Porch + Prairie Winter issue 2023

WINTER 2023

www.porchprairiemag.com

It may seem like just a flight, but it is far more than that. Each journey is the culmination of careful planning, flawless execution, and an unbridled passion to provide the best in world-class customer service. It is in each friendly handshake with the industry’s best pilots and it is in the calm that takes over as you settle into your seat aboard a perfectly appointed aircraft, all Owned and Operated by NICHOLAS AIR. From the personalized attention to our commitment to providing the highest quality aircraft to the Most Refined Set of Private Flyers, the NICHOLAS AIR team is solely focused on one mission--- yours.

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Legends of America brought to life yet immortalized

pride in crafting the finest Americana and Foundry Michelangelo takes Western Art Statues.

They are dramatic works of sculptural art that reflect historical characters and wildlife of the Old West.

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THE FALL GETAWAY

Of Your Dreams

Crisp weather. Luxury amenities. High-end accommodations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 20

PERFECTION BY PARKER BOOT

34

WISDOM WELL-TRAVELED

50

FROM DALLAS TO THE DESERTS

58

HIGHLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS FROM AMERICANANAFEST 2023

By Rebekah Iliff

68

HOLLY JOLLY HOLIDAYS

74

CARING FOR THE KING

82

34

JOHN WAYNE: FOR WHICH HE STOOD

By Beka Garbutt

88

THE OUTDOORSMAN'S INHERITANCE

By Cameron Kirby

90

BEHIND THE HAT: WENDE KUNKLE AND THE LEGACY OF KEMO SABE

100

DARN TOUGH BIRDS

by Edgar Castillo

106

RUNNIING WILD WITH RUNNING W

20

50 58

SideBar 10

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

12

CONTRIBUTORS

14

PAGES

16

FRONT STEPS A Love Letter to Christmas

by Abby Carlton

74

18

PLEDGE

128

BACK PORCH Deep Thought

by Peder von Harten

90 WINTER 2023

www.porchprairiemag.com

106

MAGAZINE

Spring Summer FALL winter

FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Peder von Harten

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Todd Malone

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Abby Carlton

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Peder von Harten, Abby Carlton, Rebekah Iliff, Edgar Castillo, Cameron Kirby

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Seth Iliff, Bethany Johanna, Matt Nichols, John "Hutch" Hutcheson, Stephanie Weinreis, Patrick Tracy, Brooke Welgos

NATIONAL SALES Tonie Ellis at tonieellismedia@gmail.com Chris McIntosh at Chris McIntosh chris@piperranchmedia.com or advertising@porchprairiemag.com

TO SUBSCRIBE

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visit porchprairiemag.com/subscribe Porch + Prairie is published four times a year by Flying V Media, LLC DBA Piper Ranch Media, Oxford, MS 38655.

Subscriptions are for one and two years (5 issues per year), Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 587 Oxford, MS 38655

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES To offer stories and /or photographs to be considered for publication in Porch + Prairie,email them to todd@porchprairiemag.com. Emails should include full contact information. We reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, brevity and print quality.

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PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 9

LETTER FROM

THE EDITOR Peder von Harten - Editor-in-Chief Dear Friends, I’ve been fortunate to have encountered some incredible people over the course of my life and that’s something that has never been lost on me. In fact, I think about it often, how the runt of the litter from a large family somehow has shared a meal or round of golf or a hunt out west with some really great folks. Some are athletes, some are music artists, some are business luminaries, and yes, sitting back and listening to them talk about their worlds have created some really special moments for me.

Some stories I could share, but the best ones should remain between the group gathered around the campfire late at night.

Your definition of what “incredible people” might describe may differ than mine and I’ll admit, my definition has shifted over the years.

I used to think that backstage access or a pair of tickets left at the ballpark will-call window were what mattered, but nowadays that’s changed. When I look into this issue of Porch + Prairie and the others that came before it, it’s clear that I am much more drawn to relationships with those who are building our future and are meaningfully benefiting our society with their efforts.

Sure, they may still be celebrities or athletes or luminaries, but those positions are not what define them to the world. The names of their occupations are replaced by what they are doing for those who they may never meet. People like Chris Dorsey, who is using his platform as a media mogul to educate the next generation on the natural world around them in a fun and engaging way. Or Benjamin Minden (featured in P+P, Fall 2023), who eschewed the typical path of a Harvard MBA and instead devotes his life to helping his fellow veterans learn the vocations of the American rancher. Or frankly any of the folks that we have featured in our pages as they all have left a noticeable fingerprint on the world around them.

These people are incredible, by any definition of the word and what they are doing for the future of our country even more so. When you hear their stories, when you see the magnitude of their efforts and the results of that work, you have no choice but to come away impressed. To know how much work goes into their ventures to make them successful is inspiring. Just think, they could have spent all that time and effort purely on themselves and in today’s world, no one would say a word against it, but yet they took their tools, time, and talent to better someone else’s world. That itself is, in a word, incredible.

As we’ve gotten to know these new friends, you come away wanting to be a better person and you come away aspiring to do something bigger than yourself. Me personally, I’m taking those steps, and what better time of the year than for you to do the same.

With great appreciation,

PvH

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CONTRIBUTORS Abby Carlton was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana, where her and her family never shied away from a road trip or flight to a new city. She loves exploring new places she’s never been before and creating traditions around spots worth returning back to. Whether it’s making someone smile or laugh, or spending a little time out of her day helping others out, Abby is always appreciating the little things that help her choose joy each day. Abby currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi and enjoys traveling to visit her family on the Mississippi Coast and back in Louisiana, which will always be home.

Kevin Martone balances a busy professional life with his passion for the outdoors. A nationally recognized expert in mental health and the Executive Director of a national non-profit, Kevin’s business travels enable him to enjoy the local culture and landscape in states throughout America.

From Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, to New England and across the South, Kevin creates opportunities in the outdoors whenever and wherever he can. Kevin spends his personal time hunting, fishing, trail running, and enjoying sunsets with his wife, Sasha, on the dock of their family pond.

Kelsi McKee has been writing poetry and stories since she was old enough to scratch words on paper. She completed her first novel when she was 18 and continues to write while balancing a full-time job in the news industry. Originally from Northwest and a graduate of Texas A&M, Kelsi has enjoyed adventuring across the country and making her way to her current home in South Carolina. Away from pen and paper, Kelsi enjoys her time on the golf course and of course, cheering on her Aggies.

Beka Garbutt is southern born and raised and currently resides in northeast Mississippi. She loves a good view of nature whether from the top of a mountain after a hike or simply admiring the sunset from the front porch.

Travel usually takes her to visit family in an effort to maintain her “cool aunt” status with her growing number of nieces and nephews. She believes laughter is the best medicine and is happiest when surrounded by those she loves.

Rebekah Iliff is an award-winning humor writer, author, and entrepreneur raised in the midwest living in the south. She has a knack for turning difficult topics into digestible stories and loves giving people the unexpected laugh. Her work has been featured in publications ranging from Fast Company and Forbes to Weekly Humorist and the Erma Bombeck Blog. She released her first book, Champagne for One, in February 2022. Rebekah’s favorite part of the day is sitting on the back stoop, watching the sunset with her husband and pup.

Personal website: rebekahiliff.com IG: @rebekahiliffweaver Book website: ChampageforOne.com

Edgar Castillo is a recently retired law enforcement officer for a large Kansas City metropolitan agency. He also served in the United States Marine Corps for twelve years.

Edgar was born in Guatemala, and when his family came to the U.S., his father, a new bird hunter himself, would take Edgar afield in search of roosters and bobs. Edgar’s passion lies in the uplands as he self-documents his travels across public lands throughout Kansas and the U.S., hunting open fields and prairies, walking treelines, & bustin’ through plum thickets, in a never-ending chase to hunt wild birds in wild places.

You can follow his adventures on Instagram at @hunt_birdz

Cameron Kirby, a Northwest native, has always had an affinity for the uninterrupted stretches of wilderness calling to those who seek out the unknown. He enjoys time spent hunting, fishing, caving, sailing, and anything else that can be a vehicle to enjoy the outdoors. Cameron has been married for 17 years and as a family man, he knows it’s his responsibility to pass on his respect and deep admiration for nature to his two boys. In addition to the pursuits of a naturalist, he enjoys vintage cars, firearms, a good book, and an even better scotch. You can follow his exploits on Instagram at @tradekraft

PPICK +P

r e t n i W Reads LOST ON PURPOSE: THE ADVENTURES OF A 21ST CENTURY MOUNTAIN MAN

by Patrick Taylor “Lost on Purpose” is the true story of former tech exec Patrick Taylor reinventing himself as a modern-day mountain man.

