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
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
484
The Hayseed
I was once a tool of oppression.
Sawdust & Shavin's
FC 11 S-11
102
Shep Smith
The Contestant
Fisherman for words
West of East
FC 11 H-17
32
Harry Elmore Hurd
The Grand Canyon of Arizona
A man could not see more of loveliness and live.
beauty, national park, rock, stone, river, nature, wonder, light
Pocket Full of Rhyme
FC 11 M-35
5
J. Morgan
Winter Dreams
Spires wrapped in ermine down
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
91
The Gold Digger's Lament
I am going far away from my creditors just now.
Uncle Sam, mines, gold
Fair Girls and Gray Horses
FC 11 O-12
27
Will H. Ogilvie
His Gippsland Girl
Now, money was scarce and work was slack And Love to his heart crept in, And he rode away on the Northern track To war with the World and win;
Spur Tracks & Buffalo Chips: Cowboy Verse and Country Chartling
FC 11 S-19
70
Bob Schild
Mother's Love
Oh, how precious the mother's love,
Cowboy Poetry: Classic Rhymes by S. Omar Barker (1894-1985)
Jodie and Bob Phillips
FC 11 B-44
101
S. Omar Barker
Curly Wofe College
I went up to college and they asked me what I knowed; To justify embarkin' on the education road.
Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work, 4th edition
FC 11 G-08
Raoul Graumont and John Hensel
not a poem collection, folkways, braiding
The Cowboy Life in Short Stories and Poems
FC 11 M-19
23
J'Wayne "Mac" McArthur
Those Colored Eggs
not a poem
Cactus Center Poems
FC 11 C-06
77
Arthur Chapman
The Fifty-Eighter
"I came," said the stranger, "in fifty-eight."
Bret Harte, train, stranger
Rhymes o' a Driftin' Cowboy
FC 11 H-01
1
Chuck Haas
Hyar's Hopin'
Folks, I ain't no poet.
poetry, fun, enjoyment, cowland stories, cowboy lingo, range life, roping
Prairie Wife
FC 11 E-20
13
Elizabeth Ebert
Antique Auction
One dollar, two dollars, Who'll make it three? Come seek an antique At auction with me. We'll wade in nostalgia Up to our ears.
Poems: Ridin' Fence
FC 11 A-09
77
Vic Anderson
Old George
He'd worked for my dad for quite a few years, Calving and lambing and wrangling for shearers.
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.
From the Pages of Her Heart
FC 11 M-28
11
Frances May Dorr Wheeler
Moments to Remember
Memories are the thoughts that come to us all as we mark the passing of days.
Wyoming's Rancher Poet: Timothy Mahoney
Tim Nicholas
FC 11 M-01
10
Timothy Mahoney
A Thought for September
They're on their way to school, again.
Downwind O' Cows: A Collection of California Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 O-04
34
Chip O'Brien
Never Give a Cowboy Credit
This all started when they sent me a MasterCard, for my good credit standin' or so they said
debt, credit cards, money
A Rancher's Writings
FC 11 S-07
8
Harold D. Sloan
The Change
When young we rode with reckless spurs
Golden Thoughts of Arizona Poems, Legends, and Ballads
FC 11 T-03
16
Gene Taylor
Sedona
As I write in this book lines of good ol' Arizona,
Scribblings
FC 11 R-42
1
Norman Edward Rourke
Sunshine on the Prairie
Sunshine on the prairie brings joy to the heart, The cowboys are up and ready to start
Signature of the Sun: Southwest Verse, 1900-1950
Mabel Major and T.M. Pearce
FC 11 M-02
107
Arthur Chapman
The Last Drift
I've sold the old ranch, stock and all.
The Cowboy in Verse & Photography
FC 11 M-06
23
J'Wayne McArthur
A Cowboy's Reshoeing
Now my boots were worn out clean to the ankle.
Charles Badger Clark Poetry from The Pacific Monthly
FC 11 C-26
31
Charles Badger Clark
Good-Bye, Old Forty-Five
The trials are safe; old foes forgot; We've shook the law of gun and dirk.
Ranch Tales of the Rockies
FC 11 E-03
53
Harry Ellard
Lanky Bill and the Parson
In the good old days of `89.
mining, prospecting, fight, law, saloon, gambling, drink, parson, church, Sabbath, meeting house, money