Afew weeks ago a lady from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum called and left a message on my phone to call her. I got back to her the next day, knowing I didn’t owe the Cowboy Hall any money, so what was the risk? She was very pleasant, and laughed about my message on my phone you get when you call me and I’m not here.
She informed me that I had won the 2010 Wrangler Award from the Cowboy Hall for my western novel “The Sundown Chaser.” I knew there were some big names among the past award winners. This was a major event in my life. My heart’s strong enough, I found out, because I sure became excited over the news. To think, I’d be on that list of winners.
To mention some, a great writer I know named Bill Gulick, who is still alive, won the award in 1967. He wrote the book “They Came to a Valley,” that was made into the movie, “Bend of the River.” Jimmy Stewart starred in it.
I’ve also met Fred Grove, who was another winner. Though I never met him before he went to heaven, I read A.B. Guthrie’s mountain man stories. Will Henry made the list in 1973, and I read all of his books. Then my late writer friend Elmer Kelton won three, including one made into the TV movie “The Good Old Boys.”
James Michener’s “Centennial” won in 1975. Glendon Swarthout took one in 1989; he also wrote the “Shootist.” “All the Pretty Horses,” hit the racks by Cormac McCarthy, and garnered one in 1993.
Loren Estleman, a good friend of mine, won two. Larry McMurtry’s “Buffalo Girls” won in 1991. A great old cowboy friend of mine, Max Evans did it in 1995. Stephen Harrigan’s powerful book on the Alamo won in 2001. Johnny Boggs collected one on the trial of the Kiowa chiefs in 2004. Now I know that’s name dropping, but being added to that list is a real exciting thing for a guy who’s wanted to become a western writer since he was a boy.
It really is a shame my mother, who passed away a few years ago, is not around to celebrate with us. She used to sit in a wingback chair and read Will James to me when I was a boy big enough to read to myself… but my mother could read like an actor. I sat cross legged on the living room carpet and listened to Will James’ dialogue, and his stories about the west, like I was in a cow camp. She’d be seated under the circle of light from the pole lamp, completely intriguing me.
Strange how some of those times when you recall life’s past events, it’s like the mountains on the horizon with the snowy tops when you drive toward Denver. Unlike many others, Will James had lived the bronc buster role. He’d even served time in the Nevada Prison for cattle rustling in his early 20’s. The parole board would not let him out to go back to being a cowboy, because they suspected he’d return to stealing cattle. So, he became serious about art and began drawing the west. Many said every bunkhouse he’d stayed in were full of his sketches. His art led him to writing stories that he said were more real western situations than the B-movies they were creating in Hollywood.
The shame was he drank himself to death at the peak of his career. Born James Dufault in Canada, he came to the U.S. at an early age and resided in Billings, Mont., in his later life. His book, “Smoky,” was made into several movies. Like his other books, it depicted the cowboy life.
In mid-April Pat and I will go to Oklahoma City to receive the bronze statue at the famous black tie awards banquet held in the hall. There are many other Wrangler awards presented at this event in western art, music and poetry. The list of prominent figures on the western scene listed as part of the master of ceremonies include, Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot, Michael Martin Murphy, Red Steagall and more. You can see I had no trouble getting Pat to come along. My Stetson still fits, but it is a nice recognition of my book writing.
Western novelist Dusty Richards and his wife Pat live on Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas. For more information about his books you can email Dusty by visiting www.ozarksfn.com and clicking on ‘Contact Us’ or call 1-866-532-1960.
