National Day of the Cowboy December Newsletter

I am gratified to report that we opened our new gift shop and office in the Historic Railroad District of Willcox, Arizona, in early December. We have big dreams for a museum of our own too, where we can display all of the memorabilia, photos and documents we’ve accumulated over the previous two and a half years. Our thanks to the Willcox Chamber of Commerce, the town council, the generous folks at the Rex Allen Museum, the Willcox Events Committee, Mayor Woody Johnson and to all the friendly citizens of this great Western heritage town. Everyone has made us feel welcome and right at home.

We found there is a strong focus on preserving Western heritage in Willcox. According to Mayor Johnson, “Willcox is in a growth mode and although we encourage and welcome new business, we do feel it’s equally important for Willcox to honor and preserve its ranching and Cowboy legacy.” In fact, the National Day of the Cowboy Headquarters is on a well preserved historic city block along with the Rex Allen Museum, the Rex Allen Theater, the Palace Saloon and the oldest mercantile in Arizona still doing business in its original location, the Willcox Commercial. If you’re interested in Earp family history, the building on the east corner of Railroad Avenue, once known as the Headquarters Saloon, is legendary as the place where Warren Earp was shot and killed on July 6, 1900. Warren is buried in a cemetery not far from Railroad Park. In the 1930s, the railroad transformed Willcox into a major supplier of cattle when up to 50,000 head shipped out of town each year.

Fans and friends have been asking if we’ll have a grand opening for the store, so we’re thinking about doing that in the spring. In the meantime, please stop by and introduce yourselves when you’re in the area. I know many of you head to Arizona’s southeast territory to visit legendary Western landmarks like Bisbee and Tombstone, but keep in mind that we’d love to see you in Willcox too and we’re intent on preserving authentic Western heritage for you here as well.

Bethany Braley
Publisher

Desert Cowboys in Iraq

                            
What's New?
Our Desert Cowboys returned from Iraq earlier this year, but half of them will be deployed to Afghanistan in January. Russell Anderson, leader of the Desert Cowboys and Cowboy Crew, says he’s doing well and feels he’s ready to move out again. He reports that the other half of the Cowboys were discharged upon returning to the states from Iraq. Russell is taking the National Day of the Cowboy flag which they flew over their quarters in Iraq, with him to fly in Afghanistan. He has offered to fly additional National Day of the Cowboy flags there if any of you would like to purchase one which has flown with our troops. If you’re interested in doing that, email  info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com and we’ll arrange to send your flag to Russell. Russell will send it back to you after it has flown over our soldiers there.
        
Our flags are nylon, screen printed with our official logo and still MADE IN THE USA. Fringed flags are $140 and grommet flags are $130. The grommet flags do not have fringe and are better suited for extended outdoor display.

Russell Anderson also maintains the website for the Thomas Ranch and Cowboy Crew. You can keep tabs on the Desert Cowboys by visiting Russell’s Cowboy Crew site.

Zane Mead hopes to jumpstart our building acquisition fund with his oil painting of longhorn cattle belonging to his New Mexico neighbors. He is donating 25% of the painting’s sale price to the National Day of the Cowboy. His painting, Longhorn Buddies, is priced at $2,500. Zane’s work has been featured in Western Horseman, Vamanos!, Kudos, Southwestern Art and many other fine publications. In addition, Zane’s art is carried by the prestigious Joan Cawley Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is exhibited at the Hubbard Museum of the American West. As a member of a three-generation ranching family, Zane frequently donates his artistic talents to benefit nonprofit organizations working to preserve Cowboy heritage. If you’re interested in purchasing Zane’s beautiful original oil to support our work, please email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com.

We especially want to thank Corene Schwab for her generous financial support of our organization throughout 2007. We've also benefitted from Corene's artistic talents when she donated the proceeds from the sale of one her paintings to our website fund. 
 
