Cowboy poetry is alive and well around Cochrane, with a healthy sprinkling of local talent to be showcased in conjunction with the Stockmen’s Bunkhouse Bonanza at the RancheHouse this weekend.
Bill Skene grew up in northwest Ontario before moving to ranch country in Alberta. He describes his upbringing outside of Dryden, Ontario as being “a lot closer to Alberta than Toronto.”
Skene draws heavily from his experience growing up around horses and his appreciation of the farming/ranching life. He is a fifth generation farmer/rancher.
He left the northwest Ontario bush behind and moved to the Cochrane area. Answering an ad in the Cochrane Eagle for wranglers, he guided for five years for a trail riding operation northwest of town.
“I’ve always liked the western life and was fascinated by the stories but it wasn’t until I got out here that I got into poetry,” he said.
Skene credits his good friend Bryn Thiessen as the major influence leading him to cowboy poetry.
A longtime Sundre-area resident, Thiessen passed away a year ago this week at the age of 63. He was known throughout Canada and the U.S. for his humorous and insightful poetry depicting ranch and farm life. He was also a pastor of the Cowboy Trail Church in Cochrane.
A large gathering of cowboy poets in Pincher Creek, Alberta in the 80s helped raise the profile of the art form, as did appearances around that time on the Tonight Show in the U.S., where host Johnny Carson took a keen interest in having western poets appear on the show.
The Pincher Creek gathering hasn’t been sustained, and Carson has long since gone to The Big Roundup, but Skene said events like Bunkhouse Bonanza might help keep interest in all things western alive.
“We can bring back that western heritage, both in poems, songs, and exhibits,” he said.
Skene calls himself a “rookie” cowboy poet, having started about ten years ago, after a horseback ride to the mountains inspired him to write about the inspiring landscape. It centres around what ancient native trees could teach us.
“It’s about what they could say if they could talk, what they’ve seen over the years,” he said.
Nowadays Skene is retired.
“Mostly tired,” he said. “I wrangle grandkids now.”
He reminisces about his time as a boy, when his dad bought and sold work horses in the logging industry. These were typically large work horses, similar to breeds like Clydesdales and Percherons.
“We were maybe three, five years old, and we were hopping on these big old work horses when they were laying down in the barnyard and our mother quickly got our father to buy ponies, and we worked our way up to horses,” he said.
Skene relies on his memory, which is apparently very selective.
“It’s funny – I can’t hardly remember my wife’s birthday but I remember those old stories,” he laughed, over coffee at the Stockmen’s library last week.
Bob Janzen grew up on the family farm east of Calgary, near Rosemary. He worked with cattle as a vet for 47 years in southern Alberta, specializing in bovine reproduction.
“I tell people I spent half my life up the back end of a cow,” he laughed.
A gift from his brother turned him on to try poetry himself. It was a book from famous American cowboy poet Baxter Black, who was one of the poets who appeared on the Carson show.
About a year later Janzen completed his first poem, The Preg Check of 93.
And he’s been writing ever since.
Skene credits Carson’s interest in the late 70s and early 80s as a possible explanation of why cowboy poetry appealed to people.
“They were hilarious," Skene said. "All of America woke up and realized there was cowboy poets. Then it took off."
The two poets are hoping there’s a big turnout on Saturday when they and some other performers will give recitals.
The Bunkhouse Bonanza is at the RancheHouse, Saturday Feb.1 from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is $5 or a donation for the local food bank, and free for kids under 12. The RancheHouse is at 101 RancheHouse Rd. in Cochrane.
For more information about what’s happening go to stockmen.ca.
Excerpt from The Old Limber & WhiteBark Pines (poem by Bill Skene)
How long have you stood with clinging roots...
tread by the hunter's moccasin and explorer’s boots..
then the cowboys.. chased the Wildys... and now their cattle below..
down in the valleys and the meadows..
their big loops throw...
Yes… you’ve seen it all...
took your chances…
met nature’s fury with wind torn branches…
Red sunrise, sunsets come and go
Above soar eagles on alpen glow
Hundreds...even a thousand years, you've stood your time...
the gnarly old Limber & White Bark Pines..
