R&R is in the air! Enjoy some at the 23rd annual Old West Days and Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering

The hay has been put up....the calves have gone to market - or will be shortly....and really, you do deserve a break from it all.

So head to Valentine, Nebraska, and enjoy some inspirational cowboy music and poetry - of which some can be down right hilarious in it's truthfulness. It's good to know you're not the only one with a bossy Bessy on the ranch.

Old West Days begins October 9 and will continue through October 12, 2014.
Thursday begins the festivities with a BBQ at Security First Bank, grilled by Henderson's IGA. You'll be serenaded with live entertainment, which is followed by the Old Time Melodrama....boo and hiss the villain, and cheer on the good guys!

You know you're getting a great burger from Henderson's IGA at the Kick-off BBQ!

Friday is when the poetry sessions begin, and there are several to chose from - a day full of prose and stories and western music. These events will take place at the Valentine High School.

Brett Burress and his band were entertainers last year. 

This year the featured entertainers include: Bill Barwick, Elizabeth Ebert, D.W. Groethe, Miss V, the Gypsy Cowbelle, and Brooke Turner.

Last year Lyn Messersmith had a writing workshop. She has written many books which 

are available at Plains Trading Book Sellers.

God has given her a gift of storytelling and you'll hang on every word. 

There will also be the Western art, trade and quilt show - things to take back home to remind you of simpler times. There are also books and music on sale from the performers so you can keep that feeling all year long.

The quilt show will have your mind whirring - putting your stash to work in your head! If you're not a quilter, you can admire the handiwork put into these works of art!

No budget for the real thing? How about a stick horse!!!! There are one of a kind items at the Trade Show - and it's about that time to begin thinking of Christmas gift giving. 

Saturday there are more music and poetry sessions which begin at 9:00 a.m. both days. For the writer in you, a Writing the West Workshop will be held with Yvonne Hollenbeck giving a Self Publishing Workshop, hosted by Duane Gudgel who is the owner of Plains Trading and Book Sellers here in Valentine.

Duane Gudgel, owner of Plains Trading Book Sellers

Yvonne Hollenbeck and her honey! The subject of many of her award winning poems. 

Poetry and entertainment will continue on into the evening performance which begins at 7:30 p.m., both nights.

Sunday morning, enjoy Old West Church Services.
Then take in God's glory as you partake in the annual Trail Ride which begins at 2:00 p.m.
The final event of Old West Days is the last performance of the Old Time Melodrama which is at 7:30 p.m.

The Valentine Players will have something special in store for you with their Old Time Melodrama!

The Old Time Melodrama and the Featured Performances all require tickets which can be purchased through the Valentine Chamber of Commerce by calling 402-376-2969.
To find out more about the Featured Performers, Old West Church Services, and the Trail Ride go to the official website at: nebraskacowboypoetrygathering.com.
It's a great way to enjoy a little R&R after a blessed summer, abundant hay and great cattle prices.

While you're in town, enjoy Main Street!!! There are so many unique shops and stores, not to mention characters, who own and operate these businesses. Remember to visit the sponsors of SandhillsWesternVacations.com. They can help you with accommodations at Trade Winds Lodge, food at Henderson's IGA, a river trip which will showcase the extraordinary diversity of the Niobrara National Scenic River dressed in her fall colors Brewers Canoers and Tubers. There are unique, one of a kind, gifts galore that can be found at Berry Creek Gun and Pawn Shop, located right down the street from The Quilting Cupboard, which has patterns from Fear Not Pattern Co.. For a one of a kind gift that is uniquely yours, head over to Outback Screenprinting and Embroidery. Or visit them on-line and pick your items up while you're here.

There's plenty more to do and see while you're in the area. Your ticket to four season, family fun and Nebraska Adventure can be found at SandhillsWesternVacations.com ... make this truly an R&R trip back in time!

20th annual Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Old West Days!

Photo by Sandy Benson, used with permission by Lyn Messersmith. 

Lyn Messersmith and her son, Martain DeNaeyer, are headed out to round up a stray. 


Do you ever wonder what life would be like on one of the ranches in the Sandhills? The rolling hills and deep river valleys? Do you wonder what it would be like to wake up with the sun and have to feed a herd of cattle instead of rushing to getting ready to head to the office?

Is life slower? Is it grander? Simpler?

