Colorado was selected as the outstanding traditional Western album, as presented by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Okla. (nationalcowboymuseum.org) The awards honor and encourage the legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film, and television reflect the significant stories of the American West. Dating back to 1982, previous traditional Western album winners include Don Edwards, Buck Ramsey, Riders in the Sky, David Wilkie, Red Steagall, Waddie Mitchell, Sons of the San Joaquin, and R.W. Hampton.

Order the 16-track Gone for Colorado (plus other titles) online from junifisher.net or by mail. Send $17 for 1; $32 for two; $46 for 3 (postage included) to Red Geetar Records, 2105 Granville Rd, Franklin, TN 37064. Her albums are also available from Amazon.com and CD Baby. While you’re at it, order a copy of Tumbleweed Letters: cdbaby.com/cd/junifisher.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

February 2009

What is it with girls and horses?

Abbie’s attraction to horses was apparent. The walls of her bedroom were tacked and taped with images of horses: pictures cut from pages of magazines, photos of her family’s beloved mounts, renderings she had drawn and colored. Stiff-legged model horses stood at attention in a sturdy handmade barn and corral that overtook a large portion of the floor. I felt right at home. The decorations and toys reminded me of my room at her age, along with the rooms of most of my friends.

What is it with girls and horses? Kids and horses? Adults and horses?

On Horses’ Wings, a lovely and insightful collection of music, spoken word, and poetry, celebrates the mystical bond between humans and horses and the life lessons learned through developing such partnerships. The album opens and closes with Buck Brannaman ("the horse whisperer") reciting “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt. Brannaman also recounts meeting his stepfather for the first time, drawing a parallel between his experience and that of a young horse. Joining him on the 19-track CD are country-and-cowboy musicians from Nashville and the Northwest: James Cain, Wylie & The Wild West, Mary Ann Kennedy, Templeton Thompson, Antsy McClain, and Patty Hall. Kerry Anderson’s equine artwork, worthy of display in Abbie’s room, enhances the album package. Listen to several full-length tracks at www.myspace.com/onhorseswings

Produced by Hall, On Horses’ Wings sells for $20 plus s/h. All proceeds go directly to Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center (www.littlebit.org), 19802 NE 148th St., Woodinville, WA 98077. Little Bit provides weekly therapeutic horseback riding lessons and Hippo therapy to more than 250 children and adults in the Puget Sound area. Riders experience not only physical benefits (greater strength, balance, and prevention of bone weakness and joint dislocation), but also emotional, cognitive and social benefits. (For more on Little Bit, watch the YouTube videos at www.myspace.com/onhorseswings.) Order On Horses’ Wings from The Eclectic Horseman at www.eclectic-horseman.com.

Amid rows of gear, boots, and bling displayed in the Las Vegas Convention Center during Cowboy Christmas, I came across a copy of Cowgirl Living—Lifestyle Magazine for the Western Woman. Canadian barrel racer Lindsay Sears and her horse Martha were featured on the cover. I’d not seen nor heard of the publication previously and was pleasantly surprised by it.

A glossy bimonthly, the publisher touts Cowgirl Living “for women who choose a Western way of life”—more specifically: horsewomen. The purpose of the magazine is to provide horsewomen with articles that help better their lives outside the arena. Articles focus on day-to-day challenges of “juggling family, career and horse activities,” covering Western fashion, cowgirl celebrities, tips for barn and home, and a recipe section. To get a feel for the magazine, check out the premiere issue. Elementary school teacher and National Finals Rodeo barrel racing finalist Kelly Mabin is pictured on the cover, along with her daughter, Macye. You’ll also find a feature article on planning your indoor arena: www.cowgirl-living.com/images/CLM0308_lowres.pdf

Cowgirl Living is available at Tractor Supply Stores and other western retailers. Subscriptions are $18 for one year (six issues) from PO Box 296, Lohrville, IA 41543; 866-894-1108; www.cowgirl-living.com

The popular Cowboy Songs & Range Ballads at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, is on hiatus until 2010. A statement issued by the Buffalo Bill at www.bbhc.org/events/cowboysongs.cfm says the move was made “to ensure more time for planning and fundraising. Please understand how much this disappoints us, and we know our faithful performers and attendees are disappointed as well.” Responding to numerous requests for something to take up the slack, Leslie Keltner, Runumuk Cowgirl Productions, is spearheading a one-day festival celebrating the music, poetry, and lifestyle of the cowboy.

Songs of the Cowboys is scheduled for Sat., April 4, 2009. Open-mike sessions will be held during the day at Cassie’s Supper Club, with spotlight presentations at businesses throughout the downtown area. Two different concerts—one at 3:00 p.m. and the other at 7:00 p.m.—will be held at Wynona Thompson Auditorium. Performers scheduled to appear, with more to be confirmed, include Bill Chiles, Rex Rideout, Bob Lantis, Otto Rosfeld, Gwen Petersen, Georgie Sicking, Pop Wagner, Open Range, John Shreve, Jim Garry, Larry Thompson, the Yampa Valley Boys, Glenn “Ike” Hall, and Leslie Keltner.

For more information on Songs of the Cowboys, contact Keltner at (307) 587-1558; cowpoet@vcn.com

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

January 2009

Silver State hosts silver anniversary of National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Back in 1985, Elko, Nevada, played host to a little get-together. Meant to be a one-time event, the gathering brought together practitioners of the obscure folk art of cowboy poetry. They came from cow country, got together, got acquainted. They shared poems, shared phone numbers, and headed back from whence they had come—back to raising beef cattle.

Charlie Seemann, executive director of the Western Folklife Center, which produces the gathering, says: “They all had too much fun, the press loved it, and they said, ‘Let’s do it again next year.’ Frankly, I think everybody’s a little surprised at the longevity of it and the fact that it just seems to keep getting a little bigger.”

Fifteen poets who participated in that first gathering are among more than 130 artists who are heading to Elko for the 25^th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (NCPG). An eight-day event—January 24-31, 2009—the gathering also features cowboy and western music, prose, storytelling, films and visual arts, workshops, lectures, dancing, regional foods, and traditional cowboy crafts. The events-a-plenty, silver-anniversary edition of the NCPG offers performances on seven simultaneous stages around Elko.

In the past, I’ve noted those artists who hailed from the Tri-State Livestock News coverage area. In honor of this year’s milestone, I’m including all of the official 2009 poets, musicians and musical groups. (As an added bonus, the Western Folklife Center has added an audio clip along with the biography and photo of each performer. These full-length clips provide a next-best-thing glimpse of the gathering—without having to stop for gas every 400 miles or pass through airport security: http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php/2009-NP-Performers/):

Adrian Brannan (CA), Oscar Auker (TX), Baxter Black (AZ), Dave Bourne (CA), Jerry Brooks (UT), The Burson Family (TX), Jon Chandler and the Wichitones (CO), Bimbo Cheney (NV), Bob Christensen (WA), E.T. Collinsworth (NM), Cowboy Celtic (CAN), Rick “Sourdough Slim” Crowder (CA).

Doris Daley (CAN), Jay Dalton (NV), Duane Dickinson (MT), John Dofflemyer (CA), Carolyn Dufurrena (NV), Elizabeth Ebert (SD), Don Edwards (TX), Leon Flick (OR), Dick Gibford (CA), Janice Gilbertson (CA), The Gillette Brothers (TX), Peggy Godfrey (CO), Skip Gorman (NH) & Connie Dover (WY), DW Groethe (MT).

R.W. Hampton (NM), Linda Hasselstrom (SD), Andy Hedges (TX), Don Hedgpeth (TX), Yvonne Hollenbeck (SD), Hot Club of Cowtown (TX), Jess Howard (ND), Yula Sue Hunting (UT), Linda Hussa (CA), Chris Isaacs (AZ), Teresa Jordan (UT), Echo Klaproth (WY), Ross Knox (AZ).

Walt LaRue (CA), Ray Lashley (CO), Bill Lowman (ND), Corb Lund (CAN), Rusty McCall (NM), Betty Lynne McCarthy (MO), Wallace McRae (MT), Lyn Messersmith (NE), Waddie Mitchell (NV), Clark Morris (OR), Michael Martin Murphey (NM), Joel Nelson (TX), Rodney Nelson (ND), Kay Kelley Nowell (TX).

Glenn Ohrlin (AR), Gwen Petersen (MT), The Quebe Sisters Band (TX), Vess Quinlan (CO), Henry Real Bird (MT), Duane Reece (AZ), Pat Richardson (CA), Riders In The Sky (TN), Randy Rieman (MT), Tom Russell (TX).

