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TJ Casey comes to Jordan

Courtesy of

The Jordan Tribune

December 4, 2009

Story by Karla Christensen
 

            TJ Casey, the singing cowboy from Shepherd, Montana entertained and taught three different groups of students.  In the morning Casey was over in the High School Multi-purpose Room.  At 9:00 am students in grades 7 through 12 assembled in the MPR room.

            He talked about the herds of buffalo being decimated by the westward migration of the white settlers and the U.S Army and hunters.  The open policy of destruction of the buffalo caused the deliberate decline of the Indian tribes.  Further disruption of the Indian culture was caused by sending the children to boarding schools like the Carlisle Boarding School.  Misguided leaders, some with the best intentions, wanted to assimilate the Indian into the White Man's culture.  The unintended consequences were devastating to the Indian families who had been uprooted from their homes and then their children taken away from the safety and security of the community.

Casey told about Beaverhead County, and one of the biggest ranches in the West.  The cattle were driven to Salt Lake City by horseback, where they were shipped by rail to other parts of the country, so people in many cities and the soldiers could eat.  Five Million cattle were trailed from Texas to points North, including Montana in batches of 2500 at a time.  Casey asked the students how many people they thought were needed to manage a herd of that size.  A couple of students right off raised their hand and said 10 people.  TJ was thrilled that the kids knew right away how many riders would be about right.

TJ then talked about cattleman, Charlie Goodnight.  He figured exactly how many people were needed on the trail, right down to the cook.  One of the first cattle drives (organized by somebody else) was sent up without any thought for feeding the cowboys.  The boys got hungry and the cattle never made it all the way.  Charlie could see right away that the men must be fed and fed good.  He created a wagon that was solely for the preparation and transport of food supplies and cooking utensils and equipment.  Charlie Goodnight called his invention the "Chuck Wagon".  It has become a mainstay on cattle drives and wagon trains even today.

Casey talked about the cowboys that were recruited to ride herd on cattle on these long trail drives.  There were cowboys from Mexico, Native Americans, anybody who could ride a horse, rope cattle, make split second decisions and risk their lives on an uncertain adventure.  Wages were minimal and not always a sure thing at the end of the ride.

TJ talked about poets and the making of poetry.  He said it was in important part of the long days of managing cattle and cowboys.  It was a release of tension and boredom to create rhyming words to accompany the rhythm of the moving cattle and steady pace of their ponies.  Putting the words into song was a natural extension of the stories embedded in the poetry.  Casey told about Curly Fletcher, a California native, who wrote the "Strawberry Roan" on the 44 Ranch outside Brockway, Montana. It tells a good tale of a rogue bronc and the cowboys who tried to ride him.  The colorful earthy lyrics paint humorous and sentimental pictures of a cowboy's sense of humor, wrinkled hats, boots, and egos.

Another singer/songwriter that Casey introduced his young audience to was Folk Singer Arlo Guthrie, who wrote, "This Land is Your Land", as well as hundreds of poems that became popular songs.  These songs open a doorway into the life and times of the storyteller, a hobo traveling across America. 

Casey then talked a little about the mechanics of story telling through poetry.  Certain lines of the poem should rhyme, such as the second and fourth lines.  The "Strawberry Roan" makes it work with the second and fourth rhyming, which is considered traditional style poetry.

He challenged groups of students to write poetry for a variety of topics that he provided, like "Coyote Cooties".  Each student clutched their pencil and paper and enthusiastically jumped into the creations of poetry, having fun making words rhyme, telling a story, beaming faces, many using spontaneous gestures to tell their stories.

The entire floor of the MPR room became a creative workshop, groups of kids sprawling everywhere, absorbed in their flights of poetry.  Teachers sometimes joined a group, sometimes just letting the energies flow.  There is something invigorating and unencumbered about having your feet the same height as your brain.  The thought processes zip around places that had never existed and the ideas flow like a jungle stream, every turn is a new adventure.

TJ stepped over legs and bodies interested in how each group was handling their specific topic.  The students were excitedly sharing ideas and coming up with new ones, thought processes expanding in all directions.  The students were eager to show TJ their creations.  He would offer suggestions and lots of encouragement.

For his finale, he got out his guitar and sang a song that he wrote and hasn't been released publicly yet, called, "Heart and Soul".  Then he sang a song that had some yodeling parts that the kids loved.  Then he divided his audience (now sitting on the side benches, again) in half and compared the yodels yells of the one side to that of the other side.  The students fell right into that competition.  Then he sang a song with lots of yodels and the two groups each sang a different type yodel.  It was inspiring to see the spirited rendition.

Lastly, TJ Casey wanted to leave his young audience with some thoughts to take with them into whatever they do in the future and for the rest of their lives.  This essential and practical wisdom was the message, "Never Give Up", especially in times of stress and trouble.  "Finish what you started", it is especially important to keep on trying and getting it done.  Figure out what you want to do and go for it.  "Hard work and perseverance" are necessary to open the door so you can be anything you want to be.