Voices of the West

This hour we talk about perhaps one of the most important people of the Old West--Bernardo Miera Y Pacheco. He was a cartographer, artist, sculpturist, astronomer and worked in many other disciplines. He was "stationed" in New Spain (New Mexico) and mapped the territory into the Four Corners area and up to The Great Salt Lake. His maps helped guide new settlers to the region. He also was c...

Former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell joins us for the hour. He served in Congress as a Representative for Colorado and later as U.S. Senator. As a Native American, he chaired numerous committees in Congress, But, he also is a jeweler and a judo master and told us bunches of stories about him growing up.

We talked with Egan "Butch" Artichoker about his book, "The Complete Series." Butch is a member of the Ogala Sioux Tribe. His Lakota name translates in English as "Praying Eagle." The book highlights four stories that emphasize the primary virtues of the Lakota--Bravery, Wisdom, Generosity, Fortitude. Unfortunately the book is no longer available.

Tess Howie joins us the for hour. She's the producer of a documentary called "Feek's Vision." it's about C.E. "Feek" Tooke. In the 1930s he revolutionized bronc horse breeding for rodeo competition. The film, produced with her husband Ken Howie to show how bronc horses were bred for that particular rodeo performance. Watch the movie here .

Henry C. Parke joins us for our Movie Saturday program. Parke is the author of "The Greatest Westerns Ever Made and the People who Made Them." The book chronicles films and TV westerns from the silents to talkies. You can find the book at Amazon.com .

Lilian J. Rice in the 1920s designed Rancho Santa Fe, a neighborhood in the San Diego metro area. The neighborhood was planned around the environment with its buildings complementing the environment. Author and biographer Diane Welch researched Rice and wrote a book about the short life of Rice.

Film Festivals abound in October! Up next to talk about is the Wild Bunch Film Festival being held in Tucson, Arizona October 23-27. It is THE film festival for independent producers in the Western genre.

Our guest for the hour is Steve Latshaw. He's a film historian and works to restore films. He's also part of the 2024 Lone Pine Film Festival, which starts 10/13. Steve is also a screenwriter, producer and director of a number of films--mostly B sci-fi films but a couple of westerns thrown in there.

For our Movie Saturday program, we talk about Hollywood's Humble Maestro--Russell Garcia. His granddaughter, Kristy Corwin, joins us. Garcia was a child prodigee regarding music. He composed music for a number of westerns including Rawhide .

Our guest is Ben Lee. He runs the Camp Verde School near Sedona, Arizona. His great grandfather author Yan Phou Lee. He came to America in 1872 to pursue his eduction. On the way east, his train was robbed by the James Gang. Lee talks about his great grandfather trying to assimilate in the American culture.

Pat Garrett, the lawman that captured and killed Billy the Kid, was found shot to death along the road near Las Cruces, NM Territory. The question is who actually killed Garrett and why. That's what we explore in this episode.

Lettie Irons Connell joins for the hour to talk about her family's history. Her great grandmother was an interpreter for Sitting Bull. Her entire family is dedicated to telling their family's history. Lettie also served as a police officer and she is now a Veterans Service Officer with the American Legion Auxiliary in the Camp Verde, Arizona area.

For our next Movie Saturday program, it's all about the cookies that kept the trail drives going. From Hop Sing to Wishbone we talk about the actors who cooked it up for the cowboys.

Dr. David Turpie joins us for the hour to talk about zoos in Arizona--their aim, economic contribution and more. David is with the Arizona Histiorical Society which has recently published their latest edition talking about the zoos of Arizona.

Brad Ness, the founder of Commemorative Firearms joins us. His company produces specialty firearms for groups to use as fundraisers. The company has been in business since 1982 and has provided firearms for auctions for numerous groups including Nascar, PBR, Sturgis anniversary and the American Quarterhorse Association. Visit the website here .

John Payne aka The One Arm Bandit joins us from the road. He's based in Oklahoma and travels throughout the country performing at rodeos and fairs. He's called The One Arm Bandit because of an accident he suffered at a young age that required his arm be amputated. He's overcome his difficulties and contiues to herd cattle and buffalo. Visit his website here .

Retired National Park Service ranger and historian Dan Martinez joins us from Hawaii. His latest job was the Chief Historian of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Dan also worked at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. Our topic is about how the U.S. Civil War created the movement for westward expansion.

Author Michael F. Blake joins us to talk about his book on John Ford's cavalry trilogy-- Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon , and Rio Grande . These films are cowboy classics. His book, The Cavalry Trilogy , can be found at lots of bookstores, including Amazon.com .

Author Steve Shaw joins us for the hour. His book, Beyond the Rio Grande , is available at Amazon.com . Steve is a USAF veteran. He's also a filmmaker and he and his wife Marcie ran a successful tour company that took clients on horseback rides at famous cowboy spots. Steve is since retired. He's also consulted on films such as Disney's Lone Ranger and Seth MacFarland's A Million W...

Bill Palanuk with the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame joins us. He's the media director for the group. He's also a broadcaster and voice-over talent. We're talking about the organization and some other great stories.

Author and columnist Clara Caufield joins us for the hour. She's a Native American writing for the Native Sun News Today . She's a bonifide cowgirl and a poet with lots of interesting stories.

It's our Movie Saturday show. This one features westerns and rivers with rivers being the central theme. Lots of great movies!

Today's program is all over the place. We grill Todd Roberts about his high school reunion, Bunker de France talks about the Battle of Glorietta Pass in the War Between The States, and Harry Alexander talks about some up-coming western movies to check out.

Bunker de France and Harry Alexander talk about a number of things associated with the Old West--movies, books, sitting around the campfire, trail drives and cowboy poetry.

It's a Nuggets show to start out the month. A bunch of things we thought about and thought you'd enjoy them. Basically, a western version of a Seinfeld show.