Featured: Heritage of the American West with Jim Thompson Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch www.CowboyPoetry.com

August-October, 2010
August 26, 2010 Juni Fisher
September 16, 2010 Open Range
October 21, 2010 Bob Petermann and Owen Badgett

August 26, 2010

The Anniversary Performance of the Heritage of the American West set for Thursday, August 26th, is proud to showcase the Rodeo Cowgirl! A rich legacy of performing cowgirls from the early 20th century can be found right here and we're bringing it—in the form of guest museum exhibits, special cowgirl guests, documentary film makers and movies and cowgirl entertainer, Juni Fisher.

The Tri-State Museum of Belle Fourche, South Dakota (that provided this standout photo of Helen Rue at the Black Hills Roundup) counts Mable Strickland and others in its collections. From Newell, South Dakota, the Newell Museum joins us with its western collections. And the facility where our home stage is located, the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish, South Dakota, offers permanent exhibits that include exclusive items of Mattie Goff Newcombe, Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns, the Toupe Sisters, Marilyn Freimark (the first Miss Rodeo America) and more.

Invitations are being extended to many of these cowgirls who will be in the seats the night of this special performance of, "Let 'er Go, Let 'er Buck, Let 'er Fly!" ...the anniversary event for the Heritage of the American West Performance Series.

Tickets for the Heritage Performance Series Anniversary Show are $7 for seniors/kids and $12 for adults and are available at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish, South Dakota, or by calling 605-642-WEST (9378).

July, 2010
Heritage of the American West Performance Series presents "Way Out West," a 90-minute live stage show (which also airs later on KBHB 810AM Five State Ranch Radio, Sturgis, South Dakota and KBFS 1450 AM & KYDT 103.1 FM The Country Twins, Belle Fourche, South Dakota).

Held in the Heritage Theater at the High Plains Western Heritage Center in Spearfish, the show is set for Thursday, July 15th and features rising stars in the cowboy western music industry, Richard Lee Cody and Mary Kaye of Heber, Utah.
The pre-show exhibit and reception begins at 6 PM with "Headin' West," the story of wagon trains and trail drives dating from the mid-1800s to present day. This special exhibit includes memorabilia and western collectibles representing collections from five states. Special guest is Jerry Croft of historic Croft Saddlery....saddlemaker to the stars!
Show time is 7 PM with original western singer/songwriters Richard Lee Cody and Mary Kaye.
Admission includes touring the High Plains Western Heritage Center, the premiere cowboy, western and pioneer museum in the Northern Black Hills.
Tickets are Seniors/Kids $7 and Adults $10.
Call the Heritage Center for more information and tickets, 605-642-9378.

May, 2010

photograph © Lori Faith Merritt, www.photographybyfaith.com
Kerry Grombacher

The Road Less Traveled….
Troubadour Tour Covering Six States Debuts On Heritage Stage

The Main Street of North America is in the Heartland; home to hearty souls, colorful characters and more than one salty tale. And between Canada and the Republic of Mexico is a single ribbon of highway where a traveler will find it.

U.S. Highway 281 begins at the International Peace Gardens in North Dakota, then covers the ground that the Lewis & Clark Expedition traveled over in South Dakota. It takes those on the road less traveled to the world’s largest shamrock in Nebraska and on to the Home on the Range in Kansas where the song originated, to the Indian Capital of the Nation in Oklahoma and finally to the famous wildflowers and cultural border towns of Texas.

Now imagine that journey in song.

“Seeing it through your windshield is like watching an ever-changing canvas,” says western and folk singer/songwriter Kerry Grombacher of his Hwy 281 Troubadour Tour, “the open range and farm ground of North and South Dakota, Nebraska’s Sand Hills and Kansas’ Gypsum Hills, the prairie of Oklahoma and the Hill Country of Texas.” Traveling the mostly two-lane highway through rural America, Grombacher sees his role as one of a modern-day troubadour. “In taking stories in song from town to town, it’s a reminder to us all that there are others who have stories to share from places much like our own—wherever we might call home.”

The Heritage of the American West Performance Series will host the debut performance of the US Highway 281 Troubadour Tour, as Grombacher sets his sites on The Buffalo City (Jamestown, ND) to begin an 1,800 mile odyssey of exploring rural America...in music.

Set for Thursday, May 20, 2010 at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish, the 90 minute live stage performance begins at 7 p.m., and also features a pre-show exhibit and reception beginning at 6:00 p.m.