Chris "Sandman" Sand (ND), Bob Schild (ID), Georgie Sicking (WY), Jesse Smith (WY), Dave Stamey (CA), Gail Steiger (AZ), Kent Stockton (WY), Milton Taylor (AUS), Ian Tyson (CAN), Jack Walther (NV), Bill Wood (SD), Wylie & The Wild West (WA), and Paul Zarzyski (MT).

By and large, the performers live in rural locations across the West; a handful make their home east of the Mississippi River. However, more than 40 percent of those who make the trek to the NCPG travel from urban areas.

“People want to hear something authentic, from the heart and rooted in the land,” explains Hal Cannon, founding director of the Western Folklife Center. “When we started in 1985, there was an energy that came out of cattle country, that took hold of talented and creative men and women from every generation, and brought a representative group together for the first time in Elko to express their art. The response was greater than anything we could have imagined; and it's stronger than ever today. People are writing and sharing poetry who might never have dared before. Had it not been for the gathering, this creative energy from ranchers and cowboys may have never found voice.”

The Western Folklife Center’s Website (http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/) is extensive. I encourage you to investigate it for yourself. Don’t miss these highlights:

2009 Schedule:
http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/images/stories/explore/ncpg/2009/schedule_1-12.pdf

Podcasts: http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php/Podcasts/

Gathering Moments on Film:
http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php/National-Poetry-Gathering-Videos/Gathering-Moments-on-Film.html

Gift Shop: http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php/vmchk/Gift-Shop/View-all-products.html

For an index of all invited performers, swing over to http://www.cowboypoetry.com/elkolist.htm.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.
© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

December 2008

Christmas Gifts Ideas: Part 2

December 25 is coming, racing as fast as yearling heifers through an open gate. Relax! Take a deep breath. Do only what really needs to be done; let the rest go. For the harried homemakers amongst you, ask each family member what one Christmas goodie they want, and make only those. You’ll reduce money spent on ingredients, hours spent in the kitchen, calories tempting you at every turn, and stress.

If you have a few gifts yet to purchase, consider the following:

Evelyn Cameron: Pictures from a Worthy Life—a documentary film about the frontier photographer who left behind 35 years of diaries and thousands of images taken in eastern Montana at the turn of the 20^th century. Born into a life of privilege in England, Cameron homesteaded on the eastern Montana prairie with her husband. An independent spirit, she started a photography business which contributed significantly to the couple’s meager ranch income. Produced by John Twiggs for KUFM/Montana PBS, UM Missoula—and airing on Public Television Stations nationwide—it is exceptional!

The documentary is available as either a DVD or VHS (be sure to specify) for $24.95. Order from The Evelyn Cameron Foundation, PO Box 497, Terry, MT 59349; (406) 635-4966; www.evelyncameron.com. Also available from the foundation is Photographing Montana, Donna M. Lucey’s book showcasing more than 150 of Cameron’s photos taken between 1890-1920. Send $44.95 for the softcover; $67.95 for the hardback.

Houlihan: the Cowboys of Montana and Wyoming—fourth in The Vaquero Series by filmmakers Susan Jensen & Paul Singer, detailing the history and regional differences among America’s cowboy cultures. Released in May 2008, and running 95 minutes, there’s scenery to please the eye and Western music for the ear. Previously released were #1 Tapadero (California vaquero), #2 The Remuda (Great Basin buckaroo), and #3 Holo Holo Paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy). A fifth title, released December 5, 2008, is #5 Los Primeros (first vaqueros; filmed in Spain, Mexico, and throughout the American West).

Individual DVD titles sell for $21.95 in the US (shipping included); $22.95 in Canada; $28.95 Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Order from J&S Productions, PO Box 91560, Santa Barbara, CA 93190; (805) 695-0164; www.tapadero.com. Purchase all five (Tapadero, Remuda, Paniolo, Houlihan, Los Primeros) for $90 US, $95 in Canada, and $105 in Europe, Australia, New Zealand. Or, find a store that sells the series: www.tapadero.com./html/locations.html.

Southwestern Souvenirs—a relaxing and nostalgic collection of guitar music by Rich O’Brien. Himself a member of the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame, the CD won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. You’ll find “Wheels,” “Blue Skirt Waltz,” and the theme to “Gunsmoke,” with lyrics sung by Don Edwards. See the full track listing and listen to three samples at www.westernjubilee.com/SouthwesternSouvenirs.htm.

Send $15 + shipping to Western Jubilee Recording Company, PO Box 9187, Colorado Springs, CO 80932; (800) 707-2353; www.westernjubilee.com. (NOTE: Free shipping on domestic orders over $50 placed via the website!)

Pieces of the Past—a CD by South Dakota ranchwife, Yvonne Hollenbeck, featuring songs by Jean Prescott. This 15-track collection is the 2008 Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year as presented by the Western Music Association. Hollenbeck and Prescott each bring considerable talent to the project produced by Rich O’Brien. The down-home subjects range from “Grandma’s Homemade Apron” to “The Little Red Geranium.”

Send $18.50 to Yvonne Hollenbeck, 30549 291st Street, Clearfield, SD 57580; (605) 557-3559; www.YvonneHollenbeck.com. Listen to “Prairie Patchwork” from the CD at www.yvonnehollenbeck.com/books.html.

The World According to Baxter Black: Quips, Quirks & Quotes—the annual Christmas release from everyone’s favorite veterinarian-turned-cowboy entertainer. Baxter describes the delightful little “crossbred collection” of quips, quotes, quirks, truisms, exaggerations, philosophical observations, cowboy humor and perspective–with illustrations by A-10 Etcheverry–as a happy book: “It’ll make you or whoever you give it to happy ... it’ll make us happy, and happiness will spread like cheap wine on a white tuxedo!”

I like to think that it is also a handy book. You can read for a few moments and put it down without worry of marking the page. Pick it up later and continue reading. There’s no real beginning or end (even though there is a page plainly labeled “The End”).

The 156-page hardback sells for $19.95 + shipping. (Buy two for $39; get a third one free; offer expires Dec. 15, 2008). Order from Coyote Cowboy Company, PO Box 2190, Benson, AZ 85602; (800) 654-2550; www.baxterblack.com/

Also from Coyote Cowboy Company is Baxter’s double CD, Blazin' Bloats & Cows on FIRE!, with more than two hours of cowboy poetry and tall tales. It features such favorites as “Sixty Foot Rope,” “Taxidermy Heifer,” plus a personal favorite of mine, “I Know You’ll Miss This Man.” It sells for $24.95 + shipping.
Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.
© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

November 2008

Christmas Gifts Ideas: Part 1

Books have always been one of my favorite gifts to give. There’s one for every interest. There’s no worry about the format becoming outdated. They’re portable and can be shared with others. (If you haven’t already set up such a record-keeping system, keep a written record of books you have out on loan.)

Out of chute number 1 is Gwen Petersen’s humorous handbook for country living, How to Shovel Manure & Other Life Lessons for the Country Woman. My Montana-raised brother-in-law and sister-in-law, now living in Reno, Nevada, each gave it two thumbs up. He liked the progression of stories starting in the spring–proceeding through each seasons’ activities–concluding with an appropriate poem. She appreciated the accuracy, having experienced many of the same things growing up on a ranch. Her particular favorite was opening the refrigerator and having calf vaccine fall into the Jell-O.

The publisher notes, “For good measure, the book includes poems and recipes that will transport you to a country state of mind–whether you hail from the city’s busiest streets or the ranch’s quietest gravel roads.” Called the Erma Bombeck of the farmhouse and the Ann Landers of the barnyard, Gwen makes country life sound like a lot more fun that it really is.

How to Shovel Manure & Other Life Lessons for the Country Woman (Voyageur Press, 2007, 224 pages, hardback, illustrations & recipes; ISBN: 0-7603-2862-5) retails for $17.95 at bookstores and is available at Amazon.com. Contact Petersen at PO Box 1255, Big Timber, MT 59011; (406) 932-4227.

A decidedly more somber view of life in the American West is represented by the letters and diaries in Best of Covered Wagon Women, edited by Kenneth L. Holmes. Originally appearing in the 11-volume series, Covered Wagon Women, eight selected works appear in “Best,” along with an introduction by Michael L. Tate.

The firsthand accounts of women who braved the westward migration between 1848 and 1864 convey the hardship, adventure, and camaraderie that made the overland experience tolerable. They tell of rough roads, rickety bridges, quicksand, swarms of mosquitoes, downpours that soaked bedding, birth and death, children with cold feet, foul drinking water, and the stench of dead livestock littering the roadside. But, there were also joys: fresh water; plentiful grass; breathtaking vistas; wild strawberries and currants.

