Keeping You In The Loop — MHCP Newsletter February 2025 Edition

Howdy!

“February is always considered the ‘love’ month and the unpredictable month.” That statement took me aback. Come to think of it, I guess love can be unpredictable, especially if it hasn’t been tended carefully. And we know that weather is unpredictable, but not just in February. If it isn’t floods or hurricanes, it’s drought and fires in the news, any time of the year.

In February there is more that we can expect. For Valentine’s Day it might not be roses but a card from that someone special. We can be sure that some of those New Year’s resolutions, especially the lofty ones, are faltering a bit. Maybe you can anticipate our newsletter before the end of that month. That’s our intent but we don’t always manage it. In each edition there are categories you can expect: strange words in cowboy lingo, wise western advice and cowboy poetry. We enjoy sharing the research being done, this time about a thriving town and ferry that used to be. Of course, the purpose of a newsletter is to share what’s “new” in our organization, what’s happened: this time our AGM and the new photo that will be synonymous with MHCP. And in case it slipped your notice, our steerhead brand shows up wherever it can.

Our Board meetings are very predictable; once a month, always via Zoom, and though we try to shorten ’em up, the meetings are “long enough”. But there’s a feeling of accomplishment after each, the sign of a busy organization getting things done. We can expect Harv Speers, our chairperson, to add his brand of humor. Thankfully younger blood has come on-board with technical and bookkeeping skills. A new category “Honored Members” acknowledges folks that have been on the board or given us significant support.

Hope your February turns out as good as you hoped (or better)! Stay well!!

Help Wanted: Secretary

-meetings held once a month via Zoom
-mostly someone to document motions
-easy to add notes in bold to the agenda

Thank you to Jacquie Noerenberg who has filled the boots of Secretary for the past several years.

Community Coffee and AGM

It seems January/February is inventory time for many businesses. It’s also when we as a society need to have a meeting for all members. It’s when we summarize the achievements of the past year and to share our vision for coming year.

Meetings can be boring, especially Annual General Meetings. Thanks to the Medicine Hat Public Library, we can combine our AGM with Community Coffee, one of their Outreach Programs. On Monday, January 27th, the Honor Currie Room was dressed in Western style and the treats were ranch-inspired with spudnut shapes of steerheads, oxtails, cowdogs and even prairie oysters. (Thanks also to McBrides for spudnuts.)

Our monthly meetings are via Zoom so it’s a chance for Board Members to meet in person. It offers the opportunity for MHCP members (and others) to mingle, to renew their memberships and even purchase one of our publications. We’re proud of the talent in our membership and it was the perfect time for our Western Musicians, Don Thompson and Conrad Sandberg to provide entertainment. Also performing were Cowboy Poets Harv Speers and Jen Zollner.

Oh yes, our mascots, Betsy and Bob were happy to announce their engagement.

Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love

We see Aphrodite as a sweet-smelling goddess of love who pops up once a year on Valentine cards. But she deals with all human relations, romantic and antagonistic. Even her favorite fruit, the pomegranate, symbolizes both fertility and death. She is not to be messed with.

In Athens the entire Acropolis rock (crowned by the famous Parthenon temple) was sacred to Aphrodite. The wall of rock has niches and crevices, looks much like the rocks at Dinosaur Provincial Park. Citizens would leave offerings to Aphrodite in the nooks and crannies: pomegranates, scented oils or cups of milk. Some young romantics still honor the goddess of love the same way.

Aphrodite has long been associated with perfumes and flowers, especially roses. That is why we exchange over 250 million roses on Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

From on-line National Geographic Magazine

Steveville, Alberta

Though Steveville is a ghost town, it has a history of people who lived there, and traces of a railway that never came to be. Ghost-towners come but only for a several hour visit. “In the past we had folks coming by in the hopes of finding buildings and cemeteries etc. on the ite, only to be disappointed.” The only residents to share some history with them are Alvin and Ursula Penner. That’s who hosted us and the whereabouts of our latest signature photo shoot.