Tired of a life that wasn't working anymore, he chose adventure as a gateway to a new life. In early winter 2013, he walked across the Rockies alone to retrace the historic route of Lewis & Clark through the rugged and remote mountains of Idaho.

This book achieved #1 Bestseller status in THREE Amazon categories: Mountaineering, Extreme Sports, & Solo Travel.

It's the first of the 'Real-life Adventures of theTexas Yeti'; a unique collection of non-fiction adventures blazing 6 (six) Kindle #1 Bestsellers across 4 Amazon categories... every book spending time as #1 Bestseller in Solo Travel. Each of his offbeat adventures is unique; the antipode of Walter Mitty, Taylor actually lives the lives he imagines.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

14 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

OTHER PAGES TO PERUSE

THE WATCHMAKER'S DAUGHTER

by Larry Loftis

THE BOOK OF CHARLIE:

WISDOM FROM THE REMARKABLE AMERICAN LIFE OF A 109-YEAR-OLD MAN

by David Von Drehle The Watchmaker’s Daughter is one of the greatest stories of World War II that readers haven’t heard: the remarkable and inspiring life story of Corrie ten Boom—a groundbreaking, female Dutch watchmaker, whose family unselfishly transformed their house into a hiding place straight out of a spy novel to shelter Jews and refugees from the Nazis during Gestapo raids. Even though the Nazis knew what the ten Booms were up to, they were never able to find those sheltered within the house when they raided it.

Corrie stopped at nothing to face down the evils of her time and overcame unbelievable obstacles and odds. She persevered despite the loss of most of her family and relied on her faith to survive the horrors of a notorious concentration camp. But even more remarkable than her heroism and survival was Corrie’s attitude when she was released.

Miraculously, she was able to eschew bitterness and embrace forgiveness as she ministered to people in need around the globe. Corrie’s ability to forgive is just one of the myriad lessons that her life story holds for readers today.

Reminiscent of Schindler’s List and featuring a journey of faith and forgiveness not unlike Unbroken, The Watchmaker’s Daughter is destined to become a classic work of World War II nonfiction.

When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life.

Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president.

William Morrow

Simon & Schuster

David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie’s secrets. The Book of Charlie is a “genuinely original, formula-shattering” (Bob Woodward) gospel of grit—the inspiring story of one man’s journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie’s story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation—a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life.

PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 15

Front Steps

by Abby Carlton

I

A Love Letter to Christmas

can smell it, I can hear it, I can feel it. The scented candles, the fresh-bakes cookies, the carols, and the cold wind on my cheeks, all because it’s the holiday season---Christmas time is here, and it feels like I can breathe again. I don’t know when in my life I started to love Christmas time as much as I do now; Maybe it was when my sisters grew to just the perfect age to understand the magic of the holiday, or my first time putting up my very own tree in my very own home. This season has always held a special place in my heart, and I feel so moved thinking about the traditions I have with my family and the ones I’ll create as I continue to build my own. The most beautiful thing about the holiday season, to me, is how different it can look for every single person, while we’re all celebrating and appreciating the same meaning of Christmas.

This time of year, I really feel like our everyday lives slow down in the best way possible. We’re shopping for gifts for others, we’re driving down long roads full of houses with intricate Christmas lights, and we’re snuggled by the fire drinking the sweetest cup of coffee on a Sunday morning. It’s this season that reminds me to cherish the little moments, and bottle them up to remember forever. I never want to forget the look on my family’s faces, or the laughs shared, as we pull out ornaments one by one while decorating the Christmas tree, telling the story of each ornament, how it became part of the collection, and why it’s special to our family. I want to always remember the smell of breakfast cooking and the sound of the classic songs throughout the house. I even want to cherish the feuds over broken tree lights and accidentally shattered glass ornaments. All of the memories and the traditions are what makes Christmas, Christmas.

What I love about Christmas time, and this season we’re in in general, is the extra mile we all go for each other even more than other times of the year. We get so caught up in our own worlds throughout the months, as soon as it turns to Spring and Summer, we’re back to our routine and work lives like we never left. There’s a hustle to the warmer months that I’m sure we can all appreciate to an extent, but to me---there’s nothing like the pace of the holiday months. The twinkle in little ones’ eyes when they hear stories about reindeer and elves, the tracking of Santa’s map on Christmas Eve, and the little chance you have of sleeping in Christmas morning, all bring back that child-like faith and hope for me. Now that we’re

growing up, it’s exciting to know that new traditions can be made every year, and it’s our responsibility to keep them going.

With the holiday season comes the end of a calendar year, which can feel pretty daunting to some, but I believe that we can both reflect on the year we’ve just had, at the same time we’re gearing up for a new year ahead. It’s the chance to start over if you need, the opportunity to make changes and grab ahold of who you want to be over the next year. New Year’s resolutions are fleeting, but it’s a beautiful thing that we’re in charge of our own future. We get to say yes, have our “yes year.” We can commit to being a better version of ourselves over the next year, until next Christmas, then we can do it all over again next year, always becoming stronger, healthier, and more confident in who we are.

I hope that this Christmas and holiday season, you will spend time with your loved ones, create new traditions, while honoring those you’ve had along the years, and I pray you find the best version of yourself, whether you know exactly who that is, or you’ve been searching for years. Hug your parents, and especially your grandparents, let your people know you love them. The holidays can be the hardest time for some, but with this new year on the horizon, comes a new beginning. The true reason for this season is giving thanks for the love and hope that we have, and pausing our everyday lives to celebrate all that we’ve been given. In this intimidating world we live in, full of media and society telling us what to do and who to be, what we can hold onto are things that will never change.

If you need me this holiday season, I’ll be by the fire, under a mound of blankets, with a full mug of black coffee in my hand, reading the latest issue of Porch + Prairie Magazine. Thank you to our readers, our advertisers, and to our friends we’ve met along the way, for letting us tell your story. Our team is eternally grateful for your support these past few years as we’ve grown and learned, and as you’ve done the same with us along the way. We’re glad to be a part of all of your seasons. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy 2024, we’ll see you in the Spring.

All my love,

Abby PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 17

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I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 19

Perfection, by

PARKER BOOT COMPANY

20 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

Z

ephan Parker is an artist. He might not tell you that himself, but he’s an artist, and in his Houston-based shop, he and his team at Parker Boot Company are carrying forward the legacy and the craftsmanship of handmade cowboy boots one custom vamp, shaft, stitch, sole, and heel at a time. Parker, who you might have guessed is the man behind the name, is a true student of the craft, having put in his time learning just as much as he’s put in his time building great boot after great boot. Almost an historian by nature, Parker understands how and why the cowboy boot came to be and through a series of new-age twists with old-world techniques, he is creating boots that are equally worthy of a great night downtown as they are out on the ranch. Better yet, you could argue that some of his boots deserve a spot in a shadowbox on the wall for all to admire.

Designated in 2007 as The Official State Footwear of Texas, the cowboy boot has a lifetime that stretches well back into the 19th century. A derivative of the equestrian-style riding boot that was influenced by Mexican vaqueros, the cowboy boot had a place in the saddle that made working a horse more solid through the unique combination of toe shape (typically rounded or snipped) and an angled heel whose notch slipped better into the stirrup. As fashion started to take off and boots became a bit more mass-produced, many cowboys would have their working boots and then a different set for around town.

Zephan Parker knows all of this, and while he is not trying to go back to the 1800s and re-create the boots of a bygone era, he is still doing it the way that early bootmakers plied their trade--- by hand.

The words “mass-produced” don’t fit into the Parker lexicon and given the result of his work, it never should.

The reality however, is that the boots are just the end product, the culmination of a process that was set in motion several months prior. In reality, there is nothing stock about making a boot at Parker Boot Company, with each experience being one that involves consultation, selection of the right leathers, the perfect fit, and of course the details. For Parker, the meetings with clients and prospective clients are a representation of what business is supposed to be about—deep personal relationships built on mutual respect, trust, and the requirement that at the end of the transaction, the customer is smiling. When it comes to pieces that hold such great

Designated in 2007 as The Official State Footwear of Texas, the cowboy boot has a lifetime that stretches well back into the 19th century. A derivative of the equestrian-style riding boot that was influenced by Mexican vaqueros, the cowboy boot had a place in the saddle that made working a horse more solid through the unique combination of toe shape (typically rounded or snipped) and an angled heel whose notch slipped better into the stirrup.

personal meaning to the wearer, falling short just isn’t an option no matter how simple or ornate the project might be. For a customer, the photos of the boots in progress and then the finished result will never measure up to opening the Parker Boot Company box for the first time and seeing your new piece of art in your hands. Each pair of boots is incredibly personal for a customer, but then again, so is the smile on their face.