Look for Best of Covered Wagon Women (University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, 304 pages, paper; ISBN: 978-0-8061-3914-2) in bookstores or order from http://www.oupress.com/ where it sells for $13.97.

Another group of individuals who saw their share of hardship in the nineteenth-century American West were soldiers. Jeremy Agnew shares the challenges of an enlisted man in Life of a Soldier on the Western Frontier. Bad food, substandard quarters, uncomfortable uniforms, harsh conditions, and tedious drills were hardly what young soldiers envisioned. Far from the glories they imagined, they were often bored and lonely, working seven days a week in desert heat and winter’s worst.

Mountain Press says: “In addition to describing the nitty-gritty details of a soldier’s daily life, this fascinating study explores the Indian Wars from the perspective of both the military and the Indians and examines all aspects of the post-Civil War army, including its organization, its weapons, and its personnel.”

Life of a Soldier on the Western Frontier sells for $16 from http://mountain-press.com. Buy it as a reference; buy it for the great stories. (Mountain Press Publishing, 2008, 272 pages, photos, maps & appendices, paper; ISBN: 978-0-87842-541-9)


Robb Kendrick’s suite of tintype photographs, Still: Cowboys at the Start of the Twenty-First Century, earns my vote for this year’s most unusual coffee-table book. The positive images captured on primitive metal plates (versus film’s negative process) are captivating. Tintype photography was cutting edge technology back in 1856, but hardly considered newsworthy nowadays–until Kendrick used the process to portray today’s working cowboy.

Kendrick, a sixth-generation Texan whose work is seen in National Geographic, logged 41,000 miles traveling to where cowboys ply their skills. His figures his quest took him 16 weeks (over the course of six years), while traversing 14 states, Mexico, and Canada. Despite being characterized as a dying breed, Kendrick found the cowboy culture intact and functioning. Accompanying the 144 images is an essay by Marianne Wiggins and an afterword by Jay Dusard, both Pulitzer Prize nominees.

National Geographic hosts a video on the process behind photographing and developing tintypes:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/12/vaquero/tintype-interactive

National Public Radio has a multimedia slide show narrated by Kendrick: www.npr.org/programs/day/features/photo_op/kendrick/slideshow/index.html

Purchase Still: Cowboys at the Start of the Twenty-First Century (University of Texas Press, 2008, 232 pages, 144 b&w photos, hardback; ISBN: 978-0-292-71438-0) in bookstores or from www.utexas.edu/utpress/, where it’s priced at $33.50.
Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.
© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

October 2008

Cowboy Crooners

Last month I touched on the difficulty of defining Western music. Often associated with cowboy music, fans would never lump them together with country and Western. While they share a common genesis, each has developed its own personality, much as any child might. To read what others are saying on the subject, rein on over to CowboyPoetry.com: www.cowboypoetry.com/whatiswesternmusic.htm. You’ll find submissions on the topic, along with a similar discussion on “What is cowboy poetry?”

But back to cowboy music ... thumbing through CDs submitted for consideration, I selected three artists whose work falls within my personally-defined parameters. Each brings something different to the table: a Texas cowboy’s viewpoint, a hint of Nashville, a Montana rancher’s life experiences.

Gary Prescott was born and raised in deep South Texas. Working on his family’s ranch with 1,500-head of momma cows, he also rode bulls and bareback broncs. He explains: “For the first 23 years of my life, I was either riding horseback or riding a tractor. All I knew was cowboy. Then I went to work in the oil field to save up money for my own place. In 1993, I went to my first cowboy gathering. It was like coming home again.”

Rough Country, Wild Cattle is the result. Gary wrote or co-wrote eight of the 12 tracks. He shares credit with his wife, Jean, on “Shootin’ the Gap” and “Cowboy Blues,” the latter being one of my favorites. The title is deceiving in that the collection is actually quite mellow and soothing.

Gary and Jean have several recordings between them, including a double CD entitled Cowboy Forever. To order Rough Country, Wild Cattle, send $18 to Prescott Music, PO Box 194, Ovalo, TX 79541; www.jeanprescott.com

Robert Joe Vandygriff’s The Cowboy Ain’t Dead Yet: Vol. 1, is the most stereotypical. I don’t say that in a negative way. Described by the Dallas Morning News as “one part Gene Autry, one part Will Rogers, and one part Zig Ziglar,” Vandygriff stars as Joe Texas in a historically-accurate, one-act musical comedy dispelling the rumor that the cowboy is a dying breed. The 13 tracks on Vol. 1 tell the story of the American cowboy in song and verse. You’ll find the likes of “I’d Like to be in Texas,” “Cattle Call,” “Rawhide,” “Colorado Trail,” and “Mariah,” along with lesser known titles and a handful of factual tidbits. Vandygriff presents them all in fine style. Listen to snippets at www.cowboyaintdeadyet.com

The Cowboy Ain’t Dead Yet: Vol. 2 contains 20 tracks–most of them contemporary–plus bonus Joe Texas sayin’s. Vandygriff, who played Ranger Mike in Walker, Texas Ranger, had some commercial music success in Nashville in the 1970s. Returning to the Lone Star State, he and his wife, Deb, make their home in Lipscomb County, in the state’s northeastern panhandle. It’s there that he penned two of my favorites from Vol. 2: “A Cowboy’s Promise” and “The Ballad of Charlie Kidd.”

Vol. 1 sells for $12; Vol. 2 is $15. Send check or money order payable to The Cowboy Ain't Dead Yet, PO Box 85, Lipscomb, TX 79056; www.cowboyaintdeadyet.com (806) 852-2432.

Leave Texas, head up the trail to Wibaux County, Montana, and you’ll find Bob Petermann. A rancher/poet/singer/songwriter, Petermann has lived his entire life in the rugged badlands of eastern Montana. He’s comfortable amid the short grass, cedars, cottonwoods, and plums that grow wild around the home place. He’s equally at home horseback or with a guitar in hand. His music is pure cowboy.

Following on three previous recordings, Petermann released Thanks for the Rain in 2007. A gospel album, it contains 12 tracks with standards such as “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” “Gathering Flowers for the Master’s Bouquet,” and “Consider the Lillies,” along with three originals: “Where the Grass Grows Green All Year Long,” “Don’t Look Back,” and the title track. Petermann’s humble nature and deep-seated faith shine through in every verse. (For more about Petermann: www.cowboypoetry.com/bobpetermann.htm)

Besides Thanks for the Rain, I wholeheartedly recommend Petermann’s Takin' up Slack. It is one of cowboy music’s most honest portrayals of the lifestyle. Order the pair. You won’t be sorry. Send $15 for each CD to Bob Petermann, 942 Pine Unit Road, Wibaux, Montana 59353; 406-486-5618.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.
© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

September 2008

If I Hadn’t Seen the West

Aboriginal artists were the first to honor the sweeping beauty of the American West, paying homage with voice, drum, and paint. Ever since, man has attempted to capture its essence in song, on canvas, paper, and film. As a result, Western music and art encompass a range of styles as sweeping as the geography they seek to embody.

I count among my most memorable concert moments a brief five minutes last fall when California singer/songwriter Joyce Woodson performed “If I Hadn’t Seen the West.” Seated in the audience at the Western Music Association Festival in Albuquerque, N.M., I was mesmerized by Woodson’s one song during the Barn Dance. Accompanying herself on a guitar, she sang with eloquence and heart, recounting her affinity for the West in a rich alto voice.

For whatever reason, our trails had not previously crossed. That was why I was in New Mexico, to get acquainted with artists I’d not heard or met. Far from being a newcomer to the festival circuit, Woodson has performed folk music from coast to coast–at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo.; at the Autry Western Heritage Museum in Burbank, Calif.; in Nashville, Tenn.–and as an invited guest at the Belfast Festival at Queen’s, Belfast, Ireland.

Woodson serves up pure Western melodies reminiscent of the Sons of the Pioneers (www.cmt.com/artists/az/sons_of_the_pioneers/bio.jhtml), but the words and melodies are her own. Famous for such classics as “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Cool Water,” Woodson says of the group founded in 1933 by Leonard Slye, better known by his stage name of Roy Rogers: “Those harmonizing voices brought the cowboy life and landscape clearly into focus for me–so much so that I felt like I was in the saddle with them, and I never wanted the trail or the song to end.”