There is still time in 2007 to send a tax deductible contribution to our organization before the year’s end. We depend on your donations and the purchase of our products to continue promoting the National Day of the Cowboy around the world and to continue campaigning for its permanent passage, so please consider us when you are looking for the benefit of a tax deduction which supports Western preservation at the same time. We are a 501(c)3 organization so our new URL will be www.nationaldayofthecowboy.org.

In 2007 there were Cowboy Day proclamations from many governors, including New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Maine, and Georgia. The more proclamations there are, the stronger the case we can build that there is national interest in a special day for the Cowboy. If you’d like a to request a proclamation for a 2008 Cowboy Day from your governor, city, or county, we can provide you with sample text if you like, simply email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com.
        
Thanks again to “Bronco Sue” (Lu Lyn Bratcher) for the fabulous custom made cowgirl hat she created for me. Bronco Sue is the official hat maker for the National Day of the Cowboy. She also makes the classic hats worn by Royal Wade Kimes, one of our national spokespersons. Stop by her store when you’re in Ruidoso Downs or Tularosa, New Mexico. If you can’t get to New Mexico, you can always order a hat from Lu Lyn at www.broncosuehats.com.

Historic Rex Allen Theater - Willcox, Arizona

On the Event Trail

Cowboys at Heart - February 9, 2008
We’re working with the Rex Allen Museum staff on our first co-fundraising event to be held in Willcox. Cowboys at Heart will take place February 9, 2008. Plans include live western music, a silent auction, a raffle, a progressive dinner and a screening of the Emmy nominated rodeo documentary, “Let er Buck” at the historic Rex Allen Theater. Prior to the movie, the film's producer, Lance Valdespino, will describe some of the unusual experiences he had while researching and producing the film. Because there are a finite number of seats available in the theater, the number of tickets for the event will have to be limited so advance reservations are strongly encouraged. Tickets for this fun and educational evening are expected to be $22 per person and will include dinner, one complimentary beverage, the movie and live music. Proceeds benefit both the Rex Allen Museum and the National Day of the Cowboy nonprofit organizations.

Email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com for further details about Cowboys at Heart and to place your name on the reservation list. Also, email us if you’d like to make a financial donation to the event, or if you’d like to donate items for the raffle or the silent auction. Western dress is encouraged, so as an added "Cowboy incentive,” every raffle ticket buyer who wears both a Cowboy hat and Cowboy boots to the event, will receive five additional raffle tickets compliments of the Rex Allen Museum and the National Day of the Cowboy.

We know there are many of you from out of town who plan to attend our Cowboys at Heart fundraiser, so we’ve  arranged a discounted room rate for attendees at the newly renovated Sunset Motel, scheduled to open in Willcox in January. The Sunset will feature sleep number beds, big screen TV and free internet access. The Sunset Motel is also the proud home of the official Rex Allen Suite.

The Friends of Marty Robbins - March 22, 2008
The Friends of Marty Robbins event will be held in Willcox on Saturday, March 22. The day long celebration includes two concerts; one at 1PM and the other at 7PM. Proceeds benefit the Marty Robbins Museum which is relocating to Willcox from its previous home in Glendale, Arizona. The organization works to keep Marty’s incredible music and memory alive. Three Wheel Drive, one of the very finest country swing bands ever to cover a Marty Robbins or Bob Wills number, will be headlining the show. You will not want to miss this concert! Additional family oriented activities are planned throughout the day in Willcox’s Historic Railroad District. Email ytram@powerc.net for more details on this annual tribute to Marty Robbins.