Zephan Parker is responsible for that smile and with a long career of quality workmanship and exceptional bootmaking, he will notch his name next to some of the icons of the boot world in Texas. On the heels (ok, maybe pun intended) of one of Parker Boot Company’s most ornate designs to date, we found time to see with Zephan and talk through the process of building a boot, of continuing a legacy, of creating his own, the great state of Texas, and those bucket list boots that he keeps on the list of dreams for his company.

PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 21

P+P: One doesn’t simply wake up one day and start a brand like Parker Boot Company, so tell us, how did you really get your start doing this?

ZP: Today, I am maker of handmade western boots, but before this leg of the race I was a client on the other side of the table waiting in a long line to have a pair made. Unlike many other boot makers, I was a client first, and migrated into the world of actually making the boots. While living in central Texas an Older gentleman I went to church with by the name of Charles Williams introduced me to a world of boot making led by the central Texas bookmaker, Ray Jones. It inspired me to dig a little deeper and seek out a maker still living in the legacy of this Texas giant. I landed in a small shop in Lampasses, Texas. A man by the name of John Jass of the Jass boot shop. It would be right here in this shop I would muster the courage to take up the mantle of custom bookmaking. In this shop, there were very few tools, very few machines, no handbooks, no guides, all by memory, all by hand. I was hooked in by the romance of handmade in America, its purity, its grit and grace. This passion took me as a student into some of the finest shops on the planet, entering in some cases as client and others as a student. Throughout this journey, I realized there was a need for a handmade bookmaker that not only knew the business, but knew the how’s and why’s of even the finest details, maximizing the experience and a guarantee for the guy I used to be, the client. I knew what they were looking for, what mattered most, and now as a maker I had the tools to deliver. I returned to Houston, put together the few nickels and dimes I had, bought the remaining machines needed to buildout a full shop, rented a small space, put a sign on the door that said, “Custom Made boots, we guarantee the fit!” and the rest is history.

22 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 23

P+P: At what point did you get to the point where you felt comfortable in not only building the perfect boot, but in deciding that this would be your profession and your way of taking care of your family?

ZP: As with any new venture, comfort is often times absent. The thrill for the unknown is always there, and still is around every new corner we turn. There came a moment when I realized that handmade in America was being lost, there was only a few embers flickering in an ash pile of what had been an old flame. So here I was, I had spent countless hours learning, making, and traveling all to come to one final moment. I had considered often about the timing of when to break out and blaze my own trail, from my own point of view with my own artistic expression. I had the skills, the knowledge and will power, just needed a push. That push came late one evening while returning home from work at a boot shop with another maker. We passed a small brick building, I turned and said, “Lets rent that space. I'll sign the lease and put up the money, let's give it a shot!”. He agreed. Within 24 hours of signing the lease he flaked on the deal and there I was, striking it out on my own! My success would be marked by a simple sign and a handshake, “Custom made boots, I GUARANTEE the fit!"

P+P: Your style is one that combines the traditions of the cowboy boot with the artisan nature of old world cobblers more commonly found in Europe. What is it about building a boot that appeals to you so much?

ZP: Western Cowboy boots are much more appealing simply 24 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

because it's one of the only style contributions America gave the world. Most of our wardrobe in America is heavily influenced by European style and makers, however, this is not the case with the cowboy from the American west. The cowboys style and grace, honesty and handwork still directly inspire each wearer today. The relationship between our boots and our American heritage is one of great pride and loyalty. Making cowboy boots adds an even greater degree of affection to this great spirit of the West!

P+P: You’ve long spoken about how you are student of craftsman and the element of hand-made goods. How do you keep that top of mind each day when building boots?

ZP: It's all in the details and comes with a consciousness to continue to grow as a person. One of the greatest ways to keep your mind and skills sharp is to teach others. I have found that this is probably one of the greatest ways to discover things about yourself and how great of a craftsman you actually are. In my Shop, I have a team of men and women that I have trained, most with zero boot making experience. I believe in this team and its my responsibility to give them the knowledge and the tools to be the absolute best at what they do. This requires dedication and clarity of mind to work through the questions, the how’s and why’s each and every day. engineering P+P: Your equipment is time-tested--- what is it about those World War era Singer sewing machines that are still the machine of choice in your shop?

PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 25

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PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 27

ZP: Three things matter when talking about any equipment. 1 - Are they tough enough to get the job done? 2 - Are there parts to repair them when they break? 3 - are they simple enough to train team members on? The machines from that era were built with these variables in mind, and it’s why we still use them today.

They meet the demands on a variety of levels being able to sew in many applications all on one machine, verse today many machines come with complicated set up techniques and are used for very specific applications.

P+P: On a scale, which part does Zephan Parker favor more--using his own hands and building the boot itself, or the consultation time you spend with a client helping them make their selections?

ZP: For me the consultation can be one of the more exciting elements of boot making, however, its rooted in being able to see it come to life on the other side of building. This marriage is what inspires me to help the client dive deeper into what they really like, what speaks to them and is personal, then watching it go from a flat piece of leather into something ornate, or refined depending upon who they are or what they are intending to do with the boot.

P+P: The customization of each boot, the time you spend with a client building their boot, is the most important part of the entire experience. For those who are new to that experience, do you offer a way to walk them the process so that they are not just happy with the end result, but also feel like they were still the key part of the build?

ZP: Yes, one of the ways we keep this experience personal is by showing hand drawn sketches of our patterning process and involving them in each of those minor details to make sure they get the boot that they envision.

P+P The hand-tooling and the real customization of these boots require the perfect dose of patience and talent to produce the exact look your customer is looking for. When you’re talking about boot leathers, trial and error is not exactly part of the equation, so how do you assess your comfort level in producing a customer’s design from a technical standpoint?

ZP: It comes down to one word, Experience. We work with a variety of leathers, but we also know these leathers in and out, we know what they can and cannot do. This knowledge is what maximizes our potential. When it comes to the tooling aspect, we hand sketch on a pattern that is exactly what we are going to carve and tool and we don’t vary from it. This attention to detail is key is eliminating human error on any project where there are no redos.

P+P: Designs come in all styles, but one would have to guess that the traditional cattle or ranch brand has to be the most common. As a historian of your craft and artist, you yourself must feel a certain kind of way about the tradition and history that a ranch brand represents, no?

ZP: Absolutely, it's one of the most iconic personal symbols out of the old west. Rooted in ownership, family heritage, and pride of who one is. There are few symbols that can be as abstract as a brand and yet speak volumes to ones history and legacy. One example is the King Ranch brand in south Texas. Books have been written on this heritage and the culture that surrounds it. Intended for cattle identification, today they find their mark on hats, bags, human bodies and the western cowboy boot.

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P+P: On the flip side, what have been some of the more eccentric designs that you and your team have pulled off to create?

ZP: Some of the most technical designs are wildlife scenes.

Whether it's a scuba diver with a great white in the background in the Florida Keys, or a beautiful hummingbird drinking nectar, each has a challenge both in technical cutting and layering, to color selection.

P+P: The cowboy boot has made a bit of a resurgence in recent years, but its history stretches back a long, long way. As a bootmaker, what do you think has drawn people into adopting boots as a fashion piece and not just required equipment for working cowhands?

ZP: Style plays a major role for the masses at large. People are looking for a point of view to associate with, an identity. The cowboy boot is a very dynamic piece of footwear, it shows a sense of seriousness and yet an element of class at the same time. Like anything iconic it must have a unique heritage rooted in function and the Cowboy boot checks this box as well. Many wear a submariner Rolex, yet will never find themselves at the depths this watch can be submerged to and still tic. With a cowboy boot the same applies, many live the symbolism, the history, the style that comes along with those who wore them before us.

P+P: Modern boots have more artistic lines and lend themselves a little more toward fashion than utility, but style also can change over time. Do you see the style of boots shifting one way or another?

For example, for a long while, the snip toe was the toe of choice, but eventually clients started looking for a more squared off look.

Nowadays, it seems the roper is the shape of choice for many. Do you see those trends shifting still?