To that end, Woodson wrote and recorded 11 tracks for her latest CD, If I Hadn’t Seen the West. Aside from the title track, I think she did a bang-up job on “I Heard about it in a Song,” “Waddie, Get Your Boots on,” “The Question,” and “I Don’t Want to be a Cowboy Anymore.” Listen to sample tracks under “discography” at www.joycewoodson.com, where you’ll also find lyrics to “If I Hadn’t Seen the West.”

To order If I Hadn’t Seen the West, send $17 to Joyce Woodson c/o Radish Records, 32158 Camino Capistrano #366, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675; reach her at (949) 493-4791.

Aside from meeting artists at festivals and gatherings, I also meet them at my mailbox. CD shippers and padded envelopes show up every now and then, bearing addresses from across the United States and Canada.

It’s exciting to open a package and see what’s inside. I don’t take it lightly when I receive such a parcel. Whether it’s from a poet or singer, author, publisher, or film maker, I understand the time, effort, and expense that go into producing such a project. Unfortunately, space doesn’t allow me to tell you about them all.


Rich Flanders is one of those artists whom I met down at the mailbox. His album, Yondering: Songs of the American West, arrived with of all things, a New York State address. An address means little to me if the material inside is good, and Yondering is good.

Like Woodson, Flanders (www.richflanders.com) shares an enduring fondness for the Sons of the Pioneers. A former Broadway performer, he too tips his hat to the group in the acknowledgments, commenting that of the many kinds of music he’s performed, the songs on the album are the ones he most often sings to himself. A labor of love he contemplated for years, Flanders provides fresh lead and harmony vocals on the 16 tracks.

Songs were selected based upon their universal appeal. You’ll instantly recognize the majority of the songs celebrating the peaks and prairies. Five were penned by Bob Nolan, including “Chant of the Plains” and “Blue Prairie.” Other cowboy/Western classics include “Blue Shadows on the Trail,” “Ridin’ down the Canyon,” “River of No Return,” and “Song of the Trail.” For generous track samples, head over to cdbaby.com/cd/richflanders and take a listen. If you like what you hear, order directly from CDBaby. Yondering sells for $16 plus $2.25 shipping.
Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.
© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

August 2008

Oklahoma ... Where the West Remains!

This past winter I spent many a late night following genealogical crumbs left by my ancestors. One trail led to a branch of the family tree rooted in Oklahoma. My maternal grandmother, Lucille, was born in 1911 in Pawnee County. Her parents, Vinton and Susie (Lancaster) Wildman, married in Osage City on Christmas Day 1897. Susie’s father had acquired land in the 1889 Land Run, homesteading on the Osage and Pawnee Nation, Oklahoma Indian Territory. The Lancasters came to Oklahoma from Texas.

Vinton was not present when Grandma Lucille was born. He had gone to Montana to file on a homestead claim. Suzie and the couple’s four children joined Vinton in Custer County, Montana, making the trip by train just days after Lucille’s birth.

While ankle-deep in familial photos, faxes, and photocopies, R.W. Hampton’s Oklahoma ... Where the West Remains! Centennial Journey in Story & Song: 1907-2007 serendipitously arrived in the mail. Recorded at an official Oklahoma Centennial Commission event, the 32-track CD captures Hampton, the Enid Symphony Orchestra, Rich O’Brien, and the Chisholm Trail String Band as they chronicle the state’s history. Three years in the making, Oklahoma native Edna Mae Holden brought the project to life with the assistance of a great many folks–historians and musicians alike: www.wherethewestremains.com/about.html.

Hampton, with his rich baritone voice, narrates the show and provides vocals. The music is a mix of old standards and original compositions, including “The Run of the Cherokee Outlet,” of which my Great, Great Grandfather Lancaster was a participant. Just over an hour in length, the musical time capsule weaves together the lives of Native Americans, cowboys, settlers, Buffalo Soldiers, African Americans, immigrants, favorite sons, and outlaws.

In my family’s case, there are plenty of the latter. Included among Great Granddad Wildman’s shirt-tail cousins are Texas gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, train robber Sam Bass, and cowboy-turned-robber Thomas Edward Ketchum. Also add to the list of interesting cousins gun company owner, and manufacturer of the Winchester repeating rifle, Oliver F. Winchester. But, I digress ...

Oklahoma...Where the West Remains! received the 2008 Wrangler award for best traditional Western album as presented by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Listen to all the songs from this award-winning CD, in their entirety, at www.rwhampton.com under “Music”. Like what you hear? Order online or send $25 to Hampton Land & Lyrics, PO Box 150, Cimarron, NM 87714; 800-392-0822.

I’d been hearing about Kent Rollins for a couple of years before meeting him in Elko at the 2008 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Proprietor, cook, and bottle washer of the official Oklahoma State Chuckwagon, Rollins spins a hilarious yarn and recites an occasional poem. If his cookin’ is anywhere as grand as his stories, he must leave a mess of satisfied diners in his wagon’s wake. For more on Rollins: www.cowboypoetry.com/kentrollins.htm.

Once I got a-holt of the Oklahoma ranch cook’s CD, Kent Rollins: Live in Branson, it only took a matter of minutes listening to “The Olympics” before I realized why people appreciate his storytelling. Two other tales from the 12-track collection that I found especially entertaining are “The Exterminator” and “Ben Hur.” To order Kent Rollins Live in Branson, send $17 to Kent Rollins, Rt. 1, Box 318, Hollis, OK 73550; (580) 688-3693; www.KentRollins.com. (Regrettably, his chuckwagon cookbook is out of print.)

Rollins teaches a Chuckwagon Bootcamp for wannabe pot rustlers. The open-air classroom is near Hollis, on the banks of the Red River, northeast of Childress, Texas: www:westernmusicnetwork.com/Bootcamp.html.

Cyril, Oklahoma cowboy poet Jay Snider introduced me to his amigo Kevin Davis last fall at the Western Music Association Festival. Born and raised in southwest Oklahoma, Davis made quite a stir with his swarthy good looks and equally appealing voice. This year he’s in the running for the Crescendo Award, chosen from among the associations’ rising stars.

Davis worked as a ranch hand before becoming a fire fighter. He also rode saddle broncs and roped steers. He knows of what he writes and sings. In 2003, he was invited to perform at Elko’s National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. His music is authentically cowboy and realistically Western. His 10-track CD, Every Horse I Ever Rode, is smartly written and professionally produced. I’m betting it will become one of your favorites. To order, send $16.50 to Kevin Davis, PO Box 131, Walters, OK 73572.
Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.
© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears here at the Tri-State Livestock News.

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews
- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

July 2008

Sounds for the busy season

As summer takes the bit in its mouth and races across the horizon toward the first frost, I can only glance wistfully at the books and magazines clamoring for my attention. Colorful stacks, sorted by size and subject, are growing beside my desk; there’s another bedside. For me, outdoor demands take precedence over reading during the brief growing season here on the Northern Great Plains. While I can’t devote as much time to reading as I’d like, I can listen as I scrub radishes, dice rhubarb, and make a parts run. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been playing lately:

Beneath a Western Sky by Texas cowgirl Linda Kirkpatrick

Gaining a reputation for her quality poetry recitations, Kirkpatrick is joined by saddle pals Frank Roberts and Joe Wells on this 2005 recording. The trio, known as Sunset Serenade, is familiar on the southern cowboy and folk festival circuit, presenting Western history in story and song. Subtle, well-chosen sound effects and background music add to the selections without overpowering. You’ll find 17 tracks on this CD, including one of my all-time favorite contemporary cowboy poems, Debra Coppinger Hill’s “Old Yellow Slicker.” Another track worthy of mention is Bruce Kiskaddon’s “Bronco Twister’s Prayer.” I never tire of hearing Kirkpatrick recite this classic. She does such a grand job.

“When Roundup Time Comes Around” and “Cupful of Mem’ries” are Kirkpatrick originals. Raised on a ranch near Leakey, Texas, she was fortunate to have known a good many cowboys, the subject of both pieces. Kirkpatrick is best known for “Cathay Williams,” the true story of a female Buffalo Soldier. (Read the poem at www.cowboypoetry.com/lk.htm)

Besides her interest in poetry, Kirkpatrick writes a monthly column that appears in Texas Escapes, an on-line magazine dedicated to Texas travel and history. Her column, Somewhere in the West, focuses on the Texas Hill Country: www.texasescapes.com/LindaKirkpatrick/Linda-Kirkpatrick.htm

To order Beneath a Western Sky, send $15.50 to Linda Kirkpatrick, PO Box 128, Leakey, Texas 78873. Contact her at lbrice@hctc.net; 830-232-5308.