You can find out about cowboy and cowgirl ways at the 20th annual Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Old West Days which will be celebrated October 6-9, 2011 in Valentine, NE.

One of the talented poets, Lyn Messersmith, will be the Host for the Saturday evening performance which begins at 7:30 p.m. She recently completed her book My Sister Mariah, The Journal of a Windwalker. Lyn will let you in, one day at a time, not just on daily activities, but how the land attached itself to her heart. These aren't words she'd tell you in conversation, this is much more intimate.

There are lessons as well...daily lessons. Not just cowboy or cowgirl lessons either. They're lessons of the heart, soul, and it goes without saying, the land, the open sky and the way the wind is always present. It's about the beautiful, life sustaining Sandhills.

Let's find out from Lyn what her motivations were when writing this wonderful glimpse into the western ways:

What was your inspiration for this assignment? 

 I’ve never really fit into the traditional mold of spirituality, because guidance comes most clearly to me through nature. Over time, this conviction became so strong that it seemed like I was being given marching orders to put it in words and share it.

Did you really write it a day at a time? How long did it take to complete?  

 The book was written a day at a time, over the period of one year, based on whatever experiences or lessons came to me that day. So the actual writing took a year, but revisions were ongoing. After about six revisions I began querying publishers.

As you’re journaling about life on the ranch, are the stories true? Embellished? Maybe a little? Not at all?

 The stories are true; so true, in fact, that it was hard to share my heart some of the time. And yet, I knew that part of this “assignment” was meant for my healing and understanding of life experiences, so I plunged ahead anyhow.

Who was your best encourager? Or maybe you didn’t need one?

My encourager, as always, is my husband Bruce. He’s also  a good  critique, and honest about what doesn’t work, while respecting my right to be wrong!

Do you write day or night, or whenever an idea comes to mind? Scraps of paper stuffed here and there until it gets to the computer? 

Writing is a disciplined occupation, and yet my life is more of a patchwork quilt, in regard to routine. I don’t set aside a particular time of day to write, but there are notebooks all over my house  and scraps of paper in glove boxes of vehicles.I’ve been known to write a word on scraps of feed sacks with marking chalk meant for cattle, or scribble on the back of my hand when no paper is available. I seldom compose on a keyboard. The connection between my hand and the pen flows best for me.

Is this your latest book? How many books to your credit? 

My Sister Mariah is my latest book. I have two books of poetry, Downwind from the Smoke (1994) and Ground Tied (2004)

and my friend Deb Carpenter-Nolting and I collaborated on a book/CD based on pioneer women’s diaries which is called The Heart’s Compass. We also have a CD about people who helped open the West, which is titled Leaders and Legends.

Ground Tied won a Will Rogers Medallion from the Academy of Western Artists.

Do you have others in the works? One that’s being a bugger? Stinker? Or do they all seem to just flow? 

I knew from the get-go that Mariah would have a limited audience because it is written from the perspective of a rural woman. But I also knew better than to mess with the assignment. This wasn’t MY idea! I did query about 60 publishers, and some were interested but it didn’t fit their genre or they felt it wouldn’t sell well enough to be a good investment. So most of my savings went into the self publication of it. I almost left it lying on a shelf, but my training has always been to turn in the homework, whether or not I got a good grade, so that’s why you have the book on your shelf!

I don’t know if I’ll publish another book. Right now I’m working on a collection of stories about the people I grew up with and the community that has held me together for three score and ten. It would fall into the category of memoir, but whether there’s anything of general interest may be questionable. It seems somehow important to leave a record of the way we were, in those days, for my kids and grandkids. 

What I have come to know is this. Most of the time I don’t  know what I think until it falls out of my pen onto paper. So writing is both spiritual practice and a way to ground myself, and I will always be writing. Often I begin with an idea and find it going somewhere totally unexpected. Writers know that when this happens it means they were paying attention. I hope I never stop paying attention!

 Lyn has done a magical job of capturing the Sandhills and the spirit of the people who live here very eloquently. You can pick up a copy of the book at Plains Trading Company on Main Street in Valentine or write to her at: 4241 269th Trail, Alliance, NE 69301. The cost of the book is $20.00 which includes tax and postage. 

It would be great to come out to Old West Days and meet Lyn and pick up a copy of her book for yourself and for a great friend! What a way to share the courage, strength, determination, and zeal of the Sandhills...My Sister Mariah, The Journal of a Windwalker.