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ZP: Yes, I think the styles will change, but the round toes has always been staple in western boots. It's stylish and a lot less risky in terms of dress. Today people have moved away from the narrow toes in most regions simply because we are seeking more comfort in daily footwear. The narrower toes in mass produced boots have gained a bad reputation for bad fit and toes issues. This leads many wearers away and into wider fitting footwear, hence the square toes and broad round toe of the roper boots. I think women will continue to maintain the more narrow toes, such as the snip, and men will continue to be content with the round toe. It appears the square toes may be slipping away as the next generation matures and elevated dress may be more demanded.

P+P: You say that handmade implies a superior process, but that is also depends on whose hands made it. When most think of craftsman in the boot world, I think the mind immediately goes to an older generation. Is there a new generation of bootmakers that are taking the reins from those veterans of the business?

ZP: Yes, there is and I am one of them. In a world of over information, we are seeing several industries have experts at a much younger age than would be previously possible. Training can now be videos and reviewed a hundred times in an evening. little tricks snd tips which may have been lost in an old town years ago are published for all to see. With a great team leader, and commitment to building something at its finest, this new generation, on my team, is breaking barriers that many from days gone by did not, in order to ensure there is still a handmade arena of western boot making in America.

P+P: Parker Boot Company is a notable Texas brand whose reputation was built on the quality of the work and the relationships you build with your clients. Do you plan to openly expand that reputation to a greater geography?

ZP: Yes, we are currently planning on launching a ready to wear line under the title of Tejas. This brand will focus on delivering a Texas heritage aesthetic, with all the quality of a bespoke made boot.

Hand lasted, with hand sewn welts, and wood pegs will all be part of the process, made right here under my direction. Tejas is the future of truly handmade cowboy boots in America. A renaissance of sorts to get back to the old ways and continue to train a new generation of craftsman that take pride in what they do and guarantee their work.

P+P: The cultural scene in Texas has shifted quite rapidly in the past few years as more and more are finding the pace of life and the cost of living to be much more advantageous. As a Texan, what do you feel is drawing people to move to Texas in droves?

ZP: In many people’s lives, a good economic structure is very appealing. There is also a lot more options in Texas in terms of larger cities to find a good Career and raise a family. Finally, people in Texas are generally more conservative and much more open and friendly to travelers from afar.

P+P: As a Houstonian, the city has moved on from its old roots as simply an oil town. Was there always a piece of Houston on the cutting edge and moving into tech and other energy industries or is that relatively new with the influx of folks moving in over the past few years?

ZP: Houston is a very interesting city. It still has a very energybased industry and plays a major role in our local economy. At its core, Houston is a city of great diversity, and people from allover the world call this large city home. From our client book point of

view, there are attorneys from Australia, doctors from India, safari outfitters from Africa, all taking advantage and contributing to this special city. With that variety comes new influences in many industries, from tech to food and beverage, they all leave their mark, leading to a city now pushing for advances and development in each category possible.

P+P: Each region of Texas is unique to the other—are there places in the state that you wish you could visit more or hold a more special place in your heart?

ZP: I particularly enjoy the Kerrville/ Fredericksburg area of Texas with its big hills and visual rock outcrops and rivers. A truly special place to visit giving one a sense of being much further away from home.

P+P: Traveling across Texas does mean that you engage with many different people from many different styles of life. The uptown banker in Dallas, the tech executive in Austin, the oil barons in Midland, and the cattle ranchers in between them all are customers of yours. How does each of those groups differ when it comes to picking the boot for them?

ZP: Each one of these clients has a unique perspective and intention in what they are trying to accomplish or who they are trying to impress. The banker may need something rather subdued and clean to wear with a suit daily to remain professional. The oil baron is going to want to be quite a bit more flavorful and wants something to talk about. For the tech CEO this may be his only pair for life so he wants something to make him feel like he is sitting on the top of the world when he wears them. The cattle rancher of a large estate may buy a dozen pairs and wants them all to look the same in many cases, a brand in the center and color change here or there, but the stitching will be the same, etc. He is more interested in having his own boot style everyone knows him for, that match and look amazing in a dozen pair line up underneath the fireplace or at the top of his closet.

P+P: If you could make a boot right now for any five Texans, dead or alive, who are they?

ZP: George Jones, Mathew McConaughey, Shaquille O’Neal, Nolan Ryan, Buddy Holly P+P: You’ve got to pick one team to pull for on the football field for the rest of your life--- Aggies or Longhorns?

ZP: Uh oh, Aggies buy more boots. P+P

Your style • Your fit • Your life • Your story

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By Appointment Only.

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Wisdom,

Well-Traveled Photos by Dorsey Pictures

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Chris Dorsey

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here comes a point in virtually everyone’s life where you encounter someone who seemingly has seen it all. They’ve been across the United States and all around the world, they’ve spent time immersing themselves in different languages, different ethnicities, and different cultures.

They’ve seen the tops of the mountains in Asia just the same as they’ve spent time in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. To spend time around them is a treat. To hear them speak about their adventures however, is a treasure.

Chris Dorsey is one of those rare folks. Originally, I’d meet Chris in passing and via introduction from a friend or two while on the road. As time wore on, those meetings became more frequent, and we’d find time to chat in passing at a trade show or special event.

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just his thoughts on his immediate surroundings here in the US, were far from ordinary. They had meaning, because you know it wasn’t just hearsay--- he actually lives it every day.

Fast forward a few years and I am happy to call Chris a friend.

The encounters have become more frequent, either personally or professionally, and I’ve come to have a greater appreciation for him as a person, as well as professionally. Our conversations, albeit not weekly or sometimes even monthly, carry with them the type of depth you might find in an episode of 60 Minutes (the old years, not this new stuff they put on) because they touch on each corner of our society. I don’t think that’s really the intention, but the work that he is doing reaches all corners of our society and around the globe. There are a lot of folks that have wonderful careers, but Chris is a perfect example that it’s not so much about what they do, but how they do it. Through a variety of channels, Dorsey brings to light the challenges (and solutions!) that exist within our society.

We enjoy the occasional political conversation, but I’ve become

photo by Congressional Sportsman's Foundation

more interested of Dorsey’s penchant for storytelling for effect.

Telling a story is one thing--- we all listen to people drone on and on meaninglessly. But being able to tell a story that inspires someone to act, like Dorsey has done so well over his career, is a rare skill. Within his current projects, Dorsey has teamed up with various conservation groups to educate our youth about the natural world around them and about purposeful conservation practices.

When I say “purposeful,” I mean the type of initiatives that will make our youth active participants in saving our planet. Better yet, they are active participants in making better the lives of those who live upon our planet.

How do you do this? How do you create channels that spread a message with such clarity that others feel inspired to participate?

You yourself have to have a healthy dose of perspective, something that Dorsey has earned over the course of his career. From the early years in rural Wisconsin to the eventual global travel, Dorsey has taken the necessary time to learn from his surroundings and the

carefully take those experiences and educate those around him in his writings, in his shows, and in the schools that will screen some of his current projects. In time spent afield with family, political leaders, military leaders, or business icons, Dorsey has a great ability to understand all sides of a conversation, something that is visible in his work and what makes it so engaging. The conversation can go anywhere, and whichever path it goes, Dorsey comes prepared with the knowledge, the understanding, and the facts to hold court. It’s one of the things I’ve found so interesting with each interaction. Those opportunities to learn either help strengthen my resolve, affirm my beliefs, or give me a moment of perspective of my own.

In a wide-ranging conversation, I spoke with my friend Chris Dorsey on our American surroundings, our society on the whole, his family, and perhaps a plan to keep pushing our country forward in a better direction, while being acutely aware of our collective past.

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P+P: You spend much of your year traveling internationally, but actually hail from rural roots in Wisconsin. As you are standing on the plains of Africa, does it ever hit you how far your career has taken you beyond your hometown?

CD: It was sportscaster Curt Gowdy and his famous ABC television series The American Sportsman who really planted the seed and sparked my wanderlust to want to see and enjoy the wide world of hunting and fishing opportunities. This was back in the day when there were only three TV networks, and the series had a huge audience—along with some 16 Emmy awards. Come Sunday afternoon, when the show came on, I knew exactly where I was going to be—staring at a TV screen that transformed into a window to an outdoor world I was hell-bent to experience one day. Nevertheless, it does occasionally hit me that I’ve seemingly become a migratory being—50-plus trips to Africa, more than 30 to South America, countless forays across North America, the South Pacific and Europe. Admittedly, it’s a long way from chasing the rabbits and pheasants of my youth.

P+P: The rural communities, much like those in farm country Wisconsin, are often an oversight or after thought for many people unfortunately. In coming from a community like that, what are those characteristics of the people there that you wish more Americans understood or what values do you wish we all possessed?