Texas Independence Day Gala - March 1 at 7PM
Richard Linnartz tells us there will be a Texas Independence Day Gala at the Texas Cowboy Museum & Hall of Fame in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards on March 1 at 7PM. The event will celebrate the 172nd Anniversary of Texas Freedom. The festivities include a tribute to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. On March 2nd there will be a reenactment of General Sam Houston's reading of Colonel Travis’ letter from the Alamo pleading for help, as well as  the firing of Travis' cannon signaling “no surrender” to the demands of Santa Anna, and the Mexican soldiers firing rifles as the 2,000 Mexican Regular Army which stormed the Alamo killing all 187 volunteers. The reenactment will take place on the front lawn of the Exchange Building, also in the Stockyards. The Cowtown Opry will be there to sing the "Song of the Alamo." Call 817-521-4969 or 817-233-5068 for more information.
 
Don’t forget to send us your Cowboy Day photos or Cowboy flag photos for posting on our Picture Trails webpage or www.myspace.com/nationaldayofthecowboy. Be sure to include names, dates and descriptions when you email the photos! Write us at Myspace if you’d like to be a saddle pal.

Priddle's National Day of the Cowboy Garden
I proudly announced in the November News that Bob Priddle's National Day of the Cowboy Garden won the Silver Gilt Award at the Royal Welsh Garden show held in the United Kingdom in July. The above image is one of the photographs Bob sent of his spectacular garden, including the chuckwagon he built from old barn wood. He was also kind enough to give me the sign from his Cowboy garden, which read on the right, “A Garden to Celebrate the National Day of the Cowboy,” On the left side, he wrote those words in Welsh and I thought you’d like to see that as well. “Gardd I ddathlu Dydd Cenedlaethol y Cowboi.” Bob did a magnificent job of bringing international attention to our cause. He is currently working on the garden atop the Rockefeller Center in New York. Thanks again Bob for your heartwarming global tribute to the National Day of the Cowboy!
 
Spain
Albert Roch, of Dimelo Country in Spain, has been an enthusiastic supporter of the National Day of the Cowboy since we first began. Albert broadcasts an internet radio show from Spain in which he plays only Western music or traditional country. Check out Albert’s broadcast and send him your CDs if you’re inclined to be heard by his many listeners in Spain and around the globe.
       

Italy
Italy’s Toni Olmetti emailed to tell us they held a Cowboy Day celebration in Rome this fall. Their event celebrated Cowboy actors and western movies. American and Italian actors, directors and writers participated in the event. One of the feature presentations was a documentary on the career of legendary actor, Harry Carey Jr., who co-starred in eleven John Wayne movies and was a real cowboy growing up on his father’s ranch in California before becoming an actor.
 

Toni signed off with, “How about that Pilgrim?" 

Heritage Sentinel

      
Western Mercantile
We’ll have art quality prints of Zane Mead’s Heritage Sentinel available for purchase in 2008. Wyoming photographer, Matt Idler, arranged a photo shoot with Senator Craig Thomas for us on the National Day of the Cowboy in 2006. He snapped an image of the senator riding horseback carrying the National Day of the Cowboy flag in front of the Wyoming State Capitol. Mead then employed his artistic talents to create “Heritage Sentinel,” a majestic portrait of Senator Thomas based on Matt’s photograph. Email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com if you’d like to place an advance order for this historic print of the Senator who first championed the Cowboy Day. 

We have a limited number of the 2006 and 2007 National Day of the Cowboy membership pins available for purchase. The collectible pins are $5 each.

It’s not too late to order your 2007 National Day of the Cowboy Montana Silversmiths belt buckle. It’s a spectacular limited edition heavy silver buckle. I wear mine everywhere I go and it never fails to elicit compliments. The sterling buckle retails for $140 and can be ordered  by email. The sale of each buckle supports the work of the our organization.

Don’t forget we also offer the official 2005 and 2007 National Day of the Cowboy limited edition Hatch Show Prints, prints of Cowboy Keepers, kid’s tee-shirts, ladies tank tops, the Rockmount Ranch Wear silk tie, and two styles of the National Day of the Cowboy flag for purchase. Any one of these would make a great Christmas gift. We auction many of our products on ebay, but if you can’t find the one you want there, just send us an email. Product sales help defray costs for printing, office supplies, event expenses, bank fees, phone bills, internet charges, newsletter services, utilities, etc. In addition, we’ve recently started a building acquisition fund to construct a National Day of the Cowboy Museum for you someday.