A book signing with educator, historian and author Donovin Sprague will introduce his newest book in the Images of America Series, titled Ziebach County: 1920 – 2010. Sprague, a recent nominee to the prestigious USA Artist Fellowship, has also traced and recorded the histories of four Plains Indians Tribes as well as the history of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. In addition to the Ziebach County centennial edition, he was a contributor to the Timber Lake: 1910-2010 Images of America centennial edition.

The Heritage of the American West Hwy 281 Troubadour Tour debut performance and Images of America book signing will open its doors at 6 p.m. at the Heritage Center. Tickets are $7 for seniors/kids and $12 for adults. For more information, call 605-642-9378.

The live debut performance of the Highway 218 Troubadour Tour will be broadcast on Thursday, May 27th on KBFS 1450 AM (Belle Fourche, SD) and KYDT 103.1 FM (Sundance, WY) at 6 p.m. and on Saturday, May 29th on KBHB 810AM at 1:05 p.m. (both Mountain time).

April, 2010

The celebration of Cowboy Poetry Week, April 18 – 24 is to not only mark the history of a time-honored form of storytelling, but to also recognize today’s voices of the working West.

The Heritage of the American West Performance Series puts that at the top of its list all year long, bringing the music, poetry and song of the Great American Cowboy to audiences from across the region with its monthly live stage shows.

During Cowboy Poetry Week, its performance set for Thursday, April 22 and titled “Cowboy Culture” brings original sounds of the West to the stage with South Dakota’s Original Singing Cowboys and award winning cowboy poet Slim McNaught.

Held at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish, the show includes a pre-event exhibit and reception that begins at 6 p.m. The Center’s newest collection will be featured. Titled “Women of the West,” it represents a large collection of original oil paintings by Carol Cox. Also in the line up of historical displays will be the Russ Madison Collection. Madison, a nominee to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, is regarded as the individual who brought organized rodeo to the Black Hills region.

Show time is at 7 p.m. with South Dakota’s Original Singing Cowboys, the Heritage Cowboys, a trio of professional musicians dedicated to the presentation and preservation of the music of the Old West. Led since 1977 by Old West Trails Foundation award winner Jim Lovell, the Cowboys have performed on A Prairie Home Companion and other National Public Radio shows. Their music portrays the strength, quiet faith, humor and tragedy faced each day as ancestors pioneered west across America.

Academy of Westerns Artists award-winning poet, Slim McNaught, New Underwood, writes and performs poetry that reflects a lifetime of cowboying. His performances have been enjoyed on RFD-TV and at the Western Music Association Festival. His latest CD, titled Reminiscin' (he has published five books and two CDs) was selected as the top Cowboy Poetry Album by the AWA in 2009.

Tickets are $7 for seniors/kids and $12 for adults. Call the Center to order at 605-642-9378.

An encore performance of Heritage of the American West and “Cowboy Culture” can be heard, Wednesday, April 28^th at 6PM (mt) on KBFS 1450AM, Belle Fourche, SD and KYDT103.1FM, Sundance, WY and on Saturday, May 1^st at 1:06PM (mt) on KBHB 810AM, Sturgis, SD.

Cowboy Poetry, Song on Heritage Stage During Cowboy Poetry Week!

While the story of famed cowboy poet and National Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee Georgie Sicking of Kaycee, Wyoming played on the big screen in the Founder's Hall, a steady stream of people browsed an extensive display of official documents and memorabilia, celebrating Cowboy Poetry Week.

As South Dakota's original singing cowboys—the Heritage Cowboys—and Academy of Western Artist award-winning cowboy poet Slim McNaught finished last minute sound checks before appearing to a packed house, show goers enjoyed the classic, glass framed poster from the 1987 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, with pictures of all performing poets from that year.

Vintage and heirloom quilts (some dating to the mid 1800's) and steamer trunks accompanied the "Women of the West" exhibit featuring original oil paintings by Colorado artist, Carol Cox. Turn of the century vintage clothing, antique silver tea services provided by High Plains Western Heritage Center volunteers graced tables especially prepared for the coming Mother's Day weekend. Included were first edition western books, published by early day Plains women.

Contemporary offerings represented cowboy poets and western writers from the five state region of Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota and Nebraska and proved to be a popular draw with audiences.

"We titled this show, "Cowboy Culture" and I think we pretty much covered it," observed Heritage of the American West Performance Series producer Francie Ganje, wrapping up the April 22nd performance with a smile.

It all began earlier in the week with live, on-air interviews with Editor Margo Metegrano of CowboyPoetry.com, followed by more interviews with librarians in the Black Hills region where the focus was Cowboy Poetry Week and the Center for Cowboy and Western Poetry's Rural Library Project.

