A Cowgirl's Book of Memories

This book takes the reader back to the late 19th Century and follows a family of Pioneers from Kansas to the wilds of the Arizona Territory in search of a homestead. In the early 20th Century our heroine, Gale, was born in the new state of Arizona to the sounds found on most ranches of that era. She often awoke to the sound of the Ranch Smithy pumping his forge and the sharp metal clang of a 10 pound hammer beating out a tune on a new horseshoe. After a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, with Grandmother, the old wooden screen door slams behind her as Gale dashes out to take care of morning chores. That was the norm for a four year old. A cool morning breeze ruffled her hair and she watched the prairie grass roll and dip like the waves of the ocean far to the west. The sweet smell after a summer storm tickled her nose while a big grin caressed her young face. Grandfather’s laughter made the background noise for the grumbling voices of ranch hands as they saddled up for a day’s work. Before you knew it, Gale was living with her mother and step dad in the Arizona White Mountains and her grandparents were far away to the south. When she turned 13 years old, her mother said she would have to return to her Grandparents so she could finish High school. After discussing the trip with her parents, Gale clutched a five-dollar bill in her young hand and saddled up her horse. With grim determination etched across her young face, she started out on story telling ride of 312 miles all alone. Gale rode on faint mountain trails, across Indian Reservation wilderness, dense forest and finally the rolling dusty plains of southern Arizona. When she arrived at her grandparents she had spent only $2.75 out of her meager $5.00. She sure knew how to handle money at an early age. Gale was taught about Medicine and Midwife’s duties from her Grandmother. This knowledge came in handy in the years to come when it was Gales turn to take care of family and friends. She was an accomplished horse rider. Her talents were recognized and before she knew it, she was working for Paramount Studio as a stunt-rider/stand-in for Mona Freeman and Shelly Winters. New experiences seemed to be Gale’s way of life. The money was good and Paramount offered her a permanent job, but she thought Hollywood was a rough life for a country cal and she had a four-year-old daughter to raise. Gale did work on several more movies when they came out to their Arizona area. Her stepfather Pecos Higgins was a cowboy and horseman who never had a driver’s license. He was also a cowboy poet of the first caliber and wrote of his life’s experiences. He could down a bottle of rye whiskey and his audience would never know it. When he started telling young eastern boys some of his tall tales, those tales made the old west come alive. Whenever they returned home back east, they repeated those tales and before you would believe it, here came the boy’s parents. They soon became fast friends with Gale’s family right up to the present. When you read some of his poems you will gain an insight into the man those boys loved until he passed on. Gale kept her Step Dad’s tales and poems just the way he wrote them. Some on the back of a notebook cover, a paper grocery bag or a journal. These poems tell of times long past, yet Gale brings them back to life as if they occurred yesterday. Gale’s own collection of memories from childhood through life makes for a laugh or two as well as a glimpse into a time and the people who actually lived it. Her stories are about real people living in real places. Imagine if you will, back in time, back to the early 1900’s, what it must have been like to grow up in the young State of Arizona. Join Gale as she takes you back down memory lane . . .