Prints of “Cowboy Keepers,” Zane Mead’s 2006 tribute to the National Day of the Cowboy, are available for purchase by email ($10). We still have prints in stock which are signed by Mead.

Email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com to order any of our promotional products.

National Day of the Cowboy Projects
Since we have relocated, we’ve decided to revise our brochure to include our new physical address and new web address. Also, there will be a few changes to the 2008 resolution statistics and those will be included in our updated media as well. The new brochure will be ready in January.

We’ve begun preliminary planning for our “Cowboy Heritage Art Project™” (CHAP) designed as an educational art project to benefit and promote Western art, Western artists, and the National Day of the Cowboy. Watch for further details in the next National Day of the Cowboy News.

Scottsdale, Arizona’s Longhorn Media Productions is supporting our work by donating 30% of their Let ‘er Buck DVD ebay sales to the National Day of the Cowboy. This is an excellent documentary film covering rodeo’s earliest and most exciting days up to the 1940s. Let ‘er Buck was nominated for an Emmy after airing on PBS. You probably know someone who would love to find this film under their Christmas tree, so please consider purchasing a copy from ebay and help us meet our funding goals. We are looking for grant money to be able to show this film in schools as a unique element of American history.

2007 Limited Edition Teal Blake Hatch Show Print $12

   

   
                
Volunteer Ranch Hands
Cheryl Harvey Hill does a great job managing  www.Myspace.com/nationaldayofthecowboy for us while we orchestrate our new website. Visit our Myspace for more information about our work and to sign up to be an official supporting member of our organization. Visit Picture Trails to see more of our photos too.

New Mexico volunteer, Kay Cochran, will be helping us continue to support our troops, the Desert Cowboys, when they arrive in Afghanistan. In the past, we’ve worked with Fastback Ropes, Western Jubilee Recording, Starline Brass, Royal Wade Kimes and Dakota Livesay (Chronicle of the Old West) to have the National Day of the Cowboy flag, ropes, western music and western publications sent to the Cowboys while they were in Iraq. With Kay’s help we can also help the troops in Afghanistan who’ve told us the one thing they want more than anything are prepaid phone cards for calling home. Russell Anderson remembers that they also loved the western music they received. If you’d like to help support our Desert Cowboys, email info@nationaldayofthecowboy and we’ll put you in touch with Kay.

Like many nonprofits we are fortunate to have a number of dedicated volunteers, but we do have a wish list for more. Our current needs include a website photo editor, help in our new store, a public relations expert,  folks to help with publicity, marketing, Western heritage education projects, technical support, legal counsel, fundraising wizards, grant writers, a bookkeeper, radio people, TV and photography personnel. Please email info@natioaldayofthecowboy.com if you’d like to volunteer your skills, services or expertise.

2007 Membership Pin

          

Western Connections & Bunkhouse Culture
Zane Mead has begun work on a 2008 tribute painting for the National Day of the Cowboy. Watch for its arrival in early 2008. Zane is also drawing the art for the 2008 commemorative Hatch which we hope to have available by February 2008. The 2008 image will feature a steer roping based on an image by photographer Jason Cupp, taken at a Cave Creek team roping event. This will be the fourth Hatch in our official National Day of the Cowboy series. With the exception of the 2005 Hatch, all of our Hatch posters have original art designed by Western artists exclusively for the National Day of the Cowboy. Send us an email if you'd like to order your 2008 Hatch in advance and be the first to receive one when they arrive.

