FEATURING: Doris Daley, Carolyn Dufurrena, Patricia Frolander, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Carol Heuchan, Randi Johnson.

Roles know no gender on the ranch when there’s work to be done. And ranch women conform to no stereotype. Join Doris Daley, Carolyn Dufurrena, Patricia Frolander, and newcomer Randi Johnson–strong, distinct female voices–for poetry about everything that ranch women do, straight from the source. As recipients of the Della Johns scholarship, these women continue the legacy of Della, who was herself a ranch woman, career nurse, and all-around inspirational female figure. With one foot on the ranch and one foot in town, these women of the world provide a glimpse of their everyday lives through their stories and verse.

Hosted by Yvonne Hollenbeck

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PLAYLIST

"What Would Martha Do?" - Yvonne Hollenbeck
"Jane Martin, 50 Years a Gypsy" - Carolyn Dufurrena
"Farmwives of Alberta" - Doris Daley
"I Whispered Love" - Patricia Frolander
"Silent Stories" - Randi Johnson
"The Magic of the Horse" - Carol Heuchan
"Hay Crew Luncheon" - Carolyn Dufurrena
"Average Girl" - Doris Daley
"Requiem in Lace" - Patricia Frolander
"From the Horse's Mouth" - Randi Johnson
"Four Silk Shirts,1955" - Carolyn Duffurena
"Mary's Window" - Doris Daley
"Denial" - Patricia Frolander
"Bucking Horse Poem" - Randi Johnson
"Kitchen Windowsill" - Carolyn Dufurrena
"A Real Partner" - Doris Daley
"Who Would I Be if I Didn't Have a Name" - Patricia Frolander
"For Mama" - Randi Johnson
"Valentine's Day" - Carolyn Dufurrena
"Rich Man's Lady" - Doris Daley (poem by Elizabeth Ebert)
"Morning Watch" - Patricia Frolander
"Here's to the Girls" - Randi Johnson
“Pulling the Caking Truck Blues” - Yvonne Hollenbeck

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Doris Daley
Black Diamond, AB, Canada
Doris Daley is an Alberta-born, ranch-raised, hale and hearty, happy-trailed, spangled-and-wrangled western poet, emcee, and road warrior. She comes from a gene pool that includes Mounties, ranchers, team ropers, intrepid homesteaders, petticoated bushwhackers, good dancers, grain elevator operators, and Irish stowaways: the perfect pedigree for a cowboy poet. Doris has spouted her poetry around campfires and in concert halls from West Texas to Northern Alberta and all points in between. She grew up near a town of 300 people, she now lives in a "big" town (pop: 2,000) in the Alberta foothills with a bakery, two banks, a bar on the corner, one great library and no traffic lights.

Carolyn Dufurrena
Winnemucca, NV
Carolyn Dufurrena makes her home in rural northwestern Nevada. She is the author of
Quiet, Except for the Wind, a collection of poems and stories (2016) and the award-winning Fifty Miles from Home: Riding the Long Circle on a Nevada Family Ranch. She has also contributed to nationally-recognized anthology compilations. She conducts school and community workshops in writing and filmmaking, has been given the Nevada Press Association’s Outstanding Journalist for Magazines award, and is a regular contributor to Range magazine. Carolyn and her husband, Tim, are part of a large Basque sheep and cattle ranching family that has been in Humboldt County since around 1908. They live on the Quinn River Ranch with a typical assortment of critters.

Patricia Frolander
Sundance, WY
Patricia Frolander, Wyoming's fifth Poet Laureate, lives in the Black Hills on her husband’s fifth- generation ranch. Family, lifestyle, and stunning vistas provide wonderful subjects for her poetry. In addition to contributing to numerous anthologies, she has authored two books, Grassland Genealogy (2009) and Married Into It (2012). Patricia nurtures young authors, presents her work in a four-state area, and is currently at work on her third collection of poems.

Carol Heuchan
Cooranbong, NSW, Australia
Carol Heuchan has lived ‘on the land’ in rural Australia most of her life—previously on a sheep and cattle property in “The Man from Snowy River” country and now in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. She trained horses, taught riding, and competed intensively, becoming an international horse judge and commentator. Poetry kind of ‘took over’ about sixteen years ago and, after being Australian Champion Bush Poet twice and winning hundreds of awards, poetry became her full-time profession.She has published five books, six CDs, and has been named Australian Bush Laureate a record nine times;, she brings a broad repertoire that goes from heart wrenching to hilarious!

Yvonne Hollenbeck
Clearfield, SD
Yvonne Hollenbeck is a South Dakota cattleman’s wife who writes poetry about her life on a beautiful and remote ranch where she helps with everyday duties, such as putting up hay, feeding a crew, doing bookwork, or working cattle. Yvonne also is a free-lance author, penning a weekly column in The Farmer & Rancher Exchange, an avid quilter, and her one-woman show “Patchwork on the Prairie” is becoming one of the most popular programs, not only with Humanities Rosters, but throughout a large area. An example of her beautiful quilt and applique work is on display in the Western Folklife Center's Pioneer Saloon.

Randi Johnson
Hines, OR
Randi Johnson grew up on ranches in Nevada, California, and Oregon. Inspired by the stories and buckaroo traditions passed down to her by her father and old cowboys she looked up to, she began writing cowboy poetry in high school. A voracious reader, Randi combines her love of all things history, ranch life, and rodeo with her love of storytelling to preserve cowboy poetry's oral traditions. She is currently teaching second grade in Burns, Oregon, and working on her Master's Degree in elementary education.

From the 36th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

Filmed in front of a live audience at the Laurena Moren Theater at the Elko Convention Center on Jan. 31, 2020.

This show was made possible by the multitude of staff, artists, volunteers, and community members working behind the scenes to make this show happen.

Brought to you by the Western Folklife Center, using story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
www.westernfolklife.org