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Howdy Everyone,
Hope you and your's are doin' mighty well.
Saturday July 28th is the "National Day of the American Cowboy. There will be a wide array of observances and celebrations across the country, so be on the lookout for one in your area. Heck, I say it is also "Kiss A Cowboy or Cowgirl Day," too. I ain't too keen on kissin' cowboys, but I will pucker up for a good lookin' cowgirl that I know and have slept with for the last 45 years.
Right here in my back pasture the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum will use that day to unveil a life-size sculture of the late actor John Wayne. May 26th was the anniversary of his birth 100 years ago. Edward J. Fraughton is the sculptor. Some members of John Wayne's family will be attending the event.
I would love to attend the John Wayne unvailing, but my wife and I will be runnin' hard to stay up with our three teenage grandkids that we are taking with us on vacation through New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. At Sandusky, Ohio we are going to Cedar Point Amusement Park. It has been voted the best amusement park in America for some ten years. I dunno. I judge such places by how rich their coffee is, not by the rides. But this one has a bigger'n Texas roller coaster that is 410 ft. tall and goes up to 120 mph. Our grandson Daniel loves big and fast roller coasters, following in the footsteps of his dad Stan Jr. Fortunately, I have a medical pass on that ride and any other that goes around or up and down because of an inner ear condition that, when aggrevated, makes me stagger like a drunk. I ain't gettin' near it.
Say, about that unveiling of John Wayne's statue. It reminds me of the time when the Pioneer Museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma hired someone to create a 17 foot high statue of a pioneer woman and her boy. When it was finished, they asked Oklahoma's favorite son, Will Rogers, to make a talk at the dedication. So he came on April 22, 1930 and stood before the crowd. The statue of the woman stood behind him, covered by a canvas.
Ol' Will allowed as how this was the first time in his long career that he had been asked to undress a woman in public. Most of the folks there got a belly laugh out of that comment, but a few never forgave him for his "disgraceful" remarks. Shucks, even Will Rogers couldn't win 'em all.
See ya down the trail,--Cowboy Stan
Tom Cole
At 6'6" tall, Tom Cole may be Texas-sized but he lives in Canada. He sings cowboy and Western songs with his own stamp, a rich baritone voice.
Tom grew up in Northern British Columbia in a place called Rose Prairie. His father ran a Community Pasture for the Forestry while raising his own cattle on their ranch beside the Beatton River. He tried his hand at the rodeo circuit, but found out that eight seconds can be a very long time.
After traveling to the city to do his country music recordings he decided to move to Calgary to be closer to the industry and perform with his band, called "Cole Cole Heart." In 1992 Tom garnered "The CMAC Most Promising Artist" award and in 1994 the band took away "Group Of The Year."
After almost seven years of touring Tom moved back to British Columbia and is spending more time with his wife, daughter and son. He still performs at the festival and convention circuit during the summer, along with the western music circuit of Cowboy Gathering and Festivals. Tom and his wife Margie often work together in writing songs.
Tom has spent the past few years working with his friend and fellow entertainer, Brian Salmond. Each of them lives in the Charlie Lake region. Tom says about his performances with Salmond, “Brian recites a few cowboy poems. I sing a few cowboy songs. We tell a few cowboy jokes. And we all have a bunch of fun.”
One reason that Tom was chosen for "Featured Entertainer" is because he is a giver. We always appreciate folks who are not only willing to help others, but actually do it. That's a rare breed. And we salute him for setting up a whole series of free guitar lessons on his web site. No charge at all.
So mosey on over and take a look at this Canadian cowboy's web site: www.tomcole.net .Cowboy Single Action Shooting Society
My cousin, Jerry Paregien, was a prune-pickin' Californian until he retired and became a hillbilly in eastern Tennessee. However, he returned to the scene of the crime (i.e., California) back in the Spring. He wound up watching a cowboy shooting match up in the high desert. Turned out to be a very cold day out there and my cuz was not exactly dressed correctly for the occasion.
The shooters at the club's acreage.
Big Chief Freezinbutt (a.k.a., Jerry "Knobby Knees" Paregien)
I took the photo, above, of a Cowboy Mounted Shooting match at the Lazy E Arena on June 10th. These guys and gals ride down one row of balloons and shoot 'em at a gallop, then they put that gun away and retreive a second, then proceed to turn around and shoot at a second row of balloons.
I also attended a Cowboy Church service on Sunday morning. It was the first time for me to look around at church and see most everyone packing at least two guns. I thought they missed a great change to take up a big offering, 'cause who is gonna argue with ushers wearing guns???