If you’re interested in supporting the preservation of America’s cattle ranches, you’ll want to read an astounding book entitled, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” written by author Michael Pollan. This book brings to light a myriad of serious issues related to our food choices, including environmental, political, economic and health concerns, caused in part by our current corn fed, cattle-crammed feedlot practices. In addition, these alarming problems are likely to be exacerbated as we move toward increased dependence on ethanol based fuel (causing competition for corn and thus changing more and more of our farms into corn growing dynasties). The Omnivore’s Dilemma is clear, concise, well researched, extremely engaging and very easy to follow.

“Michael Pollan is a voice of reason, a journalist/philosopher who forages in the overgrowth of our schizophrenic food culture. He’s the kind of teacher we probably all wish we had: one who triggers the little explosions of insight that change the way we eat and the way we live.”
                                                   —Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse restaurant
       
On a related topic, the Arizona Department of Transportation recently announced that the population of Arizona is projected to be 16 million people by the year 2050! Arizonans always worry about their limited water supply, but another question is, “If we keep turning our farms and ranches into highway pavement, housing and mega-stores, where are we going to get the food for that many people?” Oh that’s right; we’re already dependent on foreign countries for our energy needs, our clothes, toys, shoes and electronics, and a huge percentage of our food. I guess we’re being conditioned to get used to the idea that one day we’ll be dependent on foreign countries for ALL of our food. (What is ours anymore?)

Supporting Membership
Board member Gloria Duncan of Caribou, Maine, is our Membership Chairperson. Her love of Western heritage combined with her organizational skills keeps our membership program growing. Our membership form can be downloaded from our Myspace site. Membership benefits include a new membership pin each year, a 20% discount on all of our products (except the flag), a 10% discount on subscriptions to Chronicle of the Old West, and a membership card. Email us to join us as an official supporting member.

Musicians’ Campfire
Dave Stamey just released a new CD recorded live at Tales From the Tavern; “It's Just a State of Mind." Last month the Western Music Association honored Dave with the Male Vocalist of the Year and the Songwriter of the Year Award. You can order a copy of the Dave's new CD on his website. We also have a good selection of Dave's CDs available for purchase in our store. Thanks for sending those to us Dave! We're working to build up our stock of quality Western music and traditional country in our gift shop.

Many of you asked about the ethereal harmonica music which played on the home page of our original website. I recently learned it was the work of diatonic harmonica master, Frank Bard of Ohio, so I contacted Frank to talk with him about our organization and he has agreed to let us use his music on our new website as well. If you’d like to get a copy of that beautifully haunting track, “Muddy Waters,”, or if you’d like to hear more of Frank’s excellent music, you’ll find sound clips at www.ctcn.net/~febard/. Muddy Waters is on “Harmonica from the Heartland.”

London's favorite Cowboy cabby - Kevin Dedman

Swing Riders
Odds & Ends is a new store on North Cave Creek Road in Cave Creek, Arizona. The store owners, Michelle Muller and handy-man Jim Hawker, accept donations of art, dishes, antiques and small items for sale in the store. Fifty percent of the proceeds from each sale is distributed among nonprofits that sign up with the store. If you make a purchase at Odds & Ends, you can direct your donation to the National Day of the Cowboy.

In addition, Michelle has her own nonprofit organization, ASAP, which she recently relocated to Amy Ganley’s Apache Peak Equestrian Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Michelle's ASAP program utilizes horses to help enrich the lives of autistic children and their families. She will also be working at Apache Peak to bring a broader dimension to her operation in which ASAP’s team coaching approach will no longer be strictly limited to autistic kids. Michelle will be pairing horses and individuals, with the objective of promoting the client's personal growth through building a relationship with the horse. A person's energy transitions into a horse, then the horse responds by giving it back to you. For this reason, building a kinship with a horse holds the potential to become a self-revealing, personally empowering experience.

Michelle's expanded program will be individualized for each horse and rider in a way that enhances communication between the two. Michelle and Amy both believe that horses, by nature, help you reconnect with your inner power, so working with a horse can become a personal motivational tool. As Amy notes, "You can’t fool a horse; they always reflect your inner state back to you, and although a horse will give you a second chance if you don’t get it right the first time, you must always earn their respect."

