May, 2024
Howdy Y’all!!!
I was pondering, is it possible to earn a living doing ‘the Arts’? The western singers and cowboy poets I know have other incomes, or else they’re retired. I wish we could give bigger honorariums to the artists we’re in the process of inviting to perform at our upcoming event on October 5th .
Though we can’t afford to ‘hire’ him, Ben Crane is a multi-talented artist that does manage to make a living by performing and by having a recording studio. Watch for his name on the back of many Leaning Tree cards.
Me, I could never make a living sewing memory blankets. I guess my wage would also come in pennies for the poetry and other writing I do. How exciting it is though to make discoveries when exploring and researching something of interest! Presently our focus is rodeo (in general), and the equestrian feats and the independent spirit of rodeo women, starting in the early 1900’s. I’m looking forward to sharing their stories. I didn’t realize that women’s participation in rodeo changed so drastically, and that since the 1940’s, it’s been a long hard struggle for women to be treated as equals in rodeo.
Taber Round-Up
It was a one-day program from 10:00 until 5:00 on April 13th. Entertainment was supplied by western singers (one was a junior), poets (one was a junior), a story teller (about a pioneer family) and a book reading (by the author who wrote a fictional western novel). They had 3 top notch entertainers: Charlie Ewing, Doc Mehl and Doris Daley. Cheryl ended up being their MC when they didn’t have one and it was only a week before their event date. She brought Peter who was the prolific photographer.
Their lunch was reasonably priced, a hot dog or delicious chili on a homemade bun as well as dessert (the best puffed wheat cake and giant homemade cinnamon buns). The use of the large auditorium was donated by the town, and though the sound was better than last year, a smaller room would be better. Many sponsor posters were on display and a rotating slides on a large screen gave ample advertising. With that kind of sponsorship, they were able to give honorariums (superior to what we can give) to the entertainers and the MC. The small audience looked even more sparse in such a large room. Admission was by donation. Hats off to the community around Taber and the town for their generous support.
New on the Website
Harry Forbes Remembers:
We’ve added two stories to our “Harry Forbes Remembers” series:
Yarns by Ol’ Ugly
We’re privileged to have this well-known storyteller inventing interesting characters that live around here and has them getting into unusual situations in places you can almost recognize. Ol’ Ugly has shared three new stories with us this month:
Hilda Barns Stories
Under the guidance of Cindy and Ross Straub, Cheryl Dust (MHCP’s videographer and
photographer) took pictures of all the old barns in the Hilda area to include in Hilda’s 100 th
anniversary history book. It was me that compiled stories as well as the history of the barns
based on interview with their owners. We waited until the history book was distributed before proceeding to post them as a series on our website.
- Story #3: Wm Austin *** Coming Soon! ***
- Story #4: Gordan Diebert *** Coming Soon! ***
- Story #5: Durr Barn *** Coming Soon! ***
Old Recipes are Ties That Bind
“Dog-eared and loved, recipe collecting is not a hobby, it’s a cultural phenomenon,” says Bev Biggeman. Below is the link to her article in the Western Producer. Her writings after interviewing Rosalie Reinbolt will be posted on our website in the months to come.
https://www.producer.com/farmliving/dog-eared-and-loved-old-recipes-are-ties-that-bind/
Farm Crime — A Documentary Series on CBC Gem
You might find these mini-documentaries interesting, each one is only 15-20 minutes long.
Watch them by clicking the link below or google this address: gem.cbc.ca/farm-crime.
Library Corner
What I’m reading is available at the Medicine Hat Public Library:
The Cowgirl Way, Hat’s Off to America’s Women of the West
by Holly George- Warren
NF-Cb791.84 GEO
The author briefly highlights the history of trailblazing cowgirls, from those that helped settle the Wild West to the cowgirls of the 21st century.
Western Wisdom (from a cat’s perspective)
It’s the month of graduations, when we as parents and grandparents want to give guidance to fledgling young adults. The best way to give lasting advice (without having to do the preaching), is to stitch it on aida cloth and make it into a cozy memory blanket. Here are the pieces of wisdom we thought would be useful for a family member graduating from high school:
- pounce when the op-purr-tuna-ty presents itself
- anything is paw-sible
- be curious, explore everything
- always land on your feet
- a cat chasing two mice catches neither
- when you find sunshine, bask in it
- eyes have the power to speak
- you only live once, unless you’re a cat
- catitude, have a mind of your own
- never be too old fur play
- don’t judge a cat by its coat
- nap like no one is watching
Empty Saddles: Remembrance Day Every Day
We say goodbye to George Hope. I interviewed him at his home in Medicine Hat, but he and his wife Ruth were very much at home in Redcliff, especially at the Legion there. As a war veteran he helped me realize that those experiences live with you every day and into old age. On our website under “Country Stories” see him talking about it on video. In our book by that name and posted at the Redcliff Legion you can find the poem about him, “Our Veteran and Holland’s Liberation”.
Two Cowboy Poets to Remember:
We were hoping these two cowboys, Harold Webber and Bryn Thiessen would one day be able to bring their poetry to our event, but both have recently ridden into glory. I’ve been on stage with both of them at various times at Maple Creek and High River.
Harold Webber encouraged many budding entertainers like myself to perform. We appreciated him also being a member of MHCP. Harold Webber was an honest-to-goodness guy.
We’ll miss the regular page Bryn had in the Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine in which he gave a gospel lesson from a cowboy’s perspective. Bryn’s obituary captures the kind of character he was.
A poet’s words live on as proven with the poem below and the song from it on YouTube. Ben Crane’s music, “Sunlight on Silver” to one of Bryn’s poems is a tribute to both cowboys.
The Look by Bryn Thiessen
It's the look of sunlight on silver,
And the smell of frost in the air,
The sound of a tired horse blowing,
That keeps them riding out there.
It's horses jingled by starlight,
A herd held up for the cut,
The pride of the young cowboys riding,
And the warmth of the sun coming up.
For the memories are the rhymes that bring back the times,
And the places a cowboy has rode,
They seem to hang in the wind, then come back again,
To warm him when he gets old.
He'll remember the friendship and laughter,
And the feel of a horse working right,
The sunsets when the day's work is over,
And the times 'round the fire at night.
The sound of good cowboy singing,
The words of the poems that he said,
And the coolness of the night air he's breathing,
As he lays in his old canvas bed.
For if memories are rhymes, it's comes to the time,
When upwards his soul has soared,
He's standin' there amazed, where the star herds now graze,
As he stares 'round his heavenly home.
It's the look of sunlight on silver,
And the smell of frost in the air,
The sound of a tired horse blowing,
We'll meet him as he's riding out there.
Some Parting Wisdom
Friends shared these two pieces of wisdom with me:
“The brain can only absorb as much as the butt can stand.”
“No matter where you travel, your memories always follow, some in the baggage car.” — August Strindberg
Take care,
Jen, for short
