Buckskin Bulletin

VOL. XLII No. 3 NEWSLETTER OF WESTERNERS INTERNATIONAL ISSUE 3, 2009 http://www.westerners-international.org

LIVING LEGENDS #50 & #51

Ellingson and Parker Are Honored

By Laura Arksey ures forced his parents to sell John Ellingson, a member the ranch and relocate to and leader of the Spokane Ferry County, Washington, Corral of Westerners since where John’s mother had 1977, is a true son of the relatives on a ranch near West. Born in 1921, he Curlew. Ferry County was spent most of his early years then, and still is, a remote, on his parent’ ranch on the sparsely-settled area in

Pine Ridge Indian Reserva- northeastern part of the tion in . He state. Although the intended rode horseback to a one- destination was Oregon, room log school through John’s Norwegian-born father

eighth grade. He then spent declared upon waking up to a year of high school at the eight inches of snow, “This Scenic South Dakota High looks just like my home Nor- School where he boarded in way. We aren’t going any

the school basement. By farther.” 1935, successive crop fail- (Continued on Page 5) John Ellingson

By Ann Haber Stanton American West, and espe-

The are known for cially to the Black Hills of their scenic grandeur as well South Dakota. The Parkers’ as the prodigious amounts of participation in preserving mineral wealth extracted the history of the American from them, but Watson West dates back to Chicago Parker is often spoken of as of 1944 where Watson’s fa- the Black Hills’ Greatest ther, Troy L. Parker, and Treasure. Now in his 8th Troy’s three brothers joined decade, Dr. Parker and his with Sen. Leland C. Case, family have been Westerners editor of the Rotarian maga- from the first Corral in Chi- zine, and Elmo Scott Wat- cago on down to this very son, newspaperman and day in the Black Hills Cor- educator, to establish the ral of Westerners Interna- first Corral of WI. Watson tional. remembers attending some Watson can trace an an- of those meetings with his Watson Parker enjoys dessert at a cestry of contributors to the dad and uncles during WWII. meeting of the Black Hills Corral. culture and history of the (Continued on Page 6)

