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
Cowboys, Plowboys, and Country Folk
FC 11 R-39
27
Roger Ringer
Grandma Holley's Stove
When I was no more than a pup on the farm I remember very well our neighbor folks Just down the road west... 'bout a half mile was a world of old machinery on which I loved to play.
Sittin' and A-Grinnin': A Collection of Works
Layle Bagley & Linda Merrill
FC 11 B-11
130
Charlene Schilling
I Ain't Huntin' No More
Every year, comes a time, Oh, I don't know.
Horsefeathers
FC 11 R-06
22
Johnny Ritch
As Was
Then Kelly, the One-Eye, sets into the game?
All This Way for the Short Ride
FC 11 Z-02
27
Paul Zarzyski
All This Way for the Short Ride
After grand entry cavalcade of flags.
Travelers and Pioneers Western Poetry
FC 11 B-34
1
Larry D. Butler
Cowboy Astrology
"What's your sign?" the young lady asked the cowboy.
Rhymes of a Rolling Stone
FC 11 S-63
152
Robert Service
The Man Who Knew
The Dreamer visioned Life as it might be, And from his dream forthright a picture grew, A painting all the people thronged to see, And joyed therein--till came the Man Who Knew, Saying: "'Tis bad! Why do ye gape, ye fools! He painteth not according to the schools."
More Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-13
50
Bob Ross
Sure We're Modern
It's nice and warm as a rule
Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip
FOLK COLL 11 N-18
75
Rod Nelson
Booger Red, the bull, and the day he got ridden
Times are tough here at Sims. For 40-some years I have been training colts to make a living. It could be worse; I never tried to make a living riding bulls.
whistle, bull, ride, prize
Along the Chisholm Trail and Other Poems
FC 11 R-44
5
George Rhoades
Billy The Kid
From Silver City to Lincoln County, From the Rio Bonito to Mexico, From the Sacramentos to the Hondo, From Fort Sumner to Old Santa Fe
Poems from the Alamo Saloon
FOLK COLL 11 L-45
65
Paul Thomas Lillard
Tonto
The Masked Man rode across the plains on his great white horse and riding beside faithfully his Indian friend, of course.
fool, lone ranger, anger
Sundry Rhymes
FC 11 G-18
14
June Brander Gilman
A Dreadnaught, She's Not
When the snow had receded, and the yard was bare.
Thoughts in Rhyme: Volume II
FC 11 M-10
14
E.W. "Roy" Miller
The Vanishing Lady
I saw her in a crowded room.
Wild Prairie Roses: A Collection of Verse by North Dakotans
Shirley J. Mikkelson
FC 11 M-11
71
Ruth E. Glinz
Young man form Dakota
There was a young man from Dakota
Dakota, Toyota, young man.
A Cowboy on the Last Frontier
FC 11 M-24
96
Bill May
Thanksgiving Day at Cow Camp
Thanksgiving day at Cow Camp, 'stead of turkey
food, holiday, celebration, stew
Fair Girls and Gray Horses
FC 11 O-12
45
Will H. Ogilvie
Good-Bye
Here, on the broken strings of Love's mute harp, Across the withered flowers of all dead dreams, Give me your hand and take my last farewell! One glance of love! the last from those dear eyes
Along Old Trails: Poems of New Mexico and Arizona
FC 11 S-06
37
William Haskell Simpson
Hopi Love Song
Was it a flute
Bitterbrush Country: Living on the Edge of the Land
FC 11 P-31
195
Diane Josephy Peavy
Coco in Baja
Arizona Women: Weird, Wild and Wonderful
FC 11 J-16
99
Dee Strickland Johnson
Kissin' Jenny
My name is Kissin' Jenny and I've earned it, don't you know. I'm the foremost Prescott girl of my profession. The Maricopa County gents all treated me to drinks on the eve of that big shindig of a session.
Spur Tracks & Buffalo Chips: Cowboy Verse and Country Chartling
FC 11 S-19
68
Bob Schild
Esther
High in the Mesa Verde, where state corners meet in four,
City Cattle: Humorous Western Political Satire
FC 11 J-06
58
Derwin J. Jeffries
Laugh it Off Little Doggie
I reckon I ain't never seen.
victim, Laugh it off, injury
The Blueberry Roan
FC 11 L-17
20
Bill Lowman
Why Some Cowpokes Cuss
Suppose you get ta wonderin'.
Sagebrush Classics: Pure Wyoming 'Stuph'
Betsy Bernfeld
FC 11 B-53
Cowboy Poetry: Horse Tracks Through The Sage
FC 11 H-47
92
Sunny Hancock
The Horse Camp Gate
A friend of mine told me this story and I'll pass it on to you. He wasn't no great hand for lying so I guess it's probably true. Said we was working' for Taft Miller in the foothills of the Steens. It wasn't any get-rich outfit, thirty-five a month and beans.
Missouri Cowboy Poetry
Leroy Watts
FC 11 M-46
161
John D. "Jay" Jones
Rodeo Clown
It was a small town rodeo
Charlie Goodnight: His Life in Poetry & Song
FC 11 G-24
19
Andy Wilkinson
Charles Goodnight First Looking Into Palo Duro Canyon
He ran him the last mile, then pulled up short; Of the brittle rim, loosed the reins and eased.