Backforty Bunkhouse Newsletter - Joe Baker Home Page

ending, just as there is no happy ending to the growth that threatens
to tame the West.
Hardback copies of No Place Like Home are $24.95; the paperback
is $18.95. Add $5 for media mail; $7 for priority. Send
checks to Linda M. Hasselstrom, PO Box 169, Hermosa SD
57744-0169; (605) 255-4064; www.windbreakhouse.com.
Yvonne Hollenbeck shares a glimpse into her life on the Plains
with Sorting Time. Ranching with her husband in south-central
South Dakota, Hollenbeck‘s life is rife with material for the awardwinning
poet. She selected something old, something new, and
something tried-and-true for this 14-track poetry collection, composed
primarily of humorous tales.
There‘s nothing contrived about the mayhem described in the title
track. If you‘ve ever been assigned the daunting task of running
the gate, you‘ll see the reality in the scenario. Likewise, there‘s
great truth in Hollenbeck‘s bittersweet tale of sitting with a widow
while the auctioneer works his way through carefully arranged
rows of tools, equipment, and furniture at a farm sale. (Read ―The
Auction‖ at www.cowboypoetry.com/yh.htm.) Rounding out my
favorites are ―The Ranch Wife‘s Top Ten List.‖ The fiddle music is
provided by Hollenbeck‘s father and Old Time Fiddle Champion,
Harry Hanson.
Sorting Time sells for $18. Order from Yvonne Hollenbeck, 30549
291st Street, Clearfield, SD 57580; (605) 557-3559;
www.YvonneHollenbeck.com
Jerry Brooks‘ window on the West looks out into a canyon near
Sevier, Utah. It wasn‘t always the case. Brooksie, as she is
known to friends and fans, was raised in New England. At the age
of six, she was reading books by Jack London. Not long afterwards,
she delivered ―The Highwayman‖ by Alfred Noyes at a
poetry recital. (For more about Brooks: www.cowboypoetry.com/
brooksie.htm.)
I was excited to hear Brooksie was working on an album. Her
first, it was long overdue. Shoulder to Shoulder, released in conjunction
with the 2010 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, could
aptly be described as audio theatre. Despite its unassuming package,
it is much more than a typical CD; more than a rudimentary
recitation. Brooks‘ inflection and delivery put flesh on words and
give them life.
Among the 12 tracks is ―The Walking Man‖ by Henry Herbert
Knibbs, the first piece I heard Brooksie recite. Other knockouts
are ―Morning on the Desert‖ by Katherine Fall Pettey; ―The Free
Wind‖ by Charles Badger Clark, Jr.; ―When They‘ve Finished
Shipping Cattle in the Fall‖ by Bruce Kiskaddon; and ―In the Droving
Days‖ by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson.
If you‘ve never before purchased a poetry recording this should
be your first. If you are a discerning fan, you will delight in Brooks‘
ability to finesse the spoken word. It is easily one of the finest
recitation albums ever made.
To purchase Shoulder to Shoulder, send $15 to Jerry Brooks,
4845 W. Clear Creek Canyon Rd., Sevier, UT 84766.
jamsession@robscabinets.com
7
Lonesome For The Old Days
Cowgirl Sass & Savvy
by Julie Carter
In some phase of the moon, or
maybe it's the calendar, there seems
to be yearning among a number of
my acquaintances to find a piece of
their past and return to the "fun" that
they remember it to be. "I'm lonesome for the old days," are the
words that resonate around any conversation about said "old
days" and the memories of the good times.
Class reunions and family reunions are a given for collecting people
that have a history with each other. They offer a one-shot period
of time to catch up on one or many years and then everyone
goes home and life resumes. Then there are those times when a
simple action by one person starts a movement that gathers momentum
with each day as the people involved start opening their
memories to those "good old days."
Clay Mac may not know it yet, but he has done such a thing simply
by agreeing to play at a benefit dance in the Rio Grande Valley
later this fall. A New Mexico band legend in the honky-tonk hall of
fame, Clay isn't just awesome with his music, he has a good time
doing it and his fun rolls right off the platform and into the crowd.
Not far from the upcoming designated dance hall is a locally historical
honky tonk called the Red Carpet, or the "Red Rug" as it
was fondly referred to in the height of its day. Now just an empty
building with its own ghosts, just the mention of the name invokes
memories of two-stepping, beer-drinking, pool-playing wild nights.
It remains a monument to the good times of decades ago. Such
are the "fun" memories of one veteran of the "good old days" who
said that sometimes he gets a six-pack and pulls in the parking lot
of the Red Rug and just sits there and remembers while he sips.
Built around those good old days are friendships that endure far
into the future. Sadly and all too often, they are kept dormant by
life and distance and the recall is locked away in the cedar chests
of their honky-tonk minds. The key to that lock can be as simple
as the sound of a fiddle bow pulled across the strings. That soulful
sound explodes into a song that invokes whoops, hollers and the
rush of boots and jeans to the dance floor.
The phone lines have been burning up for weeks in the process of
making plans for a Red Rug Reunion at the fairgrounds dance
barn and Clay Mac's guaranteed good-time music. Only briefly
does any of the Red Rug alumni lament the toll that 20 years has
taken on waistlines and backsides, hair color or ability to hang
past midnight. Wiser planning brought by inevitable maturity involves
nearby motel reservations, designated drivers and subtle
warnings to spouses that they could possibly meet a new side of
their life-partner, if only briefly.
Probability is high that the recall of the good old days will be enhanced
by differing stories and confusing memories. Already the
arguments have begun involving statements like, "No, that wasn't
me, that was Sheila and it was at Cowboys, not at the Red Rug.
Get your memories right, keep your bars straight and don't confuse
my stories."
Yeeeee haw ... here comes the Red Rug gang.
Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net