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July 09, 2008 12:27 AM PDT
West Texas author John Erickson is a man who knows of what he writes. His HANK THE COWDOG books, set on a sprawling ranch and inhabited by a crew of motley cowboys and critters, are based on many years of his own experiences.
Erickson was born and raised in West Texas, attended the University of Texas and then spent two years at the Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts. When he returned to his home state in the late 1960's, he began publishing short stories while working full-time as a cowboy, farmer, and ranch manager. Hank and his sidekick Drover, the bumbling pooches who star in Erickson's best-selling series, were actual dogs Erickson worked with. His skillful mixing of true-life experience, out-and-out silliness, and adventure has gained Hank a faithful following of children and adults alike.
Who better to talk to about the role of animals other than cattle on the early cattle drives.
July 09, 2008 12:17 AM PDT
Son of a famous west Texas rancher, Fayette had longhorn blood running through his veins. Fayette had probably done more to save the bloodline of the true Texas Longhorn than virtually any other single individual. This is one of his last interviews. (Yates in on the left in Photo)
July 09, 2008 12:15 AM PDT
A timely interview with a prolific western author, who lives not too far from the Great Western Trail.
July 09, 2008 12:12 AM PDT
An interview with Dr. Alvin O. Turner, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, at East Central University, at Ada, Oklahoma about that part of Oklahoma's history and how the Native Americans had a big role to play in their own way.
July 08, 2008 07:34 AM PDT
Few people know as much about the true "Spanish Longhorn" cattle that occupied most of west Texas in the time of the great cattle drives, as Dr. Frank Sharp. Dr. Sharp, having received his Doctorate in Longhorn Husbandry from Texas A&M, went on to help establish a registry for purebred Texas Longhorns. I could not find a photo of him, so instead posted a picture of longhorns of the type that would likely have been seen on the cattle that went up the Great Western Trail. To see more examples of this kind of horn, go to the Alan Roger's Texas Longhorn Museum site
(http://www.longhornmuseum.com/).
July 06, 2008 01:26 PM PDT
An interview with Dr. Andre's Tijerina about the Mexican/Spanish influence on Texas cattle drive and history.
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