Vaudeville Cowboy by singer-yodeler-accordionist Sourdough Slim

Despite his goofy demeanor and retro appearance, Sourdough Slim is a serious musician, well versed in American folk music. It’s easy to be blinded by his 1920's-era cowboy duds and Vaudeville shtick–which is exactly where he wants you. During the Depression, cowboys were popular on the big traveling tent show circuit. Vaudeville Cowboy is a 17-track tribute to the cowboy entertainers of the first half of the 20^th century: Tom Mix, Jimmie Rodgers, Col. Tim McCoy, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Will Rogers. Augmented by Sourdough’s own compositions, you’ll hear such period classics as “Jean From Abilene,” “Golden Slippers,” “Man on The Flying Trapeze,” and “In the Jailhouse Now.” The arrangements are made all the more authentic–and endearing–having been recorded with novel instrumentation of the day.


As much as I like Vaudeville Cowboy for its historical significance, it’s not been the commercial success of Sourdough’s Classics. Featuring great old-time cowboy and hobo songs, it’s little wonder. You’ll find “High Noon,” “Cool Water,” “Boots and Saddles,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” and “Back in the Saddle,” among others. Sourdough performs these songs mostly solo, accompanying himself on guitar, accordion, tenor banjo, baritone ukulele, and harmonica. (Give a listen Sourdough’s sound clips at www.sourdoughslim.com)

Order either Vaudeville Cowboy or Classics for $15 each (postpaid/US funds). Send cash, check or money order to Sourdough Slim, PO Box 2021, Dept. CJS, Paradise, CA 95967. Contact Sourdough at 530-872-1187.

Calling All Cowboys, hosted by Charley Engel

Charley Engel, a.k.a. Chuckaroo the Buckaroo, has been hosting Calling All Cowboys on KPOV-LP FM, Bend, Oregon, since the community station began broadcasting in June 2005. A writer for the Central Oregon Horse Journal, he enjoys trail riding and performing music. As Chuckaroo the Buckaroo (don’t let his radio moniker scare you off), Engel shares a pleasing, eclectic mix of old-time and contemporary cowboy and Western music, cowboy poetry, Western swing, old-time radio, and artist interviews with his radio audience.

The two-hour show is available on demand through the magic of the World Wide Web. Listen at your convenience: www.kpov.org/index.php?option=com_shows&task=view&id=57. Select “Most Recent” or “Previous” from “Show Archive.” It’s that simple. Take Engel up on his invitation to “Ride the dusty high-desert as we explore music, poetry and old-time radio, all with a decidedly Western bent.”
Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews

- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

June 2008

Gas Mileage and Summer Escapes

Trying to get away between haying and harvest is hard enough without stratospheric fuel prices. Near-$4/gallon gas could deflate all but the most pressing travel plans. Rabid news reporters are quizzing consumers on how they’re cutting corners, cutting back, preparing for the next torturous trip to the pump.

The answers aren’t exactly cutting edge: Families are cooking from scratch and eating at home. They’re baking bread, planting gardens, stocking up on sale items. (One desperate Lois Lane, trying to make the most of the situation, labeled buying and freezing sale-priced beef, pork and chicken as “food hoarding.”) Folks are walking, riding bikes, riding horses, sharing rides. They’re spending weekends at home, discovering the backyard, reconnecting with family, meeting their neighbors, and driving slower.

Which brings me to Baxter Black’s audio book, Hey, Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky? Released in 2007 and touted as “the best-selling rodeo novel ever written,” Baxter presents the adventures of Lick and Cody on their quest to qualify for the finals–in its unabridged entirety. Notice I didn’t say he “reads” the book. It’s more like theater of the mind. Kudos to producers Brent Reason and Gail Steiger.

I took the seven-CD, PG-13 rated book on a recent trip. Unable to find a run time on the package, I wondered how much of the tale my husband, Rob, and I would hear. Then I saw it printed on the case: “Almost 450 miles of listenin’!” But, traveling at what speed, I wondered.

Baby calves were soaking up the sun as we headed west with Baxter. It was much like a trip in 1989 when Rob and I met Baxter at the Rapid City, S.D. airport for an in-car interview en route to Winner, S.D. As was the case then, laughter filled the car and the miles fell quickly behind us. It occurred to me that there should be a warning on the case: “Listening to this book while driving may constitute a hazard slightly less dangerous than painting your toenails, reading a book, or using a cell phone.”

We interrupted Baxter and stopped at the Basque coffee shop in Miles City, Mont. I knew he’d second the motion. Back on the road, eagles glided along the Yellowstone River, a military honor guard presided over a burial at Custer, bulls lolled in a pasture awaiting turnout. We were engrossed in Lick and Cody’s quest for the finals.

Returning home, I took my question regarding Baxter’s mathematical computations to the “arthur” himself and was told that the 450 miles of listenin’ is at 75 mph. By my calculations, that’s 420 miles at 70 mph; if you slow down to 65 mph, it’s 390 miles. Of course, your mileage may vary. Even if gas is expensive, it will hurt less while listening to Hey, Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky? Order your copy online at www.baxterblack.com or send $29.95 to Coyote Cowboy Company, PO Box 2190, Benson, AZ 85602; 1-800-654-2550.

Despite what’s happening with fuel, I expect a full house in Cody, Wyoming, for Brian Lebel’s Cody Old West Show & Auction. The auction is Thurs., June 26; the show Fri.-Sat., June 27-28. A 144-page, full-color sale catalog arrived in my mailbox last week. Gracing the cover is a 1870s Mexican saddle made for a wealthy vintner in the Republic of Mexico (estimated selling price: $50,000-$100,000). Decorated with cactus fiber and silver, it is exquisite!

Also pictured are a Missouri River and Black Hills Stage Company ticket; Winchester 1876 Serial #4; original artwork by Will James, O.C. Seltzer, Edward Borein; 27 first-edition Will James books; 1889 Colt Navy revolver with Furstnow and Coggshall holster, once the property of Texas Ranger and first sheriff of Miles City, Montana, Bill Hawkins; Luis B. Ortega quirt; J.A. Garrett’s (Johnson County War) Colt. Saddles carry the marks of such makers as Shipley, Visalia, Meanea, Frasier, and Bohlin. There’s even one with an AM radio built into the pommel. As a kid, I dreamed of just such a thing.

I’ve attended the event on several occasions and give it two spurs up. But, if a trip to Cody doesn’t fit within your budget, order yourself a copy of the catalog. It’s a great reference that you’ll pick up again and again. Order online at www.codyoldwest.com or send $30 to Cody Old West Auction, PO Box 2038, Carefree, AZ 85377; (307) 587-9014.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews

- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

May 2008

A Father’s Day hat trick
If the dad in your life is a rancher or a horseman, here’s a Father’s Day suggestion that will be as welcome as a second cutting of alfalfa to a dryland producer—Holo Holo Paniolo. In Hawaiian, holo holo means "to get around." That’s exactly what the documentary producers do in episode three of their ongoing Vaquero Series, this time featuring island cowboys called paniolos.

By chance I caught a screening of Holo Holo Paniolo at December’s Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, Monterey, Calif. I couldn’t have been happier to see the footage, and I finally met Susan Jensen and Paul Singer.

Jensen and Singer, J&S Productions, have undertaken what can only be described as a labor of love, showcasing the history and regional differences among America’s cowboy culture. The 90-minute Paniolo follows #1 Tapadero, the California vaquero, and #2 The Remuda , the buckaroo. (For more on these previous releases see Cowboy Jam Session May 2007 below). Number 4, Houlihan (northern range), was just released May 12, 2008. But, back to Paniolo.

The story of how cattle came to the islands, and became a menace, is every bit as interesting as the traditions of those caring for them. In 1833, King Kamehameha recruited three vaqueros from California to train Hawaiians to ride, rope, and catch the wild cattle that were running rampant in his kingdom.

J&S spent six weeks filming across the five islands. Naturally, there’s footage from one the largest cattle ranches in the United States–the Parker Ranch–running 17,000 head on 175,000 acres. But, you’ll also see smaller homesteads of the native Hawaiians.

Adaptations to a rocky and wet environment can be seen in the construction of stone corrals and the Hawaiian saddle. Because of the high humidity, a traditional high Plains saddle is ill-suited to the tropics. Instead, paniolos adopted a stripped down tree that is waterproof for swimming cattle to boats and dries quickly.

As with previous episodes, there is a cowboy music component to the DVD. In the case of the Hawaiians, it’s the slack-key guitar tradition, a remnant of the vaqueros’ Spanish guitars.