FROM THE WI PRESIDENT The Home Ranch forwarded Brazos Valley Museum. I don’t was shown in the movies “A me an invitation to speak at the know when we have met such Man Called Horse” and “Return September 15th meeting of the nice, friendly and gracious peo- of a Man Called Horse,” both Brazos Corral in College Sta- ple. They made our trip a most starring Richard Harris and she tion, Texas. I immediately outstanding one!!! We cer- was invited to attend the cere- called Wrangler Margaret tainly want to thank Margaret mony. Now that was quite a Touchstone, who had penned and Dorothy for inviting us. privilege!!! the invitation, to accept for We said our farewells Friday After we left Bernice and Shirley and me. After several hoping to visit the Spring, Laura we drove on to calls back and forth we had Texas, Corral but learned it is “Wounded Knee Monument.” worked out all the details and it in dry camp. We always wanted to go there was decided I would speak on We spent the next week in but were never close enough to “An Easterner in a Western Cul- New Orleans where we re- justify the trip before. For be- ture” and she even invited us to cruited a new “Westerner” who ing such an historical event, we stay with her. Our trip was a will hopefully start a new corral. found the site very disappoint- pleasant surprise since the We were home a few days ing. There was about a 4’ x 8’ weather forecast had been for then on to “The Black Hills” in sheet of plywood printed on floods in both Fort Smith and South Dakota. Which we love. both sides telling of the event the east of Austin area but the We stayed in Deadwood and but it was very difficult to read weather was beautiful. while there called both Rep. as it was quite weather-beaten. Margaret could not have been Donna Gail Simmons of the The monument itself was nice a more warm and gracious Black Hills Corral in Rapid but in an ill-kept small ceme- hostess. Not only did she offer City and Bernice Landers, tery. There must be a dispute to let us stay in her beautiful Sheriff of the Jedediah Smith between the state or federal home for three days but she Corral in Hot Springs. Timing government as to care of it. also had a cocktail party for us did not permit us to attend Riding for the Brand the next evening with dinner at their corral meeting but I David L. Carter her Country Club afterwards. wanted to invite them to lunch Program Deputy, Dorothy Van so I could touch base. Gail Riper and her husband, Dr. could not come as she had a Next Bulletin Paul Van Riper; Sheriff Tom daughter flying in that day but Lynch and Rainee Aronald Bernice was able to come. We The 4th Buckskin Bulletin were with us. drove to Hot Springs and were for 2009 will be out the end My speech followed dinner at delighted to also meet another of December and will be an the Corral meeting the first member, Laura Batchelor. on-line only issue. Though evening. The next day we went We had a great lunch but more the WI Board of Directors has to Washington, Texas, where important lots of laughs and authorized us to do only 3 the Texas Declaration of Inde- talk about Westerners. You bulletins a year, we want to pendence from Mexico was may recall that Bernice and do 4 as we said we would. signed. That afternoon we several of her corral members The increase in printing and were invited to the Van Riper’s appeared in the Buckskin Bulle- postage costs are putting a home which is on the National tin, Bernice dressed as strain on our Home Ranch Register of Historic Places for Jedediah Smith, Laura dressed budget so we are going to do tea and a tour. Their home is as Moses “Black” Harris, Bar- the last bulletin only on our the oldest home in Bryan, bara Kane as Thomas Fitz- web page. We hope those Texas (1878), and filled with patrick, and Barbara Bogner, who have computers will print beautiful antiques. We also as Edward Rose. an extra copy or two to share went to the George H. W. Bush Bernice, who has been sheriff with Corral members who do Presidential Library, drove for a long time, told us about a not. We post all our bulletins around the campus at Texas local Indian tribe that used her atwww.westerners- A&M, toured the Corps of Ca- land for a “Sundance Cere- international.org

dets Museum and visited the mony” like the one that

2

Our WI President Goes Visiting

David Carter, left in left photo, member of the Fort Smith Corral and WI President, poses with Laura Batchelor and Bernice Landers, members of the Jedediah Smith Corral. His wife, Shirley, is on the right. Landers is corral sher- iff. Below is, left to right, Carter, Margaret Touch- stone, Brazos Corral Wrangler. and Thomas Lynch, corral sheriff.

Trailing The West

Due to continuing requests to repeat our popular West Da- kota program, Shebby Lee Tours has added the 8-day itinerary which explores the best of both Dakotas to its 2010 schedule. “West Da- kota” is planned for July 22- 29, and features western art- ists, legendary characters and extraordinary national parks. Highlights include , , , Fort Mandan, jeep ride to the buffalo, Badlands National Park, Medora Musical, Notes from the Editor North Dakota Heritage Center, Teddy Roosevelt Na- Here at the Home Ranch we are noticing that more and more of you tional Park, historic Deadwood are communicating with us by computer—asking questions, ordering and much, much more. our WI merchandise, sending meeting notices and pictures. Lots of West Dakota is available for membership lists are beginning to arrive, too. If your membership list individual bookings or small is in the form of an Excel spreadsheet these can be sent to us as an groups at 10 percent commis- attachment to an e-mail. We can then put them straight into our own sion. Begins and ends at Rapid Excel mailing list without having to retype all the names and ad- dresses. We are about halfway through redoing our entire mail list City, SD. which has been a very big job. We have noticed some corrals or pos- Questions? You may contact ses have not sent us an updated mailing list in a few years. Please us at 1-800-888-8396 or check with the person who does yours so we can be sure all our mem- [email protected] bers receive their bulletin. Our e-mail is: [email protected] 3 Watson Parker Honored as Living Legend

