A Barnes & Noble Day

Perusing some of my favorite magazines at Barnes & Noble. I have sifted through them, Dear Reader, and have some recommendations for you:

Wild West -- The February issue contains a delightful interview with Buck Taylor by Johnny D. Boogs. Johnny, who can always be counted on to deliver, focuses on Buck's artwork though he touches on Buck's upbringing as the son of the legendary Dub Taylor. Buck's eperiences on Gunsmoke figures in the interview and Buck's art. This article will make you smile. Another great article by Johnny details the history of New Mexico and Arizona.

Civil War Monitor -- Issue 2 of this magazine delivers more quality research and writing. The photo of Bruce Catton with his hometown's GAR marker makes the cover price of six bucks a bargain! The story on old soldiers was compelling. Terry Johnston has really undertaken a labor of love with this publication, and we wish him the very best. His readers are already getting it.

Another great treat was a peak at James Robertson's new work for National Geographic. This is a great gift for the person with an awakening interest in the Civil War, or the perfect gift for the historian who can't get enough. Bud's vast knowledge and very readable style make this accessible and satisfying for anyone at any level of knowledge or interest.

Okay, folks, I am so frustrated with this blogger program and trying to format that I am giving up. So here it is, imperfect but well-intentioned. Enjoy!

Chiaventone Wins Wrangler Award

Fred Chiaventone has won another Wrangler Award.

Well, we are NOT surprised!!

Fred (pictured above with long-time friend, Gen. David Petraeus) is among my top 5 favorite writers of all time. Two of his books, Moon Of Bitter Cold and A Road We Do Not Know are two of my top five favorite books. I've turned so many people on to Fred's work, I should get commissions. I'll settle for the satisfaction of knowing that other people have been touched by Fred's work. He's a fine historian and a fine writer.

This latest Wrangler, bestowed by the Western Heritage Museum and Cowboy Hall of Fame, is given to Fred for an April 2010 article in Wild West Magazine on the Pony Express. Fred's first Wrangler award in 2003 recognized Moon Of Bitter Cold and was presented to him by actor, Ernest Borgnine.

Wrangler award winners are a prestigious lot: Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Utley among them. I'm thrilled to see Fred recognized yet again as he continues to make valuable contributions to literature and history. During his Army career, Fred specialized in counter-terrorism and national security issues. Since retiring, he has written and lectured widely and appeared in numerous documentaries and consulted on feature films, including Ang Lee's "Ride With The Devil". His articles have appeared in American Heritage, The New York Post, Armed Forces Journal, and Cowboys & Indians. He was a contributing editor to the Historical Dictionary of the U. S. Army and to the Oxford Companion to American Military History.

Yaay, Fred!

More News From Talented Friends

Louis Kraft is doing the final edits on his Ned Wynkoop manuscript and I can hardly wait to see it. Just picked up the April issue of Wild West Magazine and Louis has a really excellent article on Wynkoop, who was serving as sheriff of Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. What a life! Louis may be the best biographer going and he brings Wynkoop back from the past with color and clarity and compassion, just as he did with Geronimo and Charles Gatewood.

Be sure to grab this issue of Wild West and watch for the upcoming biography from the University of Oklahoma, Ned Wynkoop: Walking Between the Races.

We hope to get up to Hardin this summer to hear Louis (above with me at the Kansas City Civil War Roundtable) and good friend, D. K. Clark, on the 135th anniversary of Custer's Last Fight.

The History World spins on.

Friends

In this season of counting my blessings, I put friends at the top of the list, but next must be the internet. Somehow I missed the October issue of Wild West. (Lapsed subscription, perhaps?) Anyhow, as I was perusing Historynet I came across this great article by Johnny Boggs. The interviewee is my dear friend, Louis Kraft(with me, above), and his subject is Ned Wynkoop (below). Never heard of Ned Wynkoop? Well, Ned is worth knowing, and thanks to Louis, you will have the opportunity to meet him. This quote comes from Johnny's article:

JB-Why have many historians overlooked Ned Wynkoop? LK-He is ignored by historians who only read what has already been published—a sentence here, a paragraph or two there. Like Lieutenant Charles Gatewood, 6th U.S. Cavalry, he, for well over a century, has been a footnote in history or relegated to the circular file. The reason is simple: Edward W. Wynkoop lived his life on the frontier his way. And, like Charlie Gatewood, he had a conscience and refused to accept the views of his times, the 1860s. This placed him at odds with the settlers, the press, the military, the government and even the Indians he worked with. Wynkoop’s stance during the 1860s Indian wars on the central and southern Plains turned him into a pariah. He dared to speak up against everything he thought was wrong.

Read the rest of this article at: http://www.historynet.com/magazines/wild_west

When I commented to Louis on the quality of the article, he replied:

Johnny's a good, good friend of mine. Actually, I need to talk to him about a writing project that I now won't get to until January 2010 at the earliest. . . . Johnny's a class act, a terrific person, one of the best novelists writing today, and I'm glad to call him "friend."

I'm glad to call Louis "friend." I am also encouraged that good people of conscience, like Louis, are applying their talents to history. Likewise Johnny Boggs.