Ganley’s Apache Peak Equestrian Center has also joined forces with James Owen, founder of the Center for Cowboy Ethics. The center is a natural outgrowth of his highly successful book, “Cowboy Ethics." Through their alliance, Ganley and Owen plan to create functions and events at Apache Peak, utilizing Cowboy Coaching, to promote embracing of the cowboy code, a set of values they believe all Americans can share and benefit from as the legacy of the cowboy. A driving force behind their work is their mutual belief that the honor and courage of the Cowboy teaches us to live with heart.

Amy's affiliation with the Center for Cowboy Ethics includes facilitating the work of James Owen as a public speaker on the topic of his books, Cowboy Ethics and Cowboy Values. Ganley, who whole-heartedly supports the work and message of both ASAP and the Center for Cowboy Ethics, says she is backing them because the believes, “We can all be heroes in our everyday lives, just like the Cowboy.” Amy admits she is thrilled to be in a position which enables her to support nonprofit organizations whose work she feels represents the potential to be an agent for positive transformation.

Contact Michelle Muller at www.asapranch.com/ for additional information on either of her enterprises. Contact Amy Ganley about her work with the Center for Cowboy Ethics at 480-329-2379.

Giveline, a nonprofit shopping site, needs your support to succeed and to continue sending donation checks to its worthy causes. They are able to give a high percentage of their product margin (six times higher than charity malls) to charities because they don't spend money on advertising. Instead, they rely on your efforts - word of mouth, e-mail campaigns, website links, etc.- to get shoppers into the Giveline store. Surely there is someone on your list who needs a book, DVD, music, digital camera, or gift basket.

Please, supporters and board members, make just one purchase this week at www.giveline.com and choose the National Day of the Cowboy as the charity you want to receive the donation. You will be doing a great thing to help Giveline and contribute to the greater good of the nonprofit community. My sincerest thanks for shopping on Giveline and selecting us as your charity of choice!

Arizona freelance writer, Sam Lowe, wandered into our new store this week and began asking questions about the National Day of the Cowboy. Even though I talked his ear off, he is still considering submitting our story to Arizona Highways Magazine. If his piece is accepted, you’ll get a more in-depth picture of Willcox, the Rex Allen Museum, the Marty Robbins Museum and the National Day of the Cowboy Headquarters.

Cowboy Keepers
John Brannick Riggs is a third generation ranch family member from the Willcox area whose grandfather is a member of the Arizona Cowboy Hall of Fame. “Bran” as he is known to family and friends, happens to have a passion for Western preservation. In fact, one of the many projects he is currently working on includes the restoration of both the Sands and the Sunset, “Route 66 style” motels in Willcox. As part of his preservation project, Bran has also decided to restore Rex Allen’s personal two-story suite at the Sunset Motel. He’s obtained photographs of the rooms where Rex stayed whenever he came to town, and he’s also working closely with Rex Allen Jr. to ensure that he makes the suite as historically accurate as possible. It won’t be long now before you can come to town and bunk in Rex's authentic Cowboy Suite. Our hats are off to Brannick Riggs, a  conscientious Keeper of Cowboy tradition.

If you know of a worthy preservation effort you'd like to see mentioned in our newsletter, please send us an email about the project. The email subject should be "Cowboy Keeper."

To sign up for the National Day of the Cowboy News, email info@nationaldayofthecowboy.com
or write to us at
National Day of the Cowboy, 162 N Railroad Avenue, Willcox, Arizona 85643

National Day of the Cowboy 501(c)3 2007 Board of Directors
Jane Bischoff, Arizona - Treasurer
Gloria Duncan, Maine - Secretary
Corene Schwab, Texas - 2nd Vice-chairman of the Board
Steve Kuivenhoven, Tennessee - Vice-chairman of the Board
Bethany Braley, Arizona - Chairman of the Board