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ethic and small-town values are, however, especially important, and worth preserving if we want a country that works well in the future.

As a kid growing up in DeForest, Wisconsin, (population 1,920), we couldn’t get away with much because there were always too many witnesses who knew what we were up to and, most importantly, knew who we were. But that cut both ways, there were always folks willing to give you a hand as well. People do look after one-another in these towns and that sense of community is something I’ll always cherish from my youth. It’s hard to find that in the suburbs or city, and I think you might see more and more people rediscover small town virtues as the option to work remotely continues to spread.

P+P: We are at a point in our society where people are starting to be exposed to the other side of the coin and either through TV drama or the internet, they are falling in love with the charm of rural settings or certain ways of life such as farming and ranching.

Do you see this being a good thing in that more people should be gaining a greater appreciation for the small towns, or perhaps a bad thing in that this migration and sudden interest perhaps is eroding the purity of those communities?

CD: We’re currently undergoing the largest mass migration in American history. People are separating into blue and red tribes, which probably isn’t a good thing at the end of the day. When cities are no longer safe and local and state governments become too oppressive in the eyes of some, people simply get out. It gets especially problematic, however, when people leave a city because of crime, filth, poor education, and the like without seemingly

"The American Sportsman really planted the seed and sparked my wanderlust to want to see and enjoy the wide world of hunting and fishing opportunities."

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recognizing the politics that created those problems. That is, it’s one thing to move out of failing cities, but don’t bring those politics with you and expect others to accept them.

P+P: You wrote a piece in 2022 about our magazine and how there is a melting pot of content that matches our country’s makeup.

As someone who consumes a great deal of media, where do you think Porch + Prairie fits best in America?

CD: I think this magazine is a reminder of an America that once flourished between the coasts—and in many places still does.

Meeting small town and farm folks and seeing the places that some might consider ‘fly-over’ country is a reminder of a simpler time when the country seemed to work better overall, and people weren’t so divided. For many living in small town and rural America—the Heartland—the dysfunction of some of our biggest urban centers is utterly mystifying. They watch television news and know exactly how they’d deal with many of the problems shown—they’d deal with them the way they do in their towns and rural communities. Maybe someone should write a song about such? And for those who grew up in rural America but moved to the suburbs and cities, Porch & Prairie is a reminder of where they came from, a celebration of what is still waiting for them should they decide to move back home.

P+P: We talk a lot about how the flyover states are so often overlooked, yet responsible for so much of our nation’s agricultural production and industrial complex. How do we as a country do a better job making those on the coasts more understanding of the importance of this so-called flyover land?

CD: There’s a reason they call the Midwest the ‘Breadbasket’ and I think farmers need an ad campaign that celebrates the service they provide for the nation (and beyond). All of us take too much for granted—especially where our food comes from. As a hunter, my freezer is full of elk, deer, wild boar, quail, pheasants, and ducks, but I still like to cut into a beef ribeye every now and then. As a society, we’ve become too disconnected from the land, and we’ve lost an appreciation for our food supply and the people who provide it.

P+P: We spoke previously about business and the presence of these “rural cities” throughout the heartland and into the West where there is ample opportunity for businesses to invest and be located there, yet they eschew those places for the bright lights of the Chicago or DC or Nashville locations instead. In your opinion, how do these remote cities create opportunities to become bigger and with it, bring in modern industry and technology without losing the soul of their more rural settings?

CD: I think rural communities need to play to their strengths— the fact that they offer a skilled labor pool with a solid work ethic and a high quality of life. In the TV business that I’m in, we recruit from the coasts all the time. These days, there are plenty of folks looking to escape New York and Los Angeles—especially if they’re raising families. We once pitched a small-town makeover show and Fox wanted to run with it. We solicited a top talent, and the idea was to literally take a small town and rebuild every home and business in it. We then planned to lure a business to relocate to the remade community, to provide employment to the town kids who were leaving to find work elsewhere. It would have been a hit because it had a great deal of heart along with a captivating process. Sadly, the network and the talent could never come to financial terms…it always comes down to money.

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As a society, we’ve become too disconnected from the land, and we’ve lost an appreciation for our food supply and the people who provide it.

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P+P: In some respects, even your media and production business flies in the face of major metropolitan America as you’ve based your business in Colorado as a stark contrast to the media meccas of Los Angeles or New York, no?

CD: There are a lot of TV networks and streaming platforms catering to viewers in middle America, so it only makes sense that they’d come to a production company like Dorsey Pictures (based in Colorado) to look for authentic characters. We’ve always positioned our unique value proposition as being able to find real heartland folks—not caricatures of what someone on the coast thinks of people living in this part of the country. We’ve done a lot of shows in Alaska over 25 years as well as dozens of series celebrating various aspects of rural and small-town life.

P+P: You’ve taken on many projects in recent years aimed at educating people both young and old and doing it in a way that is engaging, thoughtful, and with the hope of inspiring others to take action outside their own front doors. Is that passion, say for example the protection of our prairie wetlands, emanate from your conservationist work, your rural upbringing, or even your hunting interests? One of those such productions, Wings Over Water, brings 46 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

the necessary conversation of protecting our natural resources to the IMAX experience and will be screened for millions of children over time. Knowing that a film like this has the ability to positively impact the lives of so many of our youth has to be a humbling part of the experience, yes?

CD: I’m a biologist by training and by heart and I happen to have an English degree as well. I think conservation has been in my DNA from the beginning. No matter what TV series we’re producing, I’m always looking for a reason to slip in something about the natural world. In recent years, however, we’ve turned to the giant screen to produce IMAX films celebrating wild places and natural wonders.

Our first foray into these films was Wings Over Water, narrated

by Michael Keaton. It’s a showcase of an amazing ecosystem that few people have ever heard of—the prairie wetlands. It’s a 270,000-square-mile slice of western Canada and the Dakota’s that is full of millions of shallow ponds that comprise the world’s richest bird nursery. While most Americans have heard of the Amazon, the Serengeti, and the Everglades, few have any notion of the prairie wetlands. Thus, we spent years creating an epic portrayal of this wondrous place in the hopes that it’s a secret no more and that once people know of its importance, they’ll want to protect it.

P+P: A comment you recently shared was incredibly impactful where you said, “More Americans know more about the Amazon and the Serengeti than they do about their own backyard.” For a society that is crazed with social media exposure, its staggering to think that Americans don’t take the time to enjoy their surroundings like they could. Should someone have an epiphany and decide to visit one of our National Parks, or immerse themselves in nature more, what do you feel they should be seeking from that experience that will leave the longest lasting effect?

CD: There are so many treasures in our own backyard for sure.

As Americans, we are blessed with a vast landscape full of natural riches. I think back to what Ansel Adams did with his black and white photography decades ago and the impact that had in inspiring the Congress and Presidents to protect some of our nation’s greatest natural wonders. And the work so many conservation groups have done to protect millions of acres of habitat for myriad species of birds and mammals. And yes, you can thank hunters and anglers for generating the funds necessary to provide an insurance policy against another Dust Bowl. Hunters don’t get nearly enough credit for what they’ve done as our nation’s first and best wildlife stewards.

If not for duck and goose hunters, for instance, there would be no National Wildlife Refuge System, for every waterfowler must buy a federal duck stamp, which funds the refuges that support hundreds of species—including many that are threatened or endangered.

P+P: Speaking of lasting effect, you have brought your children up experiencing the outdoors and as both you and your wife embrace the sporting lifestyle, life in the outdoors is truly a family passion. I think many readers have that shared interest in shooting sports and sporting ventures, but are concerned about pushing the passion too much when it comes to their kids. Having been through that, are there any tips or things that worked for you that helped soften that some?

CD: I was lucky that my kids seemed to have a natural affinity for the outdoors from an early age. However, I was always careful not to push it on them, they had to organically want to participate and then it would become a family affair—and it still is. My twin boys—now in college—are very accomplished hunters and anglers and they can cast a fly rod and handle rifles and shotguns (and bows) with a great deal of proficiency. But what is most satisfying to me is the fact that they are articulate spokesmen for hunting and hunters. They understand the importance of the hunter-funded conservation model and they are comfortable defending that position in any environment. When it comes to introducing kids to the sport, however, I would caution to go gently, read your kid and let he or she engage naturally. And when they decide they want to join you, set them up for success and make the initial experience comfortable and fun.

P+P: At what point does sentimentality come into play for you as you hunt around the world, with or without your family by your side? Is it purely about the hunt, or are you like me where at some point during each hunt, you find yourself lost in scenery and deep thought, wondering how life ever got you to experience that moment or that place?