In addition, several libraries hosted cowboy poetry and western writing programs and displays throughout the week. "I think it was among the more visible Cowboy Poetry Week events we've had," says Heritage show producer Francie Ganje. "People from five states were in touch with state officials, all successful in securing official mentions. That, along with local events, really kept the focus on the recognition of the importance of 'hearing' the working voices of the west."

There were also community-wide presentations such as the one in Spearfish, S. D., where well known cowboy poet Slim McNaught, New Underwood, S. D. accepted the community's city-wide Proclamation. [read more about that below]

"It was definitely a group effort," says Ganje. " I'd have to extend a special thanks to Slim and Darlene McNaught who put so much time into this Heritage performance. They along with Executive Director Peggy Ables of the High Plains Western Heritage Center really did a wonderful job of putting the pieces together. It wouldn't have been the week-long list of great
events it was, without their expertise and help."

Artist and Heritage Center supporter Mavis Madison, cowboy poet Slim McNaught
and Executive Director of the Heritage Center, Peggy Ables.

March, 2010

Cowboy Irish Comes To The Heritage Stage

From the Celtic influence in buckaroo tunes to the Gaelic immigrants whose presence can still be felt in abandoned ghost towns in the Black Hills, the Irish/Scottish sounds and superstitions will all be a part of the Heritage of the American West presentation of “The Cowgirl and The Celt.”

The show is set for Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish, South Dakota. Pre-show activities begin at 5 PM and will take place in the Mining Exhibit Area where the story of gold, silver and coal exploration and immigrant expansion converge to tell part of the story of the settling of this region of the West.

A new book, titled Nuggets To Neutrinos: The Homestake Story will premiere with author Steven T. Mitchell on hand to discuss and autograph. In addition, a visual tour of ghost towns of the Black Hills will greet show goers.

“The Irish and Scots certainly have a big part in the evolution of cowboy music and in settling up the Black Hills,” says Heritage show producer, Francie Ganje. “For example, there is an interesting and entertaining story to be heard about the Molly / Conner Hog Fight that occurred in the now abandoned town of Galena in 1879.”

Add the traditional and original lyrics and melodies of The Prickly Pair & Cactus Chorale of Dubois, Wyoming, and you’d be hard pressed to add any more color to this performance….green or otherwise. Winners of multiple industry awards and nominated for six Western Music Association awards in 2009, Les and Locke Hamilton and bass player Norman Winter make up The Prickly Pair & Cactus Chorale. With a masterful handling of instruments and melodies, the trio lives up to the cowboy measure in music; big, original sounds, sounds that also appeal to folk fans by incorporating and melding Western, Swing, Bluegrass, Celtic and Gospel.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for seniors and kids and are available by calling the Heritage Center at 605-642-9378 and at the door.

February, 2010

Heritage of the American West Presents Prairie Idol: songs of the plains

Put two veteran performers on a stage.

Add an exhibit and reception on prairie skyscrapers.

The result is a live stage show representing musical and cultural icons for the upcoming performance of the Heritage of the American West.

Set for Thursday, February 18th, "Prairie Idol: songs of the plains" features the dynamic instrumentation and vocals of Boyd Bristow and Kenny Putnam, both who have played national and regional venues. The 90 minute performance is also broadcast on radio.

Doors open at 6:00 PM with an exhibit on historic barns and information from the popular Smithsonian Institute Barn Again Museum on Main Street Tour. The program was retired from service in 2006. But its selection in 2000 of the High Plains Western Heritage Center as one of only two locations in the state to be included in the Tour, insured the Center would retain materials and information that are as relevant today as they were during the Tour's eight year run.

Adding more localized flavor, Leo Orme of Spearfish will share select images from more than 2,000 barn photographs and history representing structures in Lawrence County that had been collected as part of the
original Barn Again display at the Center.

Show time is 7:00 PM with a great pairing of two musicians and entertainers, Boyd Bristow and Kenny Putnam. Red hot instrumentals and beautifully sung ballads is what the audience can expect to hear. Bristow' s most recent CD release, Cloudless Sky is a celebratory collection of folk, country, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. Putnam comes with his latest work Sure Beat Me, a collection laced with soul and swing. Kenny's string playing is well known. He toured and recorded with The Roy Clark Show for several years, appearing on The Grand Ol' Opry, The Tonight Show and HeeHaw regularly. Putnam has also been invited to the Smithsonian Institute to participate in The Festival of American Folklife, demonstrating violin-making and playing. He is a two-time South Dakota fiddle champ.