(Continued from Page 1) While he still had one semes- Watson also has published ter left at Cornell University about 40 scholarly articles on Later in those war years, Staff School of Hotel Administration, Black Hills and Western topics Sgt. Watson Parker went off to Watson and Olga Massel Glass- as well as another 40 scholarly serve his country in Europe and man were married in September book reviews. His popular talks the Philippine Islands. In the of 1950. Olga worked as a sec- on Black Hills topics, delivered U.S. Army Medical Department, retary in the Home Economics with his unique flair are some- attached to the 1284th Combat Department at Ithaca while times likened to those of Mark Engineer Battalion, he served in Watson completed that last se- Twain. They keep his audience both theaters of war. Watson’s mester. They were blessed with enthralled and have encouraged irrepressible dry wit mitigates two sons and a daughter, James many a tenderfoot to delve into the horrors he witnessed, refer- and David and Becky were history, take classes, become ring to WWII as “that unpleas- reared in the idyllic atmosphere involved in historical associa- antness.” of Palmer Gulch. tions and investigate these in- Troy Parker started Palmer As a University professor Wat- triguing subjects on their own. Gulch Lodge, a summer resort/ son taught history of the Ameri- Watson and Olga, still sweet- dude ranch near Hill City, which can West, Military History, His- hearts after almost 60 years, the family operated from about torical Method and Museum and share a streak of imagination 1927 to 1962. It was here that Historical Society Management that belies their true age and Watson was reared, with a at the University of Wisconsin at helps keep them youthful. childhood any youngster would Oshkosh from 1965 to 1986. Around 1964 Olga bought Wat- envy. Taking over after Troy, His book Gold in the Black Hills, son a Steiff walrus hand-puppet Watson managed the lodge first published by the University as a Christmas gift. They soon from 1946 to 1960. of Oklahoma Press, reads like a found they were collecting wal- Troy and Watson were charter scholarly thesis, because that is ruses (or walrii, as they like to members of the Black Hills precisely what it was intended call the assemblage). With the Corral. Originally Black Hills to be—a Doctoral thesis. When help of friends and family the Corral meetings were held at it was read by his mentors they collection has grown to hun- Loocke (pronounced lock) Ha- suggested he have it published. dreds of whimsical walrii. ven. Carl Loocke’s summer Following this advice, Watson The Parkers are currently re- place in Keystone. As member- offered it to the publisher and it tired and residing in Rapid City. ship increased meetings were has since become a requisite They spend parts of their sum- held in various other locations. part of any worthwhile collection mers entertaining family in In each location, Watson was of books on Black Hills history. “Happy Valley,” Palmer Gulch, active, always ready to volun- Watson has numerous books within view of craggy Harney teer his services, present a pa- and papers on American history Peak. Watson continues with per, or take time to encourage a to his credit. including Black his interest in Black Hills history newcomer. Hills Bibliography, Black Hills and can be counted on to de- Watson’s inclination and back- Ghost Towns (with Hugh K. liver an occasional paper at a ground led him along scholarly Lambert) and Deadwood: The meeting of the Black Hills Cor- paths. Starting with an BA in Golden years. ral. Liberal Arts from the University We owe a particular debt of of Chicago in 1948, he went on gratitude to Watson and Hugh San Dimas Corral to earn a BS in Hotel Admini- Lambert for their vision in cata- stration from Cornell University loguing, photographing and de- Speaker at the November in 1951. Watson continued on scribing many of the ghost meeting of the San Dimas Cor- to graduate schools, receiving towns of the Black Hills in their ral was David F. Matuszak who an MA and a PhD in Western book. Most of those abandoned talked about Hollywood’s devel- American history and Plains In- towns, buildings and mines opment of the Western Myth dian Cultural Anthropology, in have long-since vanished. and how that myth has influ- 1952 and 1965. 4 enced American culture.

