FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection
Folk Coll 11 is Utah State University's cowboy poetry collection. The collection, originally created
by a generation donation by the L. J. and Mary Skaggs Foundation, includes books gathered
during a fieldwork project in the early 1980s to document cowboy poetry in the U.S. west (see Folk
Coll 11f). From this important fieldwork project came the impetus for the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in
January 1985 in Elko, Nevada. Since that time, each January, the Fife Folklore Archives staff take the collection
and Access database (that details each book, poem, author, first line and key words), to the National Cowboy Poetry
Gathering for offsite use. Through University purchases and generation donations from poets and collectors, this collection continues to grow.
Book Title
Composer
Call #
Pages
Author
Poem Title
First Lines
Keywords
The Adventures of Ole and Andy
FOLK COLL 11 A-26
76
Clarence "Andy" Anderson
Goodbye, Ole!
As I said before, Ole is a many-sided fellow, sometimes very humble and childlike. He could believe the cow jumped over the moon or the moon went over the cow with equal childlike pleasure.
resolution, teeth, new year
Confessions of A Cowboy Poet
FC 11 C-52
100
Bob Christensen
Ol' Billy
He'd never been much of a neighbor and he sure as hell wasn't a friend but as each of us must, he'd now turn to dust, his mortality'd come to it's end. At least that's what it said in the paper, though I've never game newsmen much truck
Poems of American Cowboys & Nature
FC 11 C-04
85
Bob A. Carson
Judge Not
In men whom men condemn as ill.
Burnt Leather
FC 11 H-16
28
Jack Horan
No Reference
Big George came drifting in to camp.
male female relationships, drifter, cowhand
What I Learned On the Way to Life: Insights and Concepts learned along the way..
FC 11 J-15
94
Hans "Jake" Jeppson
Tie Ribbons
If I had a Dove, I'd send it on the wing--.
Dry Crik Review: Summer 1992
John C. Dofflemyer
FC 11 D-20
45
Jay Dusard
Good Buckskin Horse
Yellow trimmed in black; hipper than Eohippus. Cow huntin' mother.
buck, horse, mother, hunting
For Cowboys, Campers an' Common Folk
FC 11 H-19
54
Charlie Hunt
Arena at Night
The crowd's gone home.
tranquility, peace, peacefulness, night, evening, rodeo, relaxation, tension
Scattered, Lasting Remnants: "Fine Lines" of Poetry and Song
Echo Klaproth
FC 11 K-25
120
Rolf Flake
The lightning's red glare, thunder boomin' in air-- Man-made rockets just can't compare To the "real thing" engineered from above-- Fireworks with a celestial flare! (from "Celestial Fireworks"). Some city folks--they cuss the rain It messes up their weekend. But us ranch-raised folks are different 'Cause on rain our life depends. (from "Thanks For The Rain").
Horsefeathers
FC 11 R-06
31
Johnny Ritch
Testimony
I were there when he blowed into Gold Camp that day.
The Mystique Of Grouse Creek
FC 11 S-64
9
Elden K. Shaw
The Fire!
Awakened in the middle of the night, With words that caused an awful fright, Came his grandson's words most dire, "Grandpa, our house has caught on fire".
Western Verse or Worse
FC 11 F-10
60
Rolf M. Flake
What's Fair for One
Ol' Hosteen Yazzie, a few years back.
Navajo, bank, collateral, loan, money
Rhymes o' a Driftin' Cowboy
FC 11 H-01
38
Chuck Haas
A Ill's Smoke
We's ridin' drag on a stragy herd.
herd, herding, cattle, stampede, storm, tobacco, work, occupation, exhaustion, tired, sleep, hungry, hunger
Unhobbled: Cowboy Poetry, Stories, and Outright Lies
FC 11 R-31
82
Pat Richardson
Roundup in the Spring
Prairie Wife
FC 11 E-20
64
Elizabeth Ebert
Prairie Princess
The day has arrived for which she's been yearning, She's nervous, excited, her stomach is churning. She's been dressing since noontie, she mustn't be late This new prairie princess out on her first date.
Rhymes of a Homesteader
FC 11 L-08
13
Elliott C. Lincoln
At the Home Station
Folks wuz crowdin' round the station of the Earth an' Heaven Line.
The Spell of the Yukon and Other Verses
FC 11 S-43
53
Robert W. Service
Grin
If you're up against a bruiser and you're getting knocked about.
One Man of a Kind
FC 11 B-17
25
Everett Brisendine
A Cowboys Thinkin'
The Good Book says there will be a great roundup.
Bible, Judgment Day, heaven, afterlife, angels, belief
Voices from the Heartland: A Book of Original Poetry
FC 11 S-47
5
George J. Stucker
Passing Through
At an Arizona cow camp.
Western Verse or Worse
FC 11 F-10
42
Rolf M. Flake
Come and Get It
When I was a kid we always ate.
food, meals, eating
Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip
FOLK COLL 11 N-18
102
Rod Nelson
A new dog in 2009 would be nice... or would it?
I probably won't be able to afford many new things in 2009, but I'm pretty sure I'll acquire a new dog. I need one pretty badly.
dog, herd, puppy, work
Buckaroo Ballads
FC 11 B-04
100
S. Omar Barker
After Brandin' Time
Sing a song o' swingin' ropes.
roping, calves, branding, roundup, branding iron, romance, love, woman, girlfriend, romance, boss's daughter, school teacher, school marm
High Country Ballads
FC 11 N-06
61
Howard L. Norskog
Brothers
In the footprints of time there's a memory
Cow Country Happenings
FOLK COLL 11 G-46
65
Lonnie D Garten
The Mules Outwitted Skeet
One morning at dawn old Skeet harnessed up And loaded the kids and dog He was going down south to the kafercorn field To pitch on a little load.
mule, burn, failure, stubborn
Ranch Verses
FC 11 C-09
72
William Lawrence Chittenden
Ode to the Northern
Thrice welcome to the Northern.
wind, cold, Labrador, storm, Viking, weather
Prairie Vagabonds
FC 11 H-04
10
Laura Vernon Hamner
Lights from a Hotel Window
Night-gray reaches of a distant suburb are marked by softened.
night, flowers, blooming, city