Ticket prices are $7 for seniors/kids and $12 for adults and are available at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish. Call 605-642-9378 for tickets.

December, 2009 program with Ken Cook and Bob Petermann:

Ken Cook and Bob Petermann

Bob Petermann and Ken Cook join the Live! With Jim Thompson Show on Thursday, December 17th at 1PM Mountain....just ahead of their evening performance at the Heritage of the American West!

From Francie Ganje 12/10/09:

Of Trains and Tales and Cowboys….
Heritage of the American West Performance Series Looks To A Brand New Year

All aboard the New Year Heritage Express when the Heritage of the American West Performance Series prepares to welcome in a New Year.

Set for Thursday, December 17, 2009 at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish, “The Heritage Continues” features award winning cowboy singer/songwriter Bob Petermann, Wibaux, Montana and cowboy poet Ken Cook, Martin, South Dakota. Both entertainers have produced multiple CD’s and books and have performed at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, presented by the Western Folklife Center.

“It was like getting an early present,” says Heritage show producer Francie Ganje. “When both of these veteran cowboy entertainers said yes to performing together and in the midst of winter no less, we’d be hard pressed to bring any greater talent to the stage to tell the story in cowboy music, poetry and song , of new beginnings.”

Discussions on the show theme brought the suggestion from Ken and his son to title it “The Heritage Continues.” He notes, “Folks are putting their heads, hands and hearts together to keep this show on the stage and on the air; lending a hand is how we do things. And we’re just ahead of a brand new year. The title seemed to fit.”

The pre-show exhibit and reception begins at 6:00 PM and explores the role of the steel rails in settling the West and the Black Hills. Visit with well known historians, collectors and authors and tour historic standing displays that are a part of the Center’s early-day transportation collections.

“Railroads were the artery in the settlement of the High Plains frontier,” notes Heritage Center Executive Director, Peggy Ables. “They brought people West and supplies and goods; those things that build a place.”

As the trains came West, it created and left lasting legacies along the way. It would turn early day communities like Belle Fourche into the cattle shipping capitol of the nation for a time. A diorama depicting that story can be viewed among the Heritage Center permanent exhibits.

“The tale of railroads in South Dakota and the Black Hills is fascinating,” observes historian, collector and train set builder Bill Fuller, of Spearfish, South Dakota. “I swear, half of the towns out there (the Plains of South Dakota) are named after wives, sweethearts, lovers, or directors who sat on transportation boards ….all with some association to the Milwaukee Railroad.”

A sampling of Fuller’s train sets will be on display including the 2010 New Year Heritage Express Locomotive. “It’s a festive passenger train,” says Fuller in his description, “pulled behind an old steam locomotive that is absolutely guaranteed to reawaken the nostalgia of traveling by train across this part of the country up to the mid-20^th Century …. not to mention the excitement many will recall of a train set under the Christmas tree!”

Additional features during the pre-show event include displays for the 1880 Train (which uses a portion of the original Burlington track from the late 1800’s) and the South Dakota State Railroad Museum, (also see Featured Events at: www.hillcitysd.com) a new attraction that will open in Spring 2010. Both are located in Hill City.

Also on hand will be wood artisan Lynn Hawkins, Sturgis, whose original barbwire collector boards and stirrup clocks will be on display and available for purchase.

The 90 minute live stage show (that airs on radio stations) gets underway at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $7 for seniors/kids and $10 for adults and includes admission into one of the region's premiere cowboy and pioneer museums. Call the Heritage Center for tickets at 605-642-9378.

For more information on this performance and the 2010 Heritage of the American West Performance Series, contact Ganje at 605-720-5968 or Email: heritageshow@gmail.com

Find a report from this event here at CowboyPoetry.com.

Heritage of the American West presents…..

Christmas on the High Plains with the Cambria String Band

Spearfish, SD—The stories in song of the opening of the northeastern Wyoming Territory during the 1800s include the tale of a canyon bottom where the Little Oil Creek ran. Known by a number of names including Bloody Gulch, it would become the place known as Cambria; home to miners, cowboys, industrialists and investors from the East.

The Heritage of the American West features the music and song of that time with a band named after the history they represent; the Cambria String Band blends the genres of country, folk, and gospel…all performed with a bluegrass flair. Dynamic three-part harmonies and out-of-this-world picking make the music and history of the 1800s coal camp their named after come to life, on stage Thursday, November 19 at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, Spearfish.