Individual DVD titles from the Vaquero Series sell for $21.95. Bundled, episodes #1-3 sell for $55; episodes #1-4 sell for $77. All prices include shipping. Order from J&S Productions, PO Box 91560, Santa Barbara, CA 93190; (805) 695-0164; www.tapadero.com. To locate a store that sells the series–from Hawaii to Montana, Texas to Germany–visit www.tapadero.com/html/locations.html.

A recent arrival in my mailbox that I’m delighted to recommend is Ray Doyle’s The Emigrant Trail: a Journey West. The Dublin-born Doyle is familiar to fans of Wylie & The Wild West as Wylie’s longtime band leader. That alone says a lot, but Ray is a class act in his own right. This CD makes that point perfectly clear.

In liner notes, Doyle recounts his family’s journey aboard "an overcrowded ship for a turbulent nine-day voyage from Ireland." Eventually, they settled near the Hollywood Hills in California. While not biographical, the 11 tracks successfully condense the immigrant experience that is America, spanning both the continent and the centuries.

Doyle did a masterful job of selecting and choreographing the songs, which are a mixture of original compositions and traditional tunes, plus Jimmy Driftwood’s "Tennessee Stud," Gordon Lightfoot’s "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," and "The Vaquero Song" by Dave Stamey. From the gut-wretching title track to the lovely guitar instrumental "Rosalba," from Doyle’s award-winning Yellowstone National Park tribute, "The Jewel," to a mournful 7th Cavalry ballad set to a leisurely-paced "Garryowen," it’s a grand journey.

The tempo changes from track to track are smooth and effortless; the subject matter interesting and refreshing. A surprisingly educational "The Jigger Boss" is a fine example of the latter. And, yes, that’s Cowboy Celtic you hear on Doyle’s arrangement of "The Water is Wide" and several others.

Order The Emigrant Trail for $18 (postage included) from Ray Doyle, PO Box 661111, Mar Vista, CA 90066; ray@raydoyle.net. It would be wise to order two copies. It’s the type of CD you want to listen to again and again, and you won’t want to part with it once you’ve heard it.

If your dad prefers books to videos or music, consider Ray Hunter’s 135-page hardback, Dim Trails. Hunter lived the life of cowboy and rancher, with most of his years spent in South Dakota. In 1995, he started writing stories about how things used to be.

Born in 1928 near White River, S.D., Hunter was six years old when his father died. Hard pressed to make ends meet, Hunter’s mother farmed him out to earn his keep. He and a brother bounced between an aunt in California and farms and ranches in southwest South Dakota.

At 13, Ray came to live with Baxter and Lyndall Berry on their ranch south of Belvidere. The Berry family ran several thousand steers on three townships near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Baxter’s father, Tom, was an old family friend of the Hunters and South Dakota Governor from 1933-37.

Art Thode, brother to 1929 All-Around Cowboy Earl Thode, was on the Berry payroll when Hunter arrived. Thode could have taken credit for teaching the lad to ride broncs, as related in "Horse Manure in the Milk Bucket." As a 15-year-old, Hunter wrangled the horses in the morning, riding a green two-year-old colt. Thode, who milked the Berrys’ cow, would step out of the shadows, holler at the wrangler, and toss the milk bucket under the colt. Naturally, the colt would blow up and buck out the gate. Hunter writes, "This went on all spring until I got so I could set up and ride, and he never bothered me again."

Ray served two years in the Marines, from 1946-48. Back home, he again earned his living horseback. He worked as a cowhand on several outfits, was cowboss for Frank Greenough’s Antler Land & Livestock at Wyola, Mont., and managed the Berry Ranch for 10 years. He also ran a few cows of his own, ran a bar near Cottonwood, S.D., worked construction, sold real estate, and learned the auction business. He married and raised two sons and two daughters, who he describes as "all good hands with a horse."

Hunter worked for the Berrys, off and on, for 30 years. Most of the work pertained to raising cattle and breaking horses, but there was the annual hog drive, related in "Shippin’ Hogs." The Berrys ran range sows–similar to range cows. When it came time to take them the market, they’d get a wagon load of corn and feed them a little. The next day, they’d move the wagon a couple hundred yards and feed a little more. Pretty soon, the hogs would follow the wagon. It was 15 miles from the ranch into Belvidere; the trip took about a week. The Berrys raised between 600-700 hogs each year. Proceeds paid the grocery bill and the land leases.

Stories like these put a fresh face on the Old West, challenging some stereotypical notions about cowboys and ranchers. But, don’t worry, there are still plenty of entertaining, enlightening and engaging stories about horses, roundups, and rodeos.

Hunter sold the last of his cattle in 2004 and moved to town. While you might wonder how an old cowboy is taking retirement in town, don’t worry. Hunter says, "It don’t bother me a damn bit to sit and look out the window and remember the things I’ve done. I did a lot of interesting things."

To order a copy of Dim Trails, send $25 (postage included) to Ray Hunter, 1220 Cedar St., Apt #409, Sturgis, SD 57785; 605-347-0218.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews

- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

April 2008


When a cowboy’s fancy turns to poetry

It’s spring on the Northern Great Plains, the time when a rancher’s fancy turns lightly to thoughts of calving. Among cowboy poets, spring also brings Cowboy Poetry Week, observed this year from April 20-26. The inauguration of Cowboy Poetry Week came in 2002, building upon April’s designation as National Poetry Month in 1996.

Released in conjunction with Cowboy Poetry Week, The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three (2008) is an audio anthology showcasing 26 cowboy poetry recordings. The compilation was conceived and orchestrated by the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. The Center sponsors CowboyPoetry.com, the world’s largest, ongoing cowboy poetry gathering.

If you’re a regular follower of this column, you are likely aware of The BAR-D Roundup: Volume One (reviewed, below, in April, 2006) and Volume Two (reviewed, below, in April, 2007). Both received critical acclaim. I expect the same will prove true of Volume Three.

This year’s collection takes listeners across the breadth of the North American West: from the days of the early Texas cowboy to the Yukon gold rush, from once-legendary cattle ranches to modest, modern-day family outfits. In large part, the collection is a reverent retrospective honoring those who toiled in the West. A sprinkling of humorous selections provides just the right amount of comic relief:
Texas horseman Joel Nelson opens with “Shadow on the Cutbank,” an intelligent salute to the “horseback man for hire.” Jay Snider recites Luther A. Lawhon’s “The Good Old Cowboy Days.” Lawhon was a founding member of the Trail Drivers’ Association in 1915. Snider hails from Oklahoma. D.J. O’Malley’s classic “The ‘D2’ Horse Wrangler” receives a playful presentation by Arizonan Ross Knox.

Canada’s poetic darling, Doris Daley, provides “Bones,” assessing the bodily damages incurred by three fence-sitting cowboys. Deadly accurate with meter and rhyme, California’s Pat Richardson—king of the spoof—spins a yarn about the time he befriended “Bigfoot.”

Aspiring cowboys could learn a lot from Wyoming cowboy and octogenarian Georgie Sicking as she recounts what it takes “To be a Top Hand.” There’s more sound “Advice” from New Mexico cowgirl and rancher Deanna Dickinson McCall.

Montana’s Wallace McRae, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, contributes “Urban Daughter,” a touching piece recorded live in Elko, Nev., at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. I was in the audience when the recording was made and was delighted to hear it again!

Wyoming emcee, funny man and radio host Andy Nelson gets serious and pays homage to his brother in the well-crafted rhyme “The Old Crockett Spurs.”

Henry H. Knibbs’ classic, “Where the Ponies Come to Drink,” gets the star treatment from noted Montana reciter Randy Rieman. This is as close to perfection as you’ll get when pairing a classic poem with a contemporary reciter.

DW Groethe, a Montana day hand, calls an endearing roll of horses in “My Father’s Horses.” Fond sights and smells from Paul Kern’s Utah childhood take center stage in a short but powerful, “At Codding’s Place.” South Dakotan Ken Cook comes clean about his family’s horseflesh in his spot-on-the-money “Bloodlines.”

“The Memories in Grandmother’s Trunk” by past Texas Poet Laureate Red Steagall should inspire us to leave such a treasure for future generations. South Dakota master quilter and poet Yvonne Hollenbeck showcases her dual talents in “Prairie Patchwork,” a tribute to one woman’s “life out on the plains.” “Fiddleback Headquarters” by Wyoming’s Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns is part family history and part guided tour.