John C. Ellingson named Living Legend (Continued from Page 1) ences as a lonely fire lookout tional Society of the American for the U.S. Forest Service dur- Revolution, Sons of the Ameri- The family settled on a ranch at ing the summer after his first can Revolution, for which he nearby Malo. John attended Cur- year of college. Furthermore, served a three-year term as lew and Republic High Schools, because of John’s efforts, the national vice-president; the graduating in 1939. Spokane Corral is probably one Sons of Norway, Lions Club, Ellingson’s college career at of the best documented corrals The Swedish VASA Order of Washington State University in the world. For years he has America, and Phi Delta Kappa, was interrupted by World War recorded on cassette tapes education honor fraternity. A II, during which he was first an most of the program presenta- tireless traveler, John attends aviation cadet with the Army tions, which are archived at the most of the conventions of Air Corps. His hopes of flying Northwest Museum of Arts and these organizations. In addi- ended when a medical exami- Culture (Eastern Washington tion, his interest in family his- nation revealed a punctured State Historical Society) in Spo- tory has taken him back to dis- eardrum. High test scores re- kane. In addition, as Corral cover his father’s roots in Nor- sulted in his being sent to Stan- Historian, he has compiled pho- way. ford University for an Army tograph albums of members If anyone from the Spokane Specialized Training Program. and programs, which also will area, indeed the entire North- The bulk of his service was be archived at the museum. west, deserves designation as spent with the Signal Corps, Ellingson’s other contribu- Living Legend by WI, it is John during which time he was vari- tions to Northwest history go Carroll Ellingson. ously an instructor in Radar and far beyond his efforts on behalf Very High Frequency, a Signal of the Spokane Corral of West- Corps clerk and chaplain’s as- erners. He has served on the Changes Made sistant. board of the Northwest Museum After the war, John com- of Arts and Culture, where he pleted his college education re- has spearheaded the oral his- In New Mexico ceiving degrees in general stud- tory program. Because of ies and education. He had John and his committee, 600 worked his way through college First the Home Ranch re- recorded oral history inter- in the Audio-Visual Center, and ceived the sad news that the views have been added to the this background became the board of the Santa Fe Corral existing collection at the mu- focus of his career. He started had decided to close the chap- seum. John has personally an Inland Audio-Visual Com- ter due to low membership and transcribed some 800 inter- pany in Spokane in 1954, and unwillingness by members to views, and the project is ongo- since his retirement in 1986, take officer positions and keep ing, making this heavily used his son Larry has carried on the the group moving. They are, collection one of the most ex- company. At one point John however, keeping their bank tensive resources of its kind in was president of the national account and will continue their the West. Typically John El- Audio-Visual Association. scholarship program. lingson then became a leader In 1977 John was invited to Then came news that the Al- in the relevant organization, join the Spokane Corral. Since buquerque Corral was attending regional and even then he has served as Sheriff, changing its name to the Cen- international conferences of Deputy Sheriff, presented nu- tral New Mexico Corral the Oral History Association. merous programs and contrib- which, of course, gives the John also is a member of uted articles to the Corral’s Santa Fe members, who live and has held offices in the fol- journal, Pacific Northwesterner. just an hour up the road, an lowing organizations: Ameri- His most recent article was opportunity to continue being can Legion, Eastern Washing- published in 2001. “Fire Look- a part of a Westerners group if ton Genealogical Society, state out: A College Boy’s Summer in they want. We are hoping this and local chapters of the Na- 1941,” recounts his experi- 5 works out well for all.

WI at WHA

David Dary, left, photo above, and John Porter Bloom confer at the WI Fall Board meeting at WHA in Denver. Top left photo, Charlotte Hinger receives her first place Coke Wood Award from Kent McInnis. Chairman of WI. Below left, McInnis stands with Wayne Sundberg, left, and Klaus Krizanovic, both of the Fort Collins Corral, two of our three incredible helpers at the WI breakfast. (Photos by Jim Argo)

Above, Bob Willis, Fort Collins Corral, our 3rd great helper, with Bur- nis Argo from the Home Ranch. Our three hardy Colorado resi- dents braved a winter storm to be on hand to help at the 7 a.m. breakfast. Right, Bob Clark conducts the an- nual book auction at the breakfast. That’s snow falling outside the windows of the hotel. 6 From the Chairman

