Waddie Mitchell headlining CSC Cowboy Poetry Gathering

By the time he was 10, he was reciting poetry himself. At age 16, he quit high school to follow his heart and began making his living as a cowboy.

“I’d never done anything else, never made money without horses or cows until I started telling cowboy poetry,” said Mitchell, who will be the headliner at the second annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering at Chadron State College on Saturday, Jan. 20. He will recite his stories at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall.

Earlier in the day, 16 more cowboy and cowgirl poets will go behind the microphone for 15 to 30-minute segments in Student Center. These presentations, beginning at 10 a.m., will be open to the public without charge.

Tickets to hear Mitchell are available through the Memorial Hall box office, which is open from 2 to 5 p.m. each weekday. The tickets are $10 for adult, $9 for senior citizens and $6 for youths through age 18. All tickets at the door will be $11. The telephone number for the box office is 308-432-6360.

Last year’s headline presenter was Baxter Black. Loree MacNeill, director of cultural programs at CSC and organizer of the event, said Mitchell is of the same caliber as Black.

“He’s one of the most well-known poets, and I’m not just talking about cowboy poets, in the nation,” said MacNeill. “We’re very fortunate that we could schedule him at the same time the other poets were willing to come to Chadron State.”

Like Mitchell, nearly all of the poets have farm and ranch backgrounds. They use that background as the inspiration for their poetry.

Tim Nolting of Cheyenne, Wyo., says he’s “a writer of verse in the tradition of the old cowboy poets, simple in its rhyme and meter and portraying the lifestyle of the Old West.”

Jerry Schleicher of Parkville, Mo., says he “spins stories and cowboy poetry about colossal grasshoppers, sloppy feedlots, cows with an identity crisis, stacking hay and rural aromas.”

Otto Rosfeld of Valentine has been performing his poetry “that incorporates the strong theme of rural life in more simple times” for more than 30 years. His goal, he said, is to make certain that the lifestyle of his parents and their peers will not be forgotten.

Deb Carpenter, who has lived on a ranch north of Rushville all of her life except when she went to college and now teaches composition at Chadron State, will be the first presenter at 10 o’clock Saturday morning. She noted that in order to be effective, poet needs to have the interaction of an audience.

“Despite the bone-chilling weather during last year’s Cowboy Poetry event, we had a good audience, great poetry and a wonderful time together, sharing rural humor and the ups and downs of country life,” said Carpenter. “We’re hoping for warmer weather this go-round, and we’re hoping you’ll come share in the magic. Listen for the voice of the poet.”

Mitchell never anticipated that he do anything other than work on ranches until he met Hal Cannon, who was directing the Western Folk Life Center at Ketchum, Idaho. Cannon was fascinated that a cowboy was writing poetry. He alerted the media and soon newspaper articles and photos began appearing Mitchell as he worked at his ranch job.

Mitchell emphasized that he wasn’t the only cowboy poet in the region. So Cannon encouraged him to round them up for a “little poetry reading.” The event was set for Elko, Nev., and publicized by the area media. Waddie and a friend set up 100 chairs, but 2,000 people showed up.

That was in 1984 and launched Mitchell’s career as a full-time cowboy poet. 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 him. One of the stories was in the November 2006 edition of the Western Horseman. It traces Mitchell’s life as both a cowboy and a communicator of the cowboy’s way of life. It also notes that Mitchell is a co-founder of the Working Ranch Cowboy Association, which offers a crisis fund for ranch families and college scholarships for children of working cowboys.

The article quotes Mitchell as saying, “You can be smart, and you can be practical and you can be pretty savvy, but you can’t be wise until you get some old trails behind you.”

--By Con Marshall, Director of Information

 

Cowboy Poetry Schedule - Saturday, Jan. 20

CSC Student Center

9:30—Check-in

10-10:30 am—Deb Carpenter, Rushville.

10:30-10:45 am—Robert Dennis, Red Owl, S.D.

10:45-11 am—Ken Cook, Martin, S.D.

11-11:15 am—Willard Hollopeter, Long Pine

11:15-11:30 am—Bonnie Krogman, Wood, S.D.

11:30-11:45 am—Slim McNaught, New Underwood, S.D.

11:45-noon—Otto Rosfeld, Valentine

Noon-1 pm—Lunch

1-1:30 pm—Tim Nolting, Cheyenne, Wyo.

1:30-1:45 pm—Jerry Schleicher, Parkville, Mo.

1:45-2 pm—Curt Cooper, Columbus

2-2:15 pm--Bonnie Krogman, Wood, S.D.

2:15-2:30 pm—Willard Hollopeter, Long Pine

2:30-2:45 pm—Break

2:45-3 pm—Theresa Orr, Woodbine, Iowa.

3-3:30 pm—Harold Roy Miller, Stagecoach, Nev.

3:30-3:45 pm—Geff Dawson, Alma, Kan.

3:45-4 pm—Slim McNaught, New Underwood, S.D.

4-4:15 pm—Ken Cook, Martin, S.D.

4:30-4:45 pm—Jerry Schleicher, Parkville, Mo.

4:45-5 pm—Eldon Housley, Tucson Ariz.

5-5:30 pm—Mike Moutoux, Pinos Altos, N.M.

5:30—Cowboy Supper

Memorial Hall

8 p.m.—Waddie Mitchell