Signature Photo

We’re excited to unveil our new signature photo(s). In the foreground you’ll see Penella Zollner and Donny Musgrove on Red and Rio. Red Dog enjoyed exploring the landscape and once in a while was part of the photo shoot too. The backdrop is the northwest edge of the striking badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park. Donny used his trusty green Chev and two-horse rattle trap to haul Rio and Red (20 km NW) from his place to a flat piece of prairie near the Alvin and Ursala Penner yard.

It was a pleasant June day for Cheryl Dust to be taking pictures, hundreds of them from every possible angle. It was shooting some from the top of the hill and some below; it was one session to capture the riders in the afternoon sun and another at the dusk of day. Some were closer-ups from the front, back and side, and some were riders in a distance. Every shot displayed another assemblage of rock formations and/or an array of vegetation and prairie grasses. The prickly pear cacti were in full bloom, another photographer’s delight. We found pebbles underfoot that were washed smooth from many years of erosion, lots of oval ones and some perfectly round. As the sun went down, we enjoyed differing colorings in the distant rock formations. Alvin told us the scenery changes with each season.

The day we took the signature photo was a memorable day for us. But choosing just one picture was too hard. Perhaps it was like deciding which beautiful girl to dance the waltz, the fox trot or the polka with. As a result, we’ve a suitable photo (or more) for our business card, for Facebook and yet another to be on our poster, etc. It’s also a way to share more of nature’s beauty at Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Cowboy Lingo

• sparrow catching: looking for a woman to go out with
• playing the field: to spread one’s affections to more than any one single guy or gal
• to set his cap for her: to try to attract and win her as a romantic partner
• cut a rusty: to go courting
• buss: kiss (He gave her a buss on the cheek.)
• mashed: in love or extremely drunk (in either case not thinking straight)
• soft down on: to be in love
• sweet on: smitten with, very fond of someone
• sugar: kiss (Honey come over here and give me some sugar.)

What a Cowboy’s Sayin’ (when there’s no one else around)

“Lassoed yer heart from the start!”
“You’ve prob’ly got a name, but I’ll call you Hon!”

“Love you to the farm and back.”
“You’re sweeter than an old maid’s dream.”

“In the arena of life, you’re my best ride.”
“You’re cuter than a red wagon full of speckled puppies.”

Cowboy Wisdom for the Guys:

When your cowgirl’s playin’ hard to get, it’s good to have a fast horse.

Cowboy Wisdom for the Cowgirl:

Never fantasize being swept off your feet by a guy whose shirt is too fancy and whose boots are too shiny.

Noel’s Nonsensical Notes

Noel Burles gives us a regular poetry entry and this month he brings us True Love. Not so ‘nonsensical’ but fitting for a our Valentine’s day newsletter edition.

TRUE LOVE

I remember our first meeting
40 some odd years ago
You were way past beautiful
Oh ...I loved you so

You had a style and beauty
And curves that didn't quit
I knew within my heart
We were the perfect fit

Oh, we had our tribulations
But we both stayed true
Seen a lot changes
But its been just me and you

Its hard for me, a cowboy
To say just how I feel
But I have to say it
My love is deep and real

Yes, we've gotten older
But to me you're still the best
Outstanding in my eyes
Way above the rest

True, we've had some hard times
Been up the creek without a paddle
But all in all, yes thru it all
You've been a great old saddle

The Library Corral

Cowboy Curmudgeon and Other Poems by Wallace McRae
Nonfiction Book. 811 MCR, 1992

Wallace McRae was the most important founding poet of the National Cowboy Gathering in Elko, Nevada in 1985. For Cowboy Poetry, that’s like the National Finals Rodeo or the World Series in baseball. After 26 years as a professional buckaroo, he dedicated the last 40 years to perpetuating the cowboy culture. This year at the 40th gathering at Elko, he announced he is retiring from the stage. He’ll still be on You-Tube so be sure to look him up.

This book is a treasury of 134 of McRae’s poems including classics like “Reincarnation. This one is frequently recited at cowboy gatherings and on the internet; it is just as funny every time. Hearing it recited is what the cowboy genre is about, so by accessing the internet, you can hear it being done by various poets.

Take care,
Jen