"A grownup is a child with layers on." - Woody Harrelson
Peeling back the layers.
We lived several places while I was young, all of them rural. At two of them, Daddy had a Jenny (female donkey) and plowed and raised a garden. There were no cattle, or ranches. My sisters (who were in high school when I was born) and their husbands had horses and were in the local trail riders association, Sarah's husbands' family always had cattle. Later on, Edna's husband started raising some.
Yet this memory is from those earliest years in Carthage. We lived in a rent house on the side of a rural highway. Daddy always did watch every "shoot'em up" and western that came on TV. And I was often times right beside him. In fact, my first love was a rodeo cowboy named "Stoney Burke" and played by Jack Lord. (Later of the original Hawaii 5-O)
All of that to say, I don't know if I ever asked for the cowgirl get-up. I have no idea if it was a gift just from Mama and Daddy or if everyone bought one piece. All I do know and remember is being proud as punch sitting on my Daddy's knee in that outfit. And I have vague memories of the photo taking, taking too long and growing impatient. After all, I was a cowgirl now, and I had things to do: stick horses to ride, cows to herd and bad guys to shoot.
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| Me and my daddy, Clayon |
I think Daddy was winking. He loved to wink. Notice the jeans were way too long, see them turned up and sticking above my boot tops? Knowing me and Daddy, we had to try it all on and have the picture made before Mama could wash and hem them.
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| Me & my mother, Jesse Ruth |
What about you? Were you ever a cowgirl or cowboy? Did you grow up watching all the old westerns, where the good guys were good and the bad guys were bad? Rural life, city life? Farm or ranch?
Thanks for sharing!
Barbara
I was a Bonanza fan when I was a kid. My brother and I both had cowboy hats, although I never wore mine since I didn't like hats.
ReplyDeleteSo was I! Still am!
DeleteWhat wonderful pictures! I grew up in suburbia and know very little about rural life.
ReplyDeleteCheers - Ellen | http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.co.nz/2016/04/c-is-for-catamaran-nancy-drew.html
That's okay, sugar, we'll forgive you. ;)
DeleteSuch cute pictures of you as a cow girl. Never was one myself :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Thank you, Betty!
DeleteI was a Bonanza fan, too! I loved Lorne Greene and thought he was a hunk. :) I also like Big Valley with the Barkleys. We watched John Wayne and Lone Ranger shows, too. We used to watch lots of cool stuff when I was a kid. And, we even survived having to get up from the floor or couch to change the channel on our 3 channel television with the rabbit ears on top.
ReplyDeleteWe played Cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, all the fun games of childhood.
I started off my childhood living downtown. At some point before I started school, we moved to the south end outside of town and into a mill village. My daddy didn't work at the mill, though. He worked for Owens-Corning Fiberglad at that point. The summer that I turned 13, he bought 8 acres of land in a more rural area, but still within pedaling distance of our former home. It wasn't a farm or a ranch, but a really big yard in the woods and it was great!
I am enjoying your walk through memory lane. Great post!
Fiberglas, not Fiberglad. I can't type these days! :)
DeleteI'm thrilled to hear that your are really enjoying these strolls down memory lane! Sound like you and I had an awful lot in common!
DeleteI never was much of a cowboy, didn't even really like watching Westerns. But I lived in the heart of the city all my life. I never had much experience with horses or open-plains, or what-have-you.
ReplyDeleteThat's okay, Jeffery, we forgive you. ;)
DeleteI remember playing cowboys and indians. Cops and robbers were much more fun. We also played civil war which was basically a race up our road with one person carrying an American flag and the other a Southern flag. This was around 1961.
ReplyDeleteWe weren't that complicated in central Georgia. One part of suburbia and growing up in a military town. You just did not have a strong identity one way or the other.
Sounds very similar to my own play with some of my younger cousins and my nieces.
DeleteI wanted to be a cowgirl when I was a little girl too. My father was raised on a farm, and most of my male relatives were cowboys.
ReplyDeleteMy parents let me spend summers on the farm with my grandparents and cousins, and I'm so glad they did. It was a great way to grow up.
It's clear to see you have good roots!
DeleteHi Barbara!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever was a cowgirl, but my 5th grade class in MD wrote stories about the adventures I would have in the "Wild West" when my family moved to UT.
We were more of a police/crime show watching family...Dragnet, Hawaii 5-0.
RURAL with the exception of Salt Lake City. And we kind of live on a farm in Kentucky.
Fun questions!
Oh, when he wasn't watching westerns, Daddy was watching Police Woman, Kojak and others.
DeleteNever had a cowgirl outfit, just rode a stick horse and used my finger for a gun. No TV either, I think I'm a lot older then you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, or perhaps you just lived a simpler life at the time. I was the only child at home so I was a little spoiled.
DeleteI was I like watching the old westerns mostly with my Grandpa and listening to the old cowboy records
ReplyDeleteThat's cool, Mike, and nice memories for you!
DeleteCowboys and ranchers were pretty much the norm around here. With Gunsmoke always on TV and Johnny Cash and Roger Miller on the radio,I'd run barefoot through the desert pretending to be Tony Nelson's Jeannie:-) I loved how she could disappear whenever she wanted.
ReplyDeleteOh, who didn't want to be Jeannie! I saw Roger Miller out in Las Vegas the summer before I turned 16! He gave an amazing, funny show!
Deleteexcellent quote by Woody Harrelson!
ReplyDelete- Joy C is for Charity
Thank you! I was tickled to find it and amazed it was him who said it!
DeleteNo, can't say I was into the whole cowgirl thing. I was afraid of horses. Got the chance to go riding, and avoided it until I had no choice, and hated the whole experience.
ReplyDeleteThey definately aren't for everyone. I was never a real cowgirl, nor even a real horse woman. I rode some with Pete and enjoyed it a lot, but things can get scary on a horse in an instant.
DeleteRoy Rogers and Dale Evans were my favorites as I watched on the black and white TV in my cowgirl hat.
ReplyDeletePete and I watched them all the time on the TV when we had a different provider! They were an amazing pair, good people through and through!
DeleteYou may remember the photos of my Dad from last year...the cowboy with the golden palomino!!! When your Dad was a bronc buster cowboy and you could ride before you walked...you were a cowgirl. So, yes, I was a cowgirl, and although I don't ride anymore and traded my Tony Llamas for Birkenstocks, I will always be a cowgirl at heart. Loved seeing your photos...cute post for 'C'.
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
Thank you, Sue! And I do remember the photo of your dad and the palomino! You were the real deal! I was just a wanna be.
Deletehowdy cowgirl!
ReplyDeleteellespeth
Howdy! Thanks for stopping by Caneyhead.
DeleteCowboy definitely :) I watched all western movies with my dad and Dirty Harry's movies - in the kindergarten all other girls wanted to be singers or teachers but I was proud to state that I'm going to be Dirty Harry when I grow up :)
ReplyDeleteThat's just too cool! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteI was a film addict from a very early age (still am but don't see as many as i would like) so I've seen all the old Westerns and pretty much everything else pre 1980! I remember the first film that made me really cry though - It was called The Summer of My German Soldier - such a sad story about prejudice. There are so many good westerns it's hard to pick a favourite. I think I enjoyed them as they were so very different from British films with our stiff upper lip and upper crust accents accents:D
ReplyDeleteI love a good western movie! One of my favorites is McClintock. Anything with John Wayne is good!
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