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Read MoreOwen Wister & Western Fiction
Best known as the creator of western fiction, Own Wister was a “Pennsylvanian who sat down in South Carolina, and wrote a book about a Virginian who lived in Wyoming.” I happened upon a copy of his book, THE VIRGINIAN, in a used book store. The opening scene is...
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Read MoreWind of the West Texas Variety
One of the realities of living in the Texas Panhandle is the ability to not become agitated by the wind. There are some days the grit and gusts can drive you mad, but then there are those unbearably hot summer days when you can count on that cool breeze...
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Read MoreLooking for Your Next Read?
Book reviews for a few gems I discovered this summer. True Life Memoir MORE THAN EVERYWHERE by Vanessa G. Foster I sat next to Vanessa at a writers dinner on the campus of WTAMU in Canyon, Texas this past summer. As with most gatherings that involve writers, the question...
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Read MoreInspiration from a Flint Point
I found inspiration from an Indian point dating back to the Antelope Creek People who occupied the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles between 1150 AD and 1450 AD. The utilized the quarry at Alibates for over three hundred years, trading the flint with other tribes. On our ranch in the...
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Read MoreCrow Country & Chief Plenty Coups
“Thank you for coming to Crow country. The land you are standing on is mixed with Crow blood.” ALDEN BIG MAN JR. I’m blogging about the Western Writers of America conference held in Billings and the field trip opportunities. I hopped on a bus and enjoyed a sack lunch...
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Read MoreWWA Panel: Returning Buffalo to the Plains
WWA Panel: Returning Buffalo to the Plains The Western Writers of America conference in Billings, Montana this year offered several informative panels on various topics. “Returning Buffalo to the Plains” was the topic, moderated by Bill Markley, with Kathleen O’Neal Gear, archaeologist and historian, along with her husband W....
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Read MoreWWA & Women Writing the West
Women Writing the West Meet-Up in Billings, Montana! Through the Yahoo group, I posted an invite to members of Women Writing the West for a possible meet up for those who might be attending the Western Writers of America conference. We exchanged cell phone numbers, and one member responded...
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Read MoreWWA Panels: Personifying Longmire
The Western Writers of America held their annual meeting in Billings, Montana in June of this year. Throughout the four day conference, attendees could choose between discussion panels and field trips covering a wide variety of interesting topics. In this blog post, I’m reviewing the panel which focused on...
About Natalie Bright
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Prairie Purview
Cowboy Gear: BOOTS
Cowboy boots, high-heeled boots, custom-mades, short tops were pee-wees. The early version of boots seen in the West did not always have high-heels, which has become synonymous with the American cowboy style. Early over-the-counter boots were plain with a lower heel and cost around $15.00. Cowboys began to wear higher heels which provided leverage, pointed toes could slip in and out of stirrups easier, 17-inch high tops protected legs and had pull-straps called “mule-ears”. It wasn’t until 1885 that...
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Gamers & Their Parents
Gamers & Their Parents: Are We Raising Violent Youth? Is our youth more violent today because of video games? Every time we experience a horrific incident involving America’s youth, the group of computer geeks labeled “gamers” are usually mentioned in the backlash. As a mom of one precious heavenly boy and two earthly young men, my heart aches for those parents who have lost children in these senseless acts done by mentally unstable people. These murderers are not representative...
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Windmills on the High Plains
Oldtimers say it’s a place where you can watch your dog run away for two days. A vast, arid plain of un-watered hearty mixture of grasses. Charles Goodnight set his ranch in Palo Duro Canyon and watered his livestock from the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, the flowing channel that had cut the deep canyon. In the northern Texas Panhandle, the early sheepherders settled along the banks of the Canadian River. In between were millions of...
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Great-Grandmother’s Oak Table
Is it possible to feel emotional towards a piece of furniture? We own an antique oak table which came from Mullins, Texas, my great-grandmother’s house. It must have been over 75 years old when Mom and Dad brought it home. I was in Junior High. My parents passed it to me when I married eleven years later. My husband rebuilt part of the base, which had rotted from being stored in a barn. The top has worm trails and...
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