Listening to Bill Siems, Spokane, Wash., recite “The Strawberry Roan” by Curley Fletcher is akin to hearing the classic for the first time. Take the music away and really listen to the words—it’s glorious! Known for making words sing, Paul Zarzyski performs “Luck of the Draw.” Zarzyski is the recipient of the Montana Governor’s Arts Award for Literature.

Utah miner Jerry Brooks recorded Badger Clark’s “The Free Wind” especially for this project. Fans who have long been asking for a full-length recording will be pleased with this offering.

“Chapter Two” is the third annual selection from the late Buck Ramsey’s master work, Grass. An NEA National Heritage Fellow, Ramsey is recognized as the modern spiritual leader of the genre.

Smoke Wade tells of his family’s Idaho ranch that was lost through changes in land management policies in “A Change of Season.”

Susan Parker recites “The Homemade Cigarette” by A.V. Hudson, a vintage piece she uncovered while doing research for her Wild Women of the West program. It brings to mind a neighboring rancher from my childhood who rolled his own smokes.

“Bill’s in Trouble,” by James Barton Adams, is skillfully and humorously recited in perfect character by Hal Swift. Following on his heels is “Jack Potter’s Courtin’” by S. Omar Barker. Recited by Mick Vernon, it is a delightful rendition of the tongue-tied puncher trying to purpose to his gal.

Linda Kirkpatrick’s eloquent recitation of Bruce Kiskaddon’s classic “The Bronco Twister’s Prayer” slows the collection, signaling the approaching end.

Gene Kern, CKWX, Vancouver, introduces the final cut—and it’s a dandy–a 1948 recording of Robert Service reciting “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” Service lavishes more than nine minutes on the tale, infused with a hearty Scottish accent and lengthy pauses. Kudos to the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry for making it available to the public!

A radio Public Service Announcement by South Dakota radio personality and Heritage of the American West producer Francie Ganje brings the collection to a wrap. Wyoming cowboy entertainer Andy Nelson engineered and co-produced Volume Three. A vintage photo of Texas cowboy Perry Preston Dickinson, circa 1912, appears on the cover. Deanna Dickinson McCall, who recites “Advice” is his granddaughter.

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three (2008) sells for $20 postpaid. Order from CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133; or by credit card or Paypal from CowboyPoetry.com.

If you don’t already have the two previous compilations, I encourage you to complete your set now, while the others are still available. Volumes Two and Three are available for a special price of $35 postpaid. Volume One (quantities limited) sells for $20 postpaid.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews

- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

March 2008

Till Leap Year gives it twenty-nine

Superman and my cousin Cassie celebrated a birthday this year. Both were born on February 29. Though Cassie was born three years after I was, she’s technically only 12. I sent her a vintage Leap Year postcard early in January, wanting her to have the fullest opportunity to celebrate the big day. Things get turned a bit upside down in a Leap Year. I figured I’d get into the spirit with this month’s selections.

The Banjo Monologues by Joel Mabus is not cowboy, nor especially Western by today’s standards. But it is magical, historically significant, and completely entertaining.

Mabus plays a 5-string banjo in the clawhammer style, sharing tunes and tales from his family’s career as professional hillbilly musicians. The Mabus family barnstormed the Midwest in the 1930s with road shows for the Prairie Farmer Magazine, parent company of WLS Radio, which produced the popular National Barn Dance. It was a good gig during the Depression. Through Joel’s yarns you’ll meet, among others, Gerald Mabus and his twin brother, Jerald, interspersed with licks from “Cindy.”

Head on over to CD Baby for generous two-minute clips of the 18 tracks: www.cdbaby.com/cd/mabusjoel. Besides “Cindy,” give a listen to “Uncle Joe,” “Three Nights Drunk,” and “The Uncloudy Day/Leonard Lively.”

Purchase The Banjo Monologues as either a CD or MP3 file from CD Baby for $15 (postage extra). If you prefer to order directly from Joel Mabus ($16 postpaid), send requests to PO Box 306, Portage, MI 49081. Stop by Joel’s Web site at http://joelmabus.com/ for an assortment of other titles, including How Like The Holly, songs for the holidays with (mostly) guitar accompaniment, and Parlor Guitar, songs from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

John Reedy describes his musical style as Western-Americana. It’s a fitting assessment.

John sent me his Twisted Vignettes last fall. I took it with me on a road trip to South Dakota, among an assortment I saved specifically for the drive. Being alone in a car with several hundred miles of road allows me to focus entirely on the subject at hand.

I was stunned at what I heard. The sound was fresh, eclectic, and skillfully presented. It made me sit up and take notice. When I’d finished listening to the 12 tracks, seven written by John, I listened again. When I met up with friends in the Black Hills, I loaned them the CD, and they listened to it. One vehicle after another, John’s CD made the rounds. The response was the same from everyone: WOW!

This isn’t your grandfather’s Western music. It’s frisky, edgy and smartly written. It’s a kick in the pants.

John’s CD and book of poetry by the same name (with stunning black and white photography) are available from CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/cd/reedyj2. Give a listen to three of my favorites: “Buckaroo Girl,” “That Buckin’ Song,” and “Combover Blues.” Buy the CD alone for $13; the CD and book for $25 (plus postage.)

Order from John’s Web site at www.twistedcowboy.com. Prices are the same, but postage is free. Send orders to Twisted Cowboy Music, 2905 N Montana Ave. #113, Helena, MT 59601; (406) 465-0468.

Properties along the U.S.-Mexico border are at ground zero in a debate over economics and national security. In an attempt to keep illegal aliens from crossing into the United States, a 700-mile fence is being built to aid border enforcement.

You know where you stand on the issue. But, do you have any concept of what it’s like to be a border patrol agent? I didn’t until I read Patrolling Chaos: the U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas by Robert Lee Maril (Texas Tech University Press, 2004, 368 pages, softcover, ISBN: 978-0-89672-594-2).

A professor of sociology at East Carolina University, Maril spent two years doing field work among 300 agents at the McAllen Station, McAllen, Texas. He followed 12 agents in particular, riding with them on their ten-hour patrols along the border. Maril describes in detail the risks and frustrations faced by agents; the reactions and situations of the apprehended aliens. It provides enlightening insight into the situation.

Order Patrolling Chaos directly from Texas Tech for $24.95 (plus postage): www.ttup.ttu.edu/BookPages/0896725944.html; (800) 832-4042. It is also available from online wholesalers.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews

- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

February 2008

Western Folklife Center prepping for 25th anniversary

Snowstorms pummeled the western United States as folks headed to Elko, Nevada, for the 2008 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Some bemoaned the fact that the gathering is held in winter. As I heard the story, organizers settled on late January as the time when ranchers could most easily get away from the demands of land and livestock. It’s a formula they’ve stuck with for 24 years.

The sponsoring Western Folklife Center, a regional nonprofit based in Elko with offices in Salt Lake City, is planning for the silver anniversary event January 24-31, 2009. They hinted at things to come in this year’s program: inviting all participants back for an ongoing reunion stage; recognition for those who have attended for 20 to 25 years; honoring deceased poets and musicians.

But, hold the phone, here’s what I consider the most exciting news to date: a performance tour of cowboy poetry and music that will play five sites in the western United States. There were rumors, but the Western Folklife Center (WFC) has made it official. The tour hits the road in the spring of 2009. They are looking for host communities.

Each site will host a two to three-day residency, including a concert, school program, writing workshop, and film screening. The WFC is looking for communities with small to medium-sized theaters and a community-based organization to assist on a local level. I encourage readers to find out more about this marvelous opportunity. Contact Meg Glaser or Christina Barr at (775) 738-7508 to get the ball rolling.

The WFC is open for business 12 months out of the year. It’s an oft-overlooked fact. WFC staff are busy year-round, documenting, preserving, and presenting the heritage of the American West. Resulting exhibits, films, radio programs, recordings, and public presentations are archived at www.westernfolklife.org. If you haven’t spent time digging into what’s there, allow me to highlight a few of my favorites.