Directory Additions/Changes
We have either added or made changes to the following biographical listings on CowboyDirectory.Com:
Brent K. Ashabranner
Dudley "Doug" Autry
Tom Cole
Jane Candia Coleman
Robert Conley
William Conrad
Jess Cullison
Chet Cunningham
R.W. Hampton
Jo Hargrave
Fred Hargrove
Betty Hutton
Pee Wee King
Boots Randolph
Hilma Volk
Press One for English is a bouncy little song with a dynamite message: English is the language of our country, so why the heck must we push 1 for English every time we call some big company???? It was written and performed by Ron and Kay Rivoli. Watch it . . . and then pass it on to everyone you know.
Snuff Dipper is a romantic ballad that Stan Paregien Sr. sang to his wife, Peggy, during the Paregien Family Reunion in Oklahoma City in 2006. Redneck music at its best.Jingle Bells features Stan Paregien, Jr. (guitar) and son Daniel (bass fiddle) singing this Christmas classic and having a lot of fun at it. Recorded in December, 2006.
Dancing Horse is a video that shows a well-trained horse competing in a horse show and prancing right along with the beat of the music. It is about six minutes long, so allow time for it to load.
[Thanks go Gary Brown for sending it to me.]
Kellie Pickler is an American Idol grad who came in 6th place in her contest. However, her debut country music CD has sold over 600,000 and is still climbing. But here, as Paul Harvey would say, is the rest of the story.
Kellie has not had an easy life. She was raised by her grandparents. Her mother abandoned her when she was a baby. Her father has been in and out of jail, and he is currently in jail. Kellie has no memory of her mother, who is believed to be living in California.
Kellie Pickler’s touching single, I Wonder, was written by Kellie about her mother. In the video, Kellie wonders if her mother knows what has happened to her little girl. One line in I Wonder says “you weren’t there to help me pick out my prom dress”. That is a reference to fact that Kellie picked out and wore an “I Dream of Jeanie” looking red dress, that was in very bad taste, to her high school prom.
The entire video of her song, "I Wonder" has been posted on the YouTube web site. [Thanks to R.J. Vandygriff for sending the above info to me.]
The Year was 1907
Ray Milland, actor, was born on Jan. 3rd.
Actor Dan Duryea was born on Jan. 25th in White Plains, New York.
Actor Robert Young was born on Feb. 22nd. Best known for his TV series, "Father Knows Best," he also starred in the 1941 Western titled, "Western Union".
Author James A. Michener was born on Feb. 23.
Dub Taylor, musician, character actor and father of actor Buck Taylor, was born Feb. 26th in Richmond, VA.
Kate Smith, who sang probably the best ever version of "God Bless America," was born on May 4th.
Marion Morrison, later known as John Wayne, was born in Winterset, Iowa on May 26.
Rosalind Russell, 4-time Academy Award-winning actress, was born on July 4th.
Gene Autry, later known as . . . Gene Autry, was born in Tioga, Texas on Sept. 29.
The Indian Territory became the 47th state, named Oklahoma, on Nov. 16, 1907.
Buck Ram, manager of The Platters singing group and author of such songs as "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," was born in Chicago on Nov. 21st.
William Barclay, Church of Scotland theologian and religious writer, was born on Dec. 5th.
Cab Caloway, jazz singer and band leader, was born Dec. 25th.
In 1907 the average life expectancy in the United States was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the United States had a bathtub and only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
In 1907 a three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S. in 1907, and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
In 1907 Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union .
The tallest structure in the world in 1907 was the Eiffel Tower.
In 1907 the average wage in the United States was 22 cents per hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year . A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
In 1907 more than 95 percent of all births in the United States took place at HOME. Home births were the norm for more than two more decades. Les Gilliam, cowboy singer, was the first member of his family born in a hospital and that was in Ardmore, Oklahoma in 1934.
Ninety percent of all U.S. Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
In 1907 sugar cost four cents a pound, eggs were fourteen cents a dozen and coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women in 1907 only washed their hair once a month, and they used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
In 1907 the five leading causes of death in the U.S. Were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza; 2. Tuberculosis; 3. Diarrhea; 4. Heart disease; and 5. Stroke.
In 1907 the American flag had 45 stars. Arizona , Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30 people in 1907.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented in 1907.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day in 1907.
In 1907 two out of every 10 adults in the United States could not read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
In 1907 marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists Said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
[ NOTE: I have an old medicine bottle from the Stone Kimbriel Drug Company ("Wholesale and Retail Druggists") in Durant, Oklahoma. It has a skull and bones symbol on it, with the word "Poison" below the symbol. In large letters it says, "Laudanum". That was mostly opium, a highly addictive substance, and widely used by doctors to treat pain. It was also widely abused by addicts. I remember one episode of "Gunsmoke" where Doc Adams gave his patient a dose of Laudanum. --SP ]
In 1907 there were only about 230 murders reported in the ENTIRE U.S.A. ! Today the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has more murders than that each year, just in their city.[ Thanks to Gary Brown for sending the above item, to which I added a few things about 1907.]
© 2007 by Stan Paregien, Sr.