The chairman of Westerners International has an attention span of about 30 minutes. I tell you this because I find museums gen- erally to be a disappointment. It is not the museum’s fault, but mine. Fortunately for your chairman, my wife shares this impa- tience. We will hit an interesting location and be in and out in an hour. For me the issue is how modern museums display their historical treasures. When I was a child of eight or nine, my par- ents took me to see the Jim Davis gun collection in Claremore, Oklahoma. By all accounts the largest gun collection in the world, every single gun was on display in the 1950s. The mu- seum showed off pistols in endless large spirals, barrels pointed inward. But every display seemed randomly placed. My joy as a child was seeing the sheer magnitude of the collection. When I went back 50 years later, I was disappointed to find the collection on view to be a mere fraction of the total held. The ubiquitous pistol spirals were gone. Cases showed just a few examples. Aaron Wilson, University of Ha- waii, is the recipient of this year’s There was an informative explanation for each exhibit. I was Westerners International $1,000 devastated. scholarship for the Best Doctoral I tell you all this because Westerners International is the per- Dissertation on Western History by fect place for me, the dysfunctional historian. WI is a big tent— a graduate student member of Phi an organization of academics, journalists, historians, geogra- Alpha Theta. The award was pre- phers, amateurs, writers, artists, musicians, re-enactors, gene- sented Wilson during the WI alogists, and often real lives Breakfast and Book Auction in lived in an old west time cap- Denver at the annual Western His- BUCKSKIN BULLETIN tory Association meeting. (Photo sule. It is the perfect place to Issued quarterly by Westerners by Jim Argo) blend all these disciplines into International, a Foundation to one setting. My own criticism stimulate interest and research in of the study of history can be frontier history. The Westerners Kansas City summed up simply. We tend was founded February 24, 1944, in a Chicago suburb by Leland D. to study our western history Posse Parties Case and Elmo Scott Watson. within a silo, isolated from All correspondence regarding the “Good food and great com- other disciplines. There are bulletin should be sent to: pany” were promised for those scores of organizations specific Buckskin Bulletin attending the Kansas City to a philosophy or subject Westerners International Posse December meeting. The alone, whether it is the aca- c/o National Cowboy & Western group met at the Homewood demic bearing of Western His- Heritage Museum Country Club in Prairie Village. tory Association or the action- 1700 NE 63rd St. The program was “Christmas packed competition of cowboy Oklahoma City, OK 73111 Phone: 1-800-541-4650 on the Plains” and speaker was action shooting. Where can E-mail you get the big picture, but Deborah Buckner. A gift ex- [email protected] change was held. have fun doing it? Westerners In January Dennis Garstang International of course. WI Home Ranch Bunch will speak about the “Dodge Kent McInnis, Don Reeves, John City War” and in February Erin Marshall, Leon Nelson, Bill Deu- Pouppirt will present a pro- pree, Mary Marvel, Cheryl McIn- gram on “Female Espionage.” nis, Noel Kruger, John & Melvena The March speaker will be Heisch, Jerry Burson, Ed Kelsay, John Rotterman and his topic Burnis Argo, Fred Marvel, Jim Argo, Sandra and Dennis Noble. “Jesse James.” 7

Non-Profit Organization Westerners International U.S. POSTAGE c/oNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Paid 1700 NE 63rd St. Oklahoma City, OK 73111 Oklahoma City, OK Permit No. 891

Stockton Corral News Ed Sleckert shows his old typewriter, right photo. Below, John Talbot talks about “The Tule Breakers,” a historical and rare ac- count of dredging published by the Westerners in the 1980s. Dr. Bill Swa- gerly, left photo, looks askance at the weapon being shown by Ross Carle.

Each August the Stockton Corral has a Show and Tell and Wine Tasting at the Spenker Winery in Lodi, Califor- nia. The Spenker family are life members of the corral, according to Mary Jo Gohlke who sent us some pictures of this year’s event.