CD: I think many of us who wander the planet with rod and gun are using it as much as an excuse to travel as we are to hunt or hook something. I feel blessed to have seen so many parts of the planet that few ever will, and I owe it to the excuse of hunting. Don’t get me wrong, I love to hunt but I especially love to do so in places I’ve never been before. And in that process, I’ve become an advocate

The race is on to save Maine’s historic lakeside cottages.

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photo by Congressional Sportsman's Foundation

for species and habitat conservation all over the world. And I’m not alone in that regard, for most of the hunters that I know have donated some of their wealth, work, and wisdom to make sure wild places and the creatures that inhabit them have a future.

P+P: Your passion for the outdoors is evident in both your work and in the organizations that you have aligned yourself with, one of those being the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, whose purpose is to protect the hunting and fishing rights for ourselves and future generations. What about the work of CSF keeps you devoting your time and resources?

CD: I’ve been delighted to be a small part of the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation for several years because they are nimble and highly effective. I see them as the tip of the spear protecting the lifestyle that means so much to me and my family and when it comes to your donation dollar return on investment, no one is delivering more. To say they punch well above their weight-class would be a significant understatement. Part of their effectiveness is undoubtedly tied to their bi-partisan nature, for our outdoor heritage is one of the few areas in Washington and state houses across the country where both sides can often agree.

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P+P: When someone goes to reading some of your writing contributions featured in Forbes, et al, you’ve seemingly never shied away from the tougher conversations in those works, despite us living in a society that tends to avoid those difficult topics. What is the catalyst for bucking the trend and you facing these dialogues head-on at a time when no one is willing to touch them?

CD: I’m not afraid of being fired. Fortunately, I’ve been successful enough in life to take care of my family and that has given me a certain freedom that I simply couldn’t afford earlier in my career. I feel like the stakes are high for our country, for our way of life and I see what I do as paltry compared to the sacrifice so many brave Americans have made. I simply feel we all must be in the fight to save the republic at some level—comfortably numb is not an option…at least not for me.

P+P: When someone goes to reading some of your writing contributions featured in Forbes, et al, you’ve seemingly never shied away from the tougher conversations in those works, despite us living in a society that tends to avoid those difficult topics. What is the catalyst for bucking the trend and you facing these dialogues head-on at a time when no one is willing to touch them?

CD: I think social media has greatly exacerbated the divide in this country where one group gets one set of information and another segment of society gets different feeds and, in the process, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to reconcile on issues.

Common ground too often seems to be quicksand. One can only imagine what will happen when fully developed AI is harnessed to foment strife on a large scale, destabilizing our institutions as we’re already starting to see. When bad foreign actors exploit our freedoms and turn them against us with the aid of technology it’s hard to imagine our government leaders being able to do much to stop it.

P+P: How do you propose we fix that?

CD: Unplug…and convince everyone you know to do the same.

And good luck.

P+P: Follow up question of sorts, but is there any part of your work that you feel bears the responsibility of helping to mend those fences some? Perhaps you consciously present topics from both sides of the argument or that you try to work on projects that

might be equally important to all viewers, such as conservation or education or natural history?

CD: I think there are some issues that we can all agree on, but the list seems to be getting shorter each year. But even when we don’t agree on processes, we ought to be able to agree on desired outcomes--that we want a cleaner environment, better schools, a stronger defense, and the like. Can we disagree without being disagreeable? That remains to be seen…at least at the federal level.

P+P: We’ve saved the hardest question for last—when you define the American spirit, what comes to mind for you?

CD: I see the hallmark of the American spirit as an independence that doesn’t rely on the government to solve our problems. I see the private sector and capitalism as still the best path forward to solve our challenges. I don’t see leadership especially coming from our government, I think it comes from the grassroots…and always has for the most part. I think there’s a good bit of truth in Ronald Reagan’s famous line that the government isn’t the solution…it’s the problem. When it comes to government in general, generally less is more to my way of thinking. P+P

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From Dallas to the Deserts How DSC’s Corey Mason Brings the Globe Together

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here are many reasons to visit Dallas. The Cotton Bowl, the diverse selection of food, great music, and the arts to name a few. But each January, the Big D plays host to tens of thousands of outdoor, hunting, and conservation enthusiasts who come for the annual experience of the Dallas Safari Club convention. Beyond the countless number of opportunities for attendees to interact with their friends and hunting buddies, they get to engage with the wide variety of brands, vendors, and outfitters who have traveled from around the world to be a part of this event. In the span of the weekend, guests can speak with a leather goods retailer from right there in Texas and talk to a hunting guide who makes his living in the African safari. For those who’ve never been, it is truly a spectacle for the entire family to behold. Each year, seemingly more and more children have come in attendance and are able to get up close with exotic taxidermy and interact with true experts in the field.

For most of the show’s attendees, the date is circled on the calendar year after year, and one of the large reasons behind that is DSC leadership’s commitment to making it the best hunting and outdoors expo on the planet. At the head of that leadership tree is Corey Mason, Dallas Safari Club’s CEO. A native Texan, certified biologist, and an accomplished hunter himself, Mason understands the importance of the show not just to show off the best products and programs, but to showcase DSC’s importance in worldwide conservation efforts. The key word there? Worldwide. Far from the

halls of the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, the efforts of DSC are being felt in small communities in Asia, in the green hillsides of Scotland, and into the villages and outposts throughout Africa. The work being done to preserve the traditions of the hunt, support the millions who rely on our sporting lifestyle, and bring up the next generation of hunters and anglers. As CEO of Dallas Safari Club, Mason’s every day is devoted to these important missions, but it extends past just a professional responsibility. For Mason, it’s personal as well. Like many others who have such great appreciation for the outdoors, he wants to ensure that his family and the future generations of it get the opportunity to do the same.

While preparing for this year’s DSC Convention, Porch + Prairie spent time with Corey to discuss the upcoming show and his passion for all things outdoors. One thing, however, is that it is hard to convey through written word alone is how important Mason’s work is for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. The level of conviction that he speaks with is palpable. The amount of thought and effort that goes into his profession is apparent in every word, and whether it is through organizations like DSC, or his seat on the Board of Directors for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, you get the quick understanding that this is vitally important to Corey Mason. Beyond that, it’s personal, and because it is, those who are a part of DSC and its annual expo, are getting a level of commitment from the very top of the organization that is a sight to see. The results? Well they speak for themselves.

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P+P: Many know about Corey Mason the hunter and (SFA) State University to study Wildlife Management. SFA was a outdoorsman--- what does the world not know about Corey Mason great university and program and focused on applied conservation, ensuring practical experience for working in the field. Upon my that you want to share with us?

CM: A couple things to know about me are that I am a Christ graduating from SFA, I went to work for an outfitter in west Texas follower and I have been married to my wonderful wife for over and New Mexico. I guided for elk, deer, and aoudad on a couple 20 years. When we met, my wife was not a hunter and I often say big ranches in Texas and on private and public land in New Mexico.

With a desire to continue that the reason she hung my career in conservation around with me was just to and having stayed in touch see my lab, Anna, work. As with my major professor at a family, we spend as much SFA, I returned to SFA to time outdoors as possible, I was so fortunate to have a father that pursue a Master of Science. but with my work schedule took me hunting and fishing every My graduate project was a and a daughter in high collaborative project with school that plays multiple time he could. Further, we also hunted Texas Parks and Wildlife sports, it is a challenge for with my grandfather and my other Department (TPWD), every minute. grandfather farmed and ranched, so and lead to employment P+P: The path to with the agency after I enjoyed lots of time outdoors with becoming the CEO of Dallas graduation. I spent 16+ them as well.

Safari Club (DSC) - can you years with TPWD in various describe it for us? roles – management area CM: I was so fortunate to biologist, waterfowl and have a father that took me wetlands biologist, game hunting and fishing every time he could. Further, we also hunted bird program and regional director. My time with TPWD was with my grandfather and my other grandfather farmed and ranched, exceptional and in my roles, I had the opportunity to work with most so I enjoyed lots of time outdoors with them as well. Growing up with conservation organizations in the US, private landowners, other these influences gave me a desire to work with our natural resources. states, USFWS, USFS, NRCS, and other management authorities. I As such, after graduating high school, I went to Stephen F. Austin had the privilege of joining the DSC team in 2017.

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P+P: Texas is a special place for hunters in that there is a plethora of animals to enjoy and a wide variety of country to navigate. What makes the Texas hunting experience so special for you and why its a required bucket list item for the hunter?