Jerry Choate Obit

I was so saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Jerry Choate, well-known to many Kansans as well as those in the field of natural history. He had been a frequent guest on my radio show and was just a joy. Blessings to his family. His obit:

Sunday, Dec 13, 2009

HAYS – Dr. Jerry Choate, 66, former Fort Hays State University professor and director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, died Dec. 9, 2009, in Denver, Colo.

Jerry was born March 21, 1943, in Bartlesville, Okla. After earning his bachelors degree from Pittsburg State University in 1965, he received a doctoral degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1969 and began his career at Fort Hays State University in 1971. Jerry retired in June 2009 from Fort Hays State University, where he had worked for nearly 40 years, teaching in the department of biological sciences and serving as director of two different museums – the Museum of the High Plains and then the Sternberg Museum of Natural History.

Among many other professional groups, Jerry was a longtime supporter and member of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists.

Besides his wife, Fi Choate, Jerry is survived by his son, Judd; and a granddaughter, Mahlon.

His body will be cremated and a memorial service in Hays is planned for a later date.
Through the Fort Hays State University Foundation, the Choate family is setting up a memorial for graduate students working in mammalogy at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History.

Tommy Phillips Dies

My Kansas friends will not recognize this name, but folks back home will. Tommy's family operated the Mountain Top Restaurant and Motel at the top of Fancy Gap Mountain, Virginia, (below) for generations.

When my older daughter, Karen, won Little Miss Blue Ridge, we went to have breakfast the next day and she took her trophy, crown and sash to show Tommy. Over country ham and buckwheat cakes, I commented that this honor had not gone to her head and what an humble little beauty queen she was.

Tommy laughed, and asked, "Is that so?"

He could see Karen behind me, primping and adjusting her crown in the mirror above the piano.

Tommy will be so missed I don't even have the words. He was a friend to me and to my sister, Denise, for so many years. We have so many wonderful memories as does his family and we send them blessings.

I had a grandson born November 30. I am reminded that we take our turn coming into this world and we take our turn leaving it. Let us make the most of our time here, be kind and considerate of one another, and appreciative of the blessings of the rich relationships God has given us.

Wild, Wild, Abe

Today is the birthday of that great western actor, Lee Marvin, born this day in 1924. . . in NEW YORK CITY! His performances in Cat Ballou and Paint Your Wagon place him in the pantheon of Western characters. He passed away in 1987.

Speaking of Western characters, how about that Abe Lincoln? Sure enough, he graces the cover of this month's edition of Wild West magazine, with the title, "Boss of the Plains." He's wearing a cowboy hat. It's a priceless image! We tend to forget that the 16th president was a "western man," as Jefferson Davis said (in explaining why it would not do to kidnap him; he was a "Western man" and would thus fight to the death something Davis would not risk).

Another really great article is the real story of the classic movie The Searchers--one of our favorites. Greg Michno, a first-rate historian, did a fine job on this research. You simply won't be able to put it down.

You have your assignments!

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Frederick Douglass

On this day in 1895, Frederick Douglass died. He was 78 years old. From the website pbs.org:

The son of a slave woman and an unknown white man, "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey" was born in February of 1818 on Maryland's eastern shore. He spent his early years with his grandparents and with an aunt, seeing his mother only four or five times before her death when he was seven. (All Douglass knew of his father was that he was white.) During this time he was exposed to the degradations of slavery, witnessing firsthand brutal whippings and spending much time cold and hungry. When he was eight he was sent to Baltimore to live with a ship carpenter named Hugh Auld. There he learned to read and first heard the words abolition and abolitionists. "Going to live at Baltimore," Douglass would later say, "laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity."

A truly remarkable man.

Happy Birthday, Wyatt Earp

Wild West published this photo of Wyatt Earp and you'll find a description of it filed under "Wyatt's First Star" at http://www.historynet.com/historical_figures/3564412.html. Yes, this little man is Wyatt Earp, along with his mother.

"She doted on the frowner," isn't that what Virgil (ala Sam Elliott) said to Wyatt in Tombstone?

Happy Birthday, Wyatt, March 19, 1848. We see why she doted on the frowner. He was handsome thing, even scowling.

By the way, Wyatt was named for Wyatt Berry Stapp, Captain of a company of mounted volunteers from Illinois during the Mexican War. Nicholas Earp is listed as the third sergeant in the company.

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Jeb Loved A Ball!

Thanks to Southern Belle and Meade Society member of the Florida Chapter: Pat Crumpler

April 4-5 is a weekend of celebration sponsored by the JEB Stuart Memorial Foundation to benefit the Museum of the Confederacy.

Beginning with a reception at the museum Friday evening, the weekend includes tours to the famous Hollywood Cemetery and to the Maymount Estate. Also available is a walking tour of historic sites in downtown Richmond hosted by a knowledgeable museum staff member. Saturday evening concludes at the Renaissance Center with a ball featuring period dress, dancing and Southern Food. Music provided by not only the Virginia Military Institute's Scottish Piping Band, but The Second South Carolina String Band and Evening Shade.

For information please contact the JEB Stuart Memorial Foundation at JEBStuartMemFound@Yahoo.Com or phone 1 877 887 3235.