A series of five-minute videos entitled The Art of Gearmaking profiles four cowboy craftsmen: Doug Groves of Nevada’s TS Ranch demonstrating rawhide work; Mark Dahl, Starr Valley, Nevada, bit making; Doug Krause, Eaton, Colorado, mecate making; and Dale Harwood, Shelley, Idaho, leather carving. The videos, along with an in-depth discussion of cowboy gear, award-winning contest entries, and resources, are part of a larger exhibit entitled Back at the Ranch: an Artful Life. Start your tour at http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/batr/tools_landing.php

I reconnected with Sharon O’Toole at this year’s gathering, discussing the delicious leg of lamb that she and husband, Patrick, grilled for the Wyoming party. The O’Tooles ranch in Little Snake River Valley on the Wyoming-Colorado border. They are among a handful of diarists who log onto the WFC Web site with candid insights on life in the American West (earning them the title “Webloggers”). Blog authors welcome readers with customary Western hospitality, minus the coffee. Sharon faithfully posts her entries, augmented with powerful, workaday photos. You’re there as they calve heifers, rake hay, shear, supply the herder’s camp, and walk their daughter down the aisle at a ranch wedding: www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/sharono/

Three other notable Weblogs are those of John and Robbin Dofflemyer, ranchers from the Sierra Nevada foothills near Visalia, California: www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/dofflemyer/; Jeremiah Watt, Coalinga, California saddlemaker: www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/watt/; and Linda Dufurrena, photographer from Winnemucca, Nevada: www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/dufurrenal/.

Trying another technological term on you for size, let me tell you about the WFC’s Podcasts—something akin to a free radio show that’s available on the internet. You can listen to the programming on your computer or download it to an iPod or digital music player. The WFC’s first Podcast was a 1990 recording of Texas poet Joel Nelson reciting Bruce Kiskaddon’s “When They Finish Shipping Cattle in the Fall.” The most recent features Don Edwards’ performance of the Jack Thorp classic, “Chopo.” To access Ranch Rhymes: Cowboy Poetry and Music from the Western Folklife Center, paste the following link into your browser: www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=24&Itemid=241.

I leave you with one last on-line jewel, the complete set of National Cowboy Poetry Gathering programs. I’m not talking a representative photo of the covers. No, the entire program from each of the past 24 years can be viewed in its entirety, along with the corresponding poster. You can also read or listen to the keynote address. Paste the following into your browser: http://www.westernfolklife.org/site1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=100&Itemid=265

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews

- by Jeri L. Dobrowski

January 2008

Elko’s 24^th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Vaqueros from the Sonora region of northern Mexico and the western United States will be spotlighted at the 2008 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Invited guests will share examples of their customs and traditions honoring land and livestock. The humanities lecture by folklorist Norma Elia Cantú, University of Texas at San Antonio, will address the connection between the vaquero and the American cowboy in work, traditions, poetry and literature.

Started in 1985 by a handful of folklorists, poets and musicians, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is produced annually by the Western Folklife Center. The Center describes the event as “the premiere festival celebrating the expressive arts of ranching and cowboy culture.”

My Northern Great Plains heart swells with pride when I read the names of artists from the region who have been invited to perform in Elko later this month. The doors for the first show open Saturday, January 26, with the last curtain closing on Saturday evening, February 2. In between are workshops, ranch tours, museum displays, daytime sessions, ticketed concerts, and dances.

Among those packing their bags for the trip are poets and singers, perennial favorites, and those making their first appearance. Colorado is represented on all four accounts by the Sons and Brothers Band—Frank Wolking and sons Mike, Joe, and Aaron—from Westcliffe, and Vess Quinlan, Alamosa.

Wyoming is home to four featured poets: Echo Roy Klaproth, Shoshone; Andy Nelson, Pinedale; Georgie Sicking, Kaycee; and Jesse Smith, Cora. The musical duo of Vince Crofts and Mindi Reid, better known as Tumbleweeds, hail from Firth.

Clearfield ranchwife Yvonne Hollenbeck is the lone artist invited from South Dakota. North Dakota is represented by Rodney Nelson, Sims, and Bill Lowman, Sentinel Butte. To the east, from across the Red River of the north, comes Diane Tribitt, Hillman, Minnesota.

Montana could charter a bus for the artists and family members coming from Big Sky Country: Stephanie Davis, Columbus; DW Groethe, Bainville; Mike Logan, Helena; Wallace McRae, Forsyth; New Frontier comprised of Ron Kane, Meghan Merker, and Linda Svendsen, Dillon; Bob Petermann, Wibaux; Henry Real Bird, Hardin; Randy Rieman, Dillon; Sandy Seaton, Emigrant; and Paul Zarzyski, Great Falls. Back by popular demand for the Saturday night dance is Montana native Wylie Gustafson, who fronts Wylie & The Wild West. Although he now lives in Washington state, he maintains family ties to Montana, which proudly claims him as one of their own.

Representing the Plains of Canada with her eloquent and entertaining poetry is Doris Daley, Calgary, Alberta. Also hailing from Alberta is music legend Ian Tyson.

For a complete listing of invited artists, along with photos and brief biographies, visit the Western Folklife Center’s site: www.westernfolklife.org. Contact the Western Folklife Center at 501 Railroad Street, Elko, Nevada 89801; (775) 738-7508; email: wfc@westernfolklife.org.

If you can’t make the trip to Elko to hear these artists in person, there is an alternative. Nearly all of them have recordings. Here’s a sampling of CDs released in 2007 by those mentioned above:

To Be a Top Hand, by National Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee Georgie Sicking, contains 16 poems. Send $18 to Georgie Sicking, PO Box 11, Kaycee, WY 82639. For more information on Georgie, see her honored guest page: www.cowboypoetry.com/sicking.htm.

From clear out west comes Andy Nelson’s Full Nelson Shoeing, with 25 poems and bits of wacky wisdom. Send $18 to Andy Nelson, PO Box 1547, Pinedale, WY 82941; email: www.CowpokePoet.com.

Bob Petermann’s long-awaited gospel collection contains 12 songs. Thanks for the Rain sells for $15. Send orders to Bob Petermann, 942 Pine Unit Road, Wibaux, MT 59353; 406-486-5618; email: pet7410@midrivers.com.

Yvonne Hollenbeck teamed up with Texas singer and songwriter Jean Prescott on Pieces of the Past. The CD contains 15 tracks of poetry and music. Send $18.50 to Yvonne Hollenbeck, 30549 291st Street, Clearfield, SD 57580; 605/557-3559; www.YvonneHollenbeck.com.

Montana Legacy is the title of Sandy Seaton’s 13-track collection of poetry and vocals. Order for $17 from Sandy Seaton; PO Box 117, Emigrant, MT 59027; (406) 222-7455; email: www.blackmountainoutfitters.com.

Diane Tribitt’s latest is entitled Ranchin' Rhymes. Included are 15 poems and one song. Send $18 to Diane Tribitt, 38034 193rd Street, Hillman, MN 56338; 320-277-3389; www.dianetribitt.com.

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle Road S, Beach, ND 58621; jamsession@robscabinets.com.

© 2008, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved
This column also appears in the Tri-State Livestock News

Read the 2005-2007 Cowboy Jam Session columns on page 2

About Jeri Dobrowski

Working as a photographer and journalist since 1981, Jeri Dobrowski has been recognized for excellence in writing, photography, graphic design, and editing. Her projects have appeared in magazines such as American Cowboy, Persimmon Hill, Country Woman, Cowboy, and Grit; on calendars, billboards, monuments, posters, and recordings; and in books, newspapers, in-house newsletters, programs, web pages, and promotional packages. They are also archived in the permanent collections of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Dobrowski and her husband live in eastern Montana, not far from where four of her great-grandfathers homesteaded at the turn of the century. Born in Miles City, Montana, and raised on her family's cattle ranch and small-grains operation south of there, Dobrowski attended a one-room country school through the sixth grade. She was active in 4-H and FHA, showed registered Quarter Horses, and rodeoed.

Interested in writing and photography from an early age, she sold her first article for publication to the Montana Farmer-Stockman while still in high school. She sold a second article as a student at Montana State University. Thousands of features, stories, and photographs have followed, the majority dealing with agriculture, rural life, cowboy and Western entertainment, cooking, and family history.

Her business, Lamesteer Publishing, offers graphic design, including CD packages, web pages, and books, photography, promotional and writing services. Traveling a four-state area, Dobrowski has captured the emotions and surprises of the marriage celebration for dozens of couples with her photo-journalistic style wedding pictures.

Dobrowski is a field editor for America’s #1 cooking magazine, Taste of Home. She became the review editor for Tri-State Livestock News in January 2005, authoring the monthly Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews. Since 2006, she has worked as the booking and promotion assistant to Wylie & The Wild West.

Read Jeri Dobrowski's Cowboy Magazine (Winter, 2006) cover story about South Dakota rancher Robert Dennis here at CowboyPoetry.com.

A photo she took while preparing that story, "Leadin' a Spare," is featured in our Art Spur project. Art Spur invites poets to let selections of Western art inspire their poetry.

See larger versions of Jeri Dobrowski's patriotic photos from the 2005 Medora, North Dakota Flag Day parade here.

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