CM: Texas has a rich history and pride in land conservation and is second to none in hunting opportunities. Being a state that is 95%+ private land, it is very well managed for many species, and thus great hunting. Known for dove, quail, and deer hunting (and fantastic fishing), it is the place that many have grown up hunting and the destination for many others. Having grown up deer hunting in Texas, I have lots of great memories, and those extended to introducing my wife and daughter to the outdoors.

CM: DSC is a conservation organization with international reach. Our membership is about 85% from North America, with the remainder from all over the world. DSC’s Government Affairs Director is in Washington D.C., and we actively work on wildlife policy matters all over the globe. DSC is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and actively participate in CITES meetings around the world. We have been in Switzerland for CITES Animals Committee meetings this year and will be in Kenya for a CITES Non-Detriment Finding workshop before the end of the year. Further, with DSC working with state agencies and other organizations across North America, we have become a trusted resource for policy development and management planning. So, from testifying in U.S. Congressional hearings to advising on pieces P+P: As a hunting guide, you’ve experienced a lot of this country of upcoming and pending legislation, we are in the middle of it. that is well off the beaten path and interacted with a great cross- Further, DSC and DSC Foundation annually significantly financially section of people in your travels. What was the more rewarding piece support projects and programs around the world thorough grants. of that portion of your life, the people or the land?

This year alone, over 30 projects have been supported.

CM: It has always been a That P+P: great privilege to be invited international reach takes onto someone’s farm or into account a lot of hot ranch to see their land and button items in a world what they were doing to with varying political, DSC is a conservation organization with manage it, and then be able social, and legislative international reach. Our membership to guide them in achieving views. Does DSC play an their goals in habitat and active role as an evangelist is about 85% from North America, with wildlife management. and thought leader in the remainder from all over the world.

Working with land stewards those discussions?

DSC’s Government Affairs Director is across the country has been CM: In the last few a great experience. years, DSC has emerged in Washington D.C., and we actively as a leading voice on the work on wildlife policy matters all over P+P: These past few international stage for the globe. years have enabled more policy and conservation people to get out more and matters. We are working enjoy the opportunities within international policy making bodies and more and more--- how has that changed the outlook of organizations like DSC knowing that work directly with a number of foreign governments. Additionally, more people are finally getting exposed to hunting in a way we hadn’t have MOUs with several countries to assist in their conservation programs and efforts. Further, with these relationships we are seen before?

CM: With a society that is increasingly urban and with less personal better able to engage the USFWS on international conservation connection to the land, for years the general public’s understanding matters with firsthand experience and knowledge. of the role of hunting in wildlife conservation has been wanning.

P+P: A biologist by trade, you have a different pulse on the However, in the last couple years, more people new to the outdoors have bought a renewed interest and thus understanding of hunting. outdoors than does the traditional hunter or outdoor enthusiast.

This has resulted in more public support of legal, regulated hunting How has your experience as a biologist and really understanding and increased the desire for people to have personal access to reliable conservation practices helped shape your project list with DSC? CM: DSC has always been a very effective conservation focused and quality food sources – be it venison or fish, the interest has increased. DSC has focused much our public education efforts on organization. I have been fortunate to be able to help guide the engaging the 80% of the population that are non-hunters. We do not conservation and strategic priorities for our growth, and our focus on the 10% that are radically opposed to hunting, because they connectedness in the conservation community continues to grow. are largely unteachable and do not want to know or hear the truths We have focused and grown largely in the international policy about the 1937 Wildlife Restoration Act, how state fish and wildlife arena, knowing the connectivity across forums like CITES to shape conservation policy and thus conservation practices. agencies are funded, principles of carrying capacity, etc.

P+P: Those who are familiar with DSC know that it is more than just the annual convention each year, but for those who are newly exposed to the organization, can you put into focus the reach that DSC has?

P+P: Via DSC and some of the other organizations you devote your time to, you are surrounded by a great deal of volunteers who are so passionate about this lifestyle. What can you say about those volunteers and what they mean to DSC’s success?

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CM: DSC’s amazing volunteers are the ‘secret sauce’ of DSC. Each year, we have a huge number of volunteers that take a week or more off work to volunteer at the DSC Convention. They are working on everything, from welcoming our exhibitor partners in the parking areas to delivering a welcomed cup of coffee early in the morning, they make the difference. And with being at DSC six years now, I can honestly say our volunteers serve our exhibitor partners, attendees, sponsors, and other members so earnestly and sincerely.

It is very motivating for the DSC staff to have the privilege to work alongside such a dedicated and selfless group of people. They sure inspire me!

P+P: Speaking of success, every show seemingly gets better and better each year as it truly is a “must attend” event. Is that something that was a strong focus since you’ve arrived at DSC or has the success of the convention in recent years due to some form of change within the market?

CM: DSC certainly benefits from a very loyal following of Convention attendees, and many of those bring someone new with them every year. Additionally, the hospitality at the event, created largely by the incredible volunteers, continues to create a buzz in the industry. The DSC Convention is the must attend event for all things outdoors.

P+P: A big misnomer is that DSC is only about hunting, yet with each convention, more and more luxury brands and lifestyle brands are becoming partners. Be it companies like Clint Orms Engravers, Nicholas Air private jets, or Parker Boot Company, you are seeing an influx of these brands be excited about their relationship with DSC. What is it about the convention that brings these brands out to be a part of it?

CM: The luxury brands you note are great partners to DSC and really make the DSC Convention an elevated experience. We market the Convention as all things outdoors, and having partners like Nicholas Air helps serve our Convention attendees well. Our attendees vary in what they are looking for, but we have a very high percentage of high-net-worth individuals that enjoy the Convention and support our great exhibitor partners. In turn, these luxury brands are meeting new clients at DSC and maintain relationships with existing clients. It is truly a win, win.

P+P: One of the noticeable pieces of the DSC show each year we’ve noticed is how often it involves the whole family, which is a great way to involve the next generations in the outdoors in a great, yet easy-paced setting. Do you see that same trend?

CM: We strive to create an event and environment that is welcoming to the entire family. In fact, we look across our exhibitor partner composition each year to ensure that we have something for everyone at the Convention. We offer seminars for the new outdoorsman to the experienced and experiences for young lady hunters (like my daughter) to the adult interested in learning how to get involved. We also provide free admission for children to promote the entire family attending.

P+P: What do you feel DSC’s responsibility is to welcome those new to hunting and shooting into the sport, specifically young kids?

CM: DSC has been directly engaged in National R3 efforts, with a focus on recruitment. We engage in a number of ways, working at

the national and state level on legislation that gets youth outdoors, support a number of organizations whose sole function is the educate and engage youth in hunting, fishing, etc., and we support youth hunting opportunities throughout the U.S. Additionally, we work to educate these new hunters on the role of the hunter in wildlife conservation and sustainable use principles.

P+P: Is there a segment or demographic that you see rapidly rising within the hunting and sporting community?

CM: We have seen an increase in adult hunters in both DSC and across the hunting community. These family-based hunters have also brought their children to hunting and are often interested in the health aspect of wild game meat. In the same regard, the fieldto-table movement and desire for organic and high-quality meat has bought a number of new people into hunting.

P+P: Do I dare ask the former hunting guide for a very specific map to where I can find the best mule deer in the West, or is that one best left unprinted?

CM: I love to hunt mule deer, so those secret spots may only be shared around the campfire… P+P

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BEYOND THE MUSIC BUSINESS

Highlights and insights from AMERICANAFEST 2023

Photo by Seth Iliff

Ishkodé Records and Neon Moon present 8th Fire Sessions at The 5 Spot featuring Crystal Shawanda and Aysanabee.

“T

By Rebekah Iliff

he music business needs artists, but artists don’t need the music business.”

These words fell smoothly from producer Steve Jordan’s mouth as he stood on stage at Nashville’s acclaimend Ryman Auditorium to introduce “Legacy of Americana Award” winner Bettye LaVette. His recent collaboration with her resulted in the release of LaVette! —a culmination of her wide ranging skill set spanning disco to R&B to gospel, and featuring guest artists John Mayer, Jon Batiste, and Steve Winwood.

At first, his declaration struck me as an easy thing to say, coming from someone who was already successful in the music business;

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but over the next few days, as I bebopped around Music City immersing myself in the sights and sounds of AMERICANAFEST 2023, his words crystallized, and I was reminded of the artist’s paradox. Artists have no choice but to pursue their art; if it happens to turn into something lucrative, then so be it. You figure out ways to make it work. You take the 9-to-5 job; work nights as a bartender; walk seven poorly-trained dogs a day (sometimes at once), with the end goal of facilitating your precious work.

