Footsteps articles from March 1999

Footsteps archives from March 1999

THE IMAGE AND THE REALITY OF THE BLACK COWBOY.
March 1, 1999... "Without the contributions [of black cowboys], the cattle industry would have been seriously handicapped." --Historian Kenneth Wiggins Porter The image of the American cowboy has become synonymous with the West. Yet decades of...

"Stagecoach Mary".(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... When people hear of cowboys or pioneers, they usually think of tough, brave men. However, there were also many women pioneers who paved the way west. Among the best known is "Stagecoach Mary" Fields. Born sometime around 1832, Mary began...

My Babysitter -- Mary Fields.(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 1, 1999... AN INTERVIEW WITH EARL MUNROE BY JENNIFER M. DREWRY Earl Munroe knew Mary Fields well. Mary was his babysitter. One of his fondest memories is of Mary giving him candy and fruit from the icebox she kept near the door of her house. She...

THE STORY OF FOUR BLACK COWBOYS.
March 1, 1999... "Deadwood Dick" (Nat Love) Can you ride a wild horse?," the boss of a Texas cattle drive asked 15-year-old Nat Love. "Yes, sir," Love replied confidently. "If you can, I'll give you a job," the boss said and ordered Bronco Jim, a black...

A NEW TRADITION OF THE AMERICAN WEST.
March 1, 1999... Barrel-racing champion Carolyn Carter presents the American flag at the start of a rodeo in Houston, Texas. "Rodeo" is a Spanish word meaning "roundup." The rodeo is the only sport rooted in skills that were used in a man's everyday...

The Rodeo Today.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Rodeo has changed over the years. Today professional cowboys and cowgirls compete in seven different events. Calf Roping Calf roping is one of the oldest events in rodeo. A cowboy and his highly skilled horse must race against the...

The Legacy of the Black Cowboy.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... A.J. WALKER A.J. Walker grew up on the 40-acre ranch near Beaumont, Texas, that his father bought when A.J. was ten years old. It was a hard life and A.J. quit school in the ninth grade to help out at home. Days were spent working the...

Make Your Own Spurs.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Spurs were an important tool in the West. Riding on the range after cattle, a cowboy needed a way to encourage his horse to move along quickly. Cowboys wore spurs on the heels of their boots. By pressing the spur into the horse's flank...

Songs in the Saddle.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... After the Civil War, men of many ethnic and cultural backgrounds became cowboys. As cowboys, they were valued more for their ability to do the job than from what culture they came. Naturally, the songs and music of the cowboys reflected this...

A Black Museum is Born.(Black American West Museum & Heritage Center)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... When I was a volunteer at the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center, Paul W. Stewart, the founder of the museum, often told me that the oversight of the black cowboy in historical accounts had a far-reaching effect on him as a young...

Meet the Cowboys in the Galleries.(Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Young buckaroos and their families can experience the richness and diversity of the African American experience in the West at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Two famous black cowboys, Nat Love and Bill Pickett, are featured in the...

YOUR PAGES.(A Cowboy's Dream)(Brief Article)(Poem)
March 1, 1999... A Cowboy and His Horse Kerrin Medeiros Roosevelt Junior High School New Bedford, Massachusetts [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Cowgirl Lindsey Morton New Bedford, Massachusetts [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Wild West In...

BOOKS.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Black Cowboy: The Life and Legend of George McJunkin by Franklin Folsom (Niwot, Colorado: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1992) tells the story of a man who was born a slave, gained his freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation, and became a...

MEDIA.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... The Black West, a 30-minute video produced in 1982, is available from Nguzo Saba Films, P.O. Box 36127, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Black Cowboy Blues and Church Songs with Alfred "Snuff" Johnson. It is produced by Documentary Arts, P.O. Box...

PLACES TO VISIT.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, California Black American West Museum & Heritage Center, 3091 California Street, Denver, Colorado National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center,...

WEB SITES.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Check out this site for more information about black cowboys, black cowgirls, and black rodeos: www.billpickett.com/about.html For more information about the Naitonal Britches Rodeo Association, call 800-763-3694 or visit its Web...

HEROES OF THE WEST.(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... HEROES OF THE WEST: In this issue, you have met several African Americans whose skill and daring contributed to the development and prosperity of the West. Yet there are many whose names are not so widely known, and many whose names may never...

National Cowboy Hall of Fame.(black cowboys)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... There are only three black cowboys in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. The first was Bill Pickett, who was inducted in 1972. The second was Bass Reeves, the first black man to be appointed a U.S. Marshal. His induction was in 1992. In 1997...