“Developing shows where the back story is just as relevant as the stage entertainment is a part of what sets the Heritage of the American West Performance Series apart from other venues," says organizer Francie Ganje. “Our goal is to tie those elements together. When they align like they have for this show, it’s fun, entertaining and informative. And a great way to tell the stories of the West.

“My thanks to the High Plains Western Heritage Center and the Anna Miller Museum in Newcastle, WY, both of which have provided insight, inspiration and support to this performance.”

And if you’re not a history buff, no worries. Cambria String Band’s contemporary play list includes original music and covers of Allison Krause, the Eagles, John Denver and Bob Dylan. Add the bands hilarious stories about growing up in the Black Hills and you’re in for an evening of great entertainment.

By 1887—and by some reports much earlier than that—coal mining was underway in Cambria Canyon. Meanwhile, construction of the railroad had come to a halt near Alliance, Neb., due to the high cost of providing eastern coal for the locomotives. But the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was ready to lay more steel to the West if there was a reason to. They found it in Wyoming in the form of coal.

The first car of coal was loaded in 1889 with 2,700 tons. Up on the ridge, the Home Ranch provided food to a growing community and an idyllic place to house investors from the East. Miners and their families—some 1400 people—would eventually enjoy the use of a hospital (with electricity!) the company store, a hotel, railroad stations, a recreational hall with bowling billiards, schools, churches and an opera house.

But before that, entertainment in the coal and cowboy camps of Cambria was self-created with harmonicas and fiddles.

It’s all part of the show being presented by the Heritage of the American West, titled “Christmas On The High Plains.” The pre-show exhibit and reception that opens at 6:00 PM features well-known regional authors, artists, and photographers, among them Mick Harrison, Belle Fourche, an 2005 Art Spur designee at the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. The show uses his award-winning art, “A Christmas Tale,” as its theme.

Also in the lineup is Custer author and Black Hills historian Paul Horsted with his newest book, Crossing The Plains With Custer and cowboy and landscape photographer Les Voorhis, Spearfish. In addition, Gift Baskets & Beyond offers holiday creations and the Heritage Center’s Bookstore will be available for browsing for Christmas gift giving ideas.

Tickets are available at the High Plains Western Heritage Center, $7 for seniors/kids and $12 for adults. The show is set for broadcast on area radio stations with date/time to be announced. Watch here for details along with the availability of the show online as a new website is developed.

For more information about the Heritage of the American West, contact Francie Ganje at Francie@rushmore.com.

Heritage of the American West Performance Series Returns (November, 2009)

Spearfish, SD—Efforts are underway to bring a western entertainment mainstay back to the stage and radio with the continuation of the Heritage of the American West Performance Series.

The show, in its 10th year, was the creation of Jim Thompson and Kay Jorgensen, former partners in Creative Broadcast Services, Inc, a radio programming company and producer of the popular regional talk show, Live! With Jim Thompson.

Approached by the High Plains Western Heritage Center (a cowboy/pioneer museum with collections representing five states) to assist in generating interest and attendance at what was then a newly opened facility, CBSI created what would become known as the Heritage of the American West….Music, Poetry & Song of the Great American Cowboy!

Jorgensen, who had been instrumental as a volunteer and early-day executive director for the museum, brought together the expertise of an award-winning broadcaster in Thompson, with the museums new facility and unique historical representations of the westward movement.

It would become a 90 minute radio show where a live audience was invited to watch top quality cowboy poets and singer/songwriters from around the country perform on stage in the Bruce Miller Theater in the Heritage Center.

Along with a network of radio stations carrying the show, CBSI pioneered the advent of western entertainment on line when it added live web streaming of the monthly event.

Most recently, economics and future developments for CBSI in other areas necessitated making some hard changes, among them discontinuing the monthly Heritage of the American West, with the August performance being its final show.

Since then, interest has been such from many different areas that the initial commitment has been made to continue with the highly-regarded performance series. Francie Ganje (who had been the director of the shows under CBSI), along with assistance from others, has been reorganizing and putting details in place for the 90 minute show that will be on the stage Thursday, November 19th for its return performance.

“There are many details to continue to work on,” says Ganje. “For example, we won’t have the web presence initially that the show enjoyed. But we will, hopefully by the December 17th event.

“The many people who are putting their heads together and providing the elbow grease, are all excellent promoters in their own right. The one thing we all agreed on at the onset was that we needed to get the show back on stage as soon as possible while continuing to put other elements together. That’s the plan.”

Watch for ongoing developments as the Heritage of the American West returns to its home stage, bringing quality western entertainment to live show audiences, radio and the web.