Art show, concert added to Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Sixteen artists will have works in the art show and sale, which will be in Memorial Hall. A reception and open house will be at 4 p.m. Friday the 19th, but the show will be open to the public late this week and be on display all of next week.

At 5 p.m. Friday the 19th the Bald Mountain Rounders of Chadron will be performing, followed by the Prairie Rose Wranglers from Kansas at 7:30 p.m.

This year’s headliner for the Cowboy Poetry Gathering will be Waddie Mitchell, a native of Nevada who has presented throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Australia. His presentation will be at 8 p.m. on Saturday in Memorial Hall.

Earlier in the day, more than a dozen cowboy poets and a couple of cowgirl poets will be featured in the Student Center during segments of between 15 and 30 minutes.

Loree MacNeill, director of cultural programs at Chadron State, said last year’s Cowboy Poetry Gathering that featured Baxter Black was such a huge success that the college decided to sponsor the event again and expand the activities. The art show and sale and concerts were added to form a gigantic two-day celebration.

Tickets for the Prairie Rose Wranglers concert Friday night and Mitchell’s program Saturday night may be obtained through the Memorial Hall box office at Chadron State. The tickets for each performance are $10 for adults, $9 for those 65 and older and $6 for youths 18 and under if obtained in advance. The box office is open from 2 to 5 p.m. each weekday. The telephone number is 308-432-6360. All tickets at the door will be $11.

Mitchell grew up on ranches in Nevada. He dropped out of high school when he was 16 because the school was more than 60 miles from home and he preferred to work with cattle and horses.

The Christmas after he left school, his parents sent him The Harvard Classics that he kept in the bunkhouse on the ranch where he was working. He initially thought his parents were chiding him for quitting school, but by the time he was drafted into the Army three years later he had read through the 20-volume set 2 ½ times.

In 1984, Mitchell helped organize the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering that drew more than 2,000 people. That was his first public appearance, but he’s been involved with cowboy poetry ever since. Although he initially turned down a chance to appear on the Tonight Show because he was busy calving and he’d never heard of Johnny Carson, he eventually accepted the offer. He’s also been on Good Morning America, Larry King Live, The History Channel and many more television programs.

In addition, many major newspapers and magazines have carried full-blown feature stories on Mitchell and his insights and lessons learned during his life as a cowboy, or buckaroo, as they’re often called in Nevada.

Leading off the poetry session during Saturday will be Deb Carpenter, who lives on a ranch north of Rushville and also teaches composition at Chadron State. She will present at 10 a.m.

Other Nebraskans on the program will include Willard Hollopeter of Wood Lake, Otto Rosfeld of Valentine and former Chadron resident Curt Cooper, who now lives in Columbus.

Also presenting will be South Dakotans Ken Cook of Martin, Robert Dennis of Red Owl, Slim McNaught of New Underwood and Bonnie Krogman of Wood.

Among those coming from farther away are Geff Dawson, Alma, Kan.; Eldon Housley, Tucson, Ariz.; Harold Roy Miller, Stagecoach, Nev.; Mike Moutoux, Pinos Altos, N.M.; Tim Nolting, Cheyenne; and Theresa Orr, Woodbine, Iowa.

The Saturday poetry program will be open to the public without charge. A “cowboy supper” at 6 p.m. in the Student Center will follow the presentations. The cost will be $6, payable at the door.

Area artists whose works will be shown and available to be purchased on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19-20 include Joan Buckles, Gordon; Mary Hunt, Gering; Dave Price, Valentine; Don Ruleaux, Chadron; and Jim Whartman, Hemingford. They are expected to be present for the reception.

Others artists whose works will be shown and on sale include Harley Brown, Tucson, Ariz.; Joe Halko, Cascade, Mont.; Cammie, George and Mark Lundeen, Loveland, Colo.; Ned Mueller, Renton, Wash.; R.E. Pierce, Portland, Ore.; Don Prechtel, Creswell, Ore.; Steve Seltzer, Great Falls, Mont.; and Jessica Zemsky, Big Timber, Mont.

Shortly after the reception for the artists on Friday the 19th, the Bald Mountain Rounders will take the stage the stage in Memorial Hall. The Bluegrass band is made up of Jack Honerkamp, Norm Martin, John Shafer and Robin Smith, all of Chadron. They have more than 120 years of combined musical experience and specialize in old-time country music that audiences throughout the region seem to relish.

The Prairie Rose Wranglers were formed in 1999 to entertain at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper. They have performed with celebrities such as Rex Allen Jr. and Roy Rogers Jr., and in May 2003 were the star performers at the first all-western concert ever held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. This past year, the Wranglers took “The Great American Cowboy” to China.

Some of the Wranglers favorite tunes include “Cool Water,” “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” The trio also sings classic cowboy trail songs and several original numbers.

--By Con Marshall, Director of Information