D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
February
2009
Rhyme of the Ancient Cowpoke
Lordsburg's 16th annual Bootheel Cowboy Poetry Fiesta supports the local museum and helps keep history alive.
By Donna Clayton
Mornin' in the Desert. The Cross-Eyed Gal. Old Paint. The Hell-Bound Train. These are a few of the titles and themes of classic cowboy poetry, a tradition of verse and song, by turns touching and humorous, that honors and immortalizes the life of the cowboy, of the grand Old West.
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Fiesta co-founder and organizer "Hook" Hill
will emcee this year's event. |
On Feb. 14, the 16th Annual Bootheel Cowboy Poetry Fiesta will once again draw a crowd around the metaphoric campfire at the Lordsburg-Hidalgo County Museum to celebrate a tradition of life on the range with poetry and music. And like a hand-in-glove — or perhaps more like a boot in the stirrup — the annual fundraiser will bring in financial support for the museum itself, keeping alive a repository of local history.
June Hill, who organizes the event with her husband, Allen "Hook" Hill, says the seeds for the event were planted years ago when they were enchanted by a cowboy poetry event they attended.
"We just loved it," June says. "After we'd gone to a couple, we thought, 'Why not do our own?'" Word spread, audiences grew and things snowballed from there, she notes, adding that the Lordsburg event now attracts some 200-plus attendees from far and wide.
"Hook" Hill, who carries his nickname from his basketball days, describes it this way: "We started a small cowboy poetry gathering in 1993. Cowboy poetry gatherings were just beginning to emerge at the time and were quite the rage here in the West. Our first gathering was held in the school cafetorium. The next year we moved to the Lordsburg Civic Center. We outgrew that building, then moved to the big room of the museum, which was in operation by that time. The show is now held there each year.
If You Go: The 2009 Bootheel Cowboy Poetry Fiesta
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"We named our fundraiser the Bootheel Cowboy Poetry Fiesta," he says. "It became a popular show and has attracted many talented performers. Since it is a fundraiser, all participants donate their time and talents. We always have more performing artist applicants than we can handle."
June Hill adds, "People come and do it (perform) for nothing. It's for the love of it; it's for the fun. We do try to get a hotel room for the ones who travel from a good distance away."
Hook says that that many top performing cowboy artists, poets and musicians have participated in the event over the years. Those in the know would recognize such vaunted names as Buckshot Dot, Bud Strom, Roughstring, the late Ray Owens, Duke Davis, Kip Calahan, Larry Harmer, Jim and Nancy Sober, Steve Hill, Junior Gomez, Mike Dunn and Dean Foster.
"We have been grateful for their splendid performances over the years," Hook adds.
Since that first year of cowboy poetry in the cafetorium, June says, the event has evolved. "It started out just being a local thing, but it has really grown over the years. We thought we were going to lose our snowbirds, and that would have been significant, when we lost our rock show," she says, commenting on a local gem and mineral event that used to bring folks to town but that ended a couple years back. "But we were quite surprised to see that the audience is still full. It's growing, even. We get people from all over. There are a couple who come from Minnesota every year.
"We do give out free hamburgers and hotdogs at intermission. That probably doesn't hurt," she notes with a laugh. "But really, it's because this event is a classic cowboy poetry event. People who know this stuff recognize the quality of what we're doing. And it's just a good time, too."
Hook adds, "Audiences year after year come to the Bootheel Fiesta from all over the country and even one or two from Mexico and Canada. They are therefore a very diverse group, but they come with one thing in mind: quality entertainment and a lot of laughs. There are many repeat followers who say they wouldn't miss it."
The Lordsburg-Hidalgo County Museum, which the event benefits, is a city-owned non-profit museum put together by a group of volunteers, supported by the mayor and city council of Lordsburg. In the beginning, the museum was housed in a large room attached to the Lordsburg city shop and fire department. When that building was demolished, the museum items were put in storage for a time. When the old National Guard Armory building became available, obtained by Mayor Clark Smith, the museum items were moved in, displays rebuilt and the museum once again opened to serve the public. Historically and still largely operated by volunteers, the museum now employs a receptionist to conduct museum business Monday through Friday, 1-5 p.m.
Performers for the 2009 Bootheel Fiesta include poet Mary Abbott, Ozark musicians Jim and Nancy Sober, poet Bill Cavaliere, poet and musician Doc Jordan, poet Larry Harmer, musician Jon Messenger, poet and storyteller Neil Abbott, Roughstring Western Music, and poet and storyteller Hook Hill himself, who also serves as master of ceremonies.
Confident of the quality of his lineup, Hook Hill adds that anyone who knows anything about cowboy poetry would recognize that this year's slate of Bootheel Fiesta performers "spells an evening of laughter and entertainment."