Art, I have come to believe, is synonymous with the word truth.

Something else I have learned from first hand experience — to not create, to not reveal the gifts given and the trauma survived, is to somehow deny the most fundamental part of yourself.

Photo by Seth Iliff

Interview with Laura Cantrell outside the CMA Theatre.

Money or no money, fame or no fame, artists push forward despite the setbacks, naysayers, and bean counters. To wit, the Americana genre itself encapsulates this idea of boundary-less opportunity to experiment beyond what is typically considered commercially viable or categorically imperative. Without the pigeon-hole of one particular style, Americana is home to artists across soul, bluegrass, blues, country, folk, rock, jazz, gospel, and probably a dozen others existing in the margins.

Sounds like the perfect metaphor for a country founded roughly 250 years ago. Touché.

Despite our current cultural climate, now insistent on dividing us into special groups and identities in order to — oh, I don’t know — make us feel more “included”, Americana as its own unique category pulls from the best of each music identity and weaves them together into a tapestry all its own. The only requirement? An artist who writes and performs from their experience and knows how to connect to others through damn good storytelling. Theirs is music that touches the soul. Think Hank Williams and Patty Griffin and you’ve got yourself Americana’s sweet spot. This uncanny ability to reach into the depths, and translate those experiences into something meaningful, ultimately sets the genre apart from others. It is a catch all for the soulsters, for talented songwriters and musicians who breathe lyrical life into an otherwise forgotten tale.

This idea of what sets Americana apart, and ultimately how to define it, found me as S.G. Goodman belted out the first verse of her ballad “Space and Time” during the kickoff performance of the festival. Angelic in her delivery, the words packed a power-punch:

“I never want to leave this world, without saying I love you.” The audience was nearly stunned into silence by the recently named emerging Americana artist of the year. Her Kentucky bluegrass roots on full display, it was as though Goodman was serenading a loved one — momma, brother, father, friend — in front of the packed Mother Church of Country Music. She wasn’t just playing to the audience, she was playing from heartfelt observations and emotions. I could feel the sadness, longing in her voice — suddenly overwhelmed with my own memories of people I’d loved and lost, and the regrets therein.

After a brief in-person interview with beloved singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell outside the CMA Theatre, just before she took the stage for “Hank’s 100th, a Celebration of Hank Williams”, this concept of Americana took yet another shape: these artists carry forward the heartbeat of America’s musical history, often taking a backseat to the bigger stars whose songs they so often concept or write.

Cantrell, who could easily be mistaken for a throwback Hollywood starlet, has a twenty-plus year career as a recording artist, writer, and radio host; has been featured in publications ranging from the New York Times to Wall Street Journal and television shows such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Andrew Marr Show. But when I met her, she showed none of the diva-esque qualities you might expect from someone who regularly shares the stage with some of country’s biggest names or, in the case of this particular afternoon, was getting ready to cover one of Hank Williams’ most famous hits in front of his entire family and a packed audience. Instead, her eyes widened PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 59

Photo by Seth Iliff

Rebecca Folsom Trio performs at Nashville staple Bobby's Idle Hour during AMERICANAFEST 2023.

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Photo by Seth Iliff

Laura Cantrell at the Country Music Hall of Fame prior to taking the stage at "Hank's 100" during AMERICANAFEST 2023.

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when I asked about her newly released Just Like A Rose: The Anniversary Sessions, nearly a decade in the making. I sensed this question was the one she was really waiting for, because when you listen to the title song it’s clear the words have lived inside her for a very long time, waiting for the perfect moment — not a record deal — to bloom.

Jordan’s words lingered in my mind: “The music business needs artists, but artists don’t need the music business.”

What I needed was a cold beer and a dive bar, so I headed to one of my favorite East Nashville live music venues, The 5 Spot, to attend a showcase hosted by New West Records. The event featured a handful of Strolling Bones Records (a startup division of New West) musicians including Elijah Johnston and SayZuZu. The head of the label, George Fontaine, was cozying up to a high bar chatting with a few of his artists, so I decided to make my move and join the conversation. I recognized Fontaine from the previous evening, when he scooped up the “Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award”, an honor doled out to music executives who have spent decades in the industry shaping artists and releasing record-breaking albums in the Americana genre. His commitment to discovering and providing a home for “underdog artists” earned Fontaine the reputation as a trusted partner for many who found no home with mainstream labels. The bet paid off, and in 25 years, under his leadership New West has seen nearly 500 releases—with names like Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Julie Miller, and Nikki Lane on the roster.

Photo by Bethany Johanna

SayZuZu takes the stage during New West Records showcase during AMERICANAFEST 2023.

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Photo by Bethany Johanna

Elijah Johnston performs songs from his latest album "Hometown Vampire" during the New West Records showcase at the 5 Spot.

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AMERICANAFEST fans wait in line for "Hank's 100."

Photo by Seth Iliff

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Strolling Bones Records, his latest project, seeks to fill the inevitable void in any genre that has now reached a tipping point: to unearth relatively unknown artists hiding in plain sight and give them a place to grow. The music business will get in line if it wants; but otherwise, the artists will make their music, play live shows, build their following one fan at a time — all while having the support of an emerging label willing to take a risk. Based on the showcase, my take is that Fontaine not only has the golden touch, but more importantly, if Americana wants to maintain its reputation as a soulful, hard-won nod to American-made artists, they may just want to follow his lead.

As I attended the various showcases over the next couple of days, I couldn’t shake Jordan’s declaration at the Ryman. Soon, I realized I was soothing myself as much as I was attempting to fully figure out if I believed him or not. More than anything, I wanted to believe artists—of any kind — didn’t need “business” to validate their existence. Eventually, if the stars aligned, the artist would be able to make a living with their gift. And if not, they would have the satisfaction of knowing they attempted the near impossible.

Free to pursue the dream. Perhaps that was enough? Maybe I would never know?

I took a front row seat at City Winery, a mere ten feet from North Carolina-based husband and wife duo Chatham Rabbits. A few days earlier I’d received an email from Sarah and Austin, asking if I’d be interested in attending one of their showcases. After reading their story and listening to a few tracks, I replied back and told them I’d be there. Without understanding exactly why they stood out from the hundreds of PR and label emails received over the past two weeks, something about them seemed earnest. Real. Grounded.

Halfway through the set, they told their personal story of risking everything and going on the road as full time musicians. As part of their decision to make a living as artists, they would often write songs upon request in order to make some extra cash. One of those songs, “You Never Told Me I Was Pretty”, was the result of a birthday dedication to the patriarch of a large family, who was edging on in years. To gather inspiration for the song, they spoke to several members of the family, including one of his granddaughters. When she described the relationship she had with her grandpa, one of her outstanding memories included him repeatedly telling her she was smart, brave, and a handful of other non-physical attributes. “Never once,” she said, “did he tell me I was pretty. That’s what everyone else used to say, but he never did.”

Austin began strumming his guitar with a familiar folksy rhythm, and Sarah picked away at the banjo for a few moments before sliding closer to the microphone. Without warning, the song left the gate:

“This song is my letter to you, when you’re old and gray.

I hope you’ll be around to see I turned out ok.

You’d already done your part, and told me I was smart.

P+P WINTER LIST

• The Whiskey Makes You Sweet – Laura Cantrell • Hell of a Year – Parker McCollum • Cheers – ERNEST • Hell of a Holiday – Pistol Annies • Christmas Tree Farm – Taylor Swift • Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley, Kane Brown • The Cowboy In Me – Yellowstone Edition – Tim McGraw • West Texas in My Eyes – The Panhandlers • Born and Raised (On the Bayou) – Dan Smalley • When The Roses Bloom Again – Laura Cantrell, Steve Earle • You Never Told Me I Was Pretty – Chatham Rabbits • Mountain Song – Flatland Cavalry • here lies country music – HARDY • Troubador – George Strait • Please Come Home For Christmas – Jon Pardi • Let It Be Christmas – Alan Jackson • Make You Blue – Pistol Annies • Home for Christmas – Smithfield • Heaven By Then – Brantley Gilbert, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill • Live Off – Lainey Wilson • High Note – Dierks Bentley, Billy Strings • Glittery – Kacey Musgraves, Troye Sivan • It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Thomas Rhett • Christmas Cards – Tenille Townes • Prayin’ In A Deer Stand – Luke Bryan • Dance the Night Away – Shane Smith & the Saints

You never told me I was pretty, that’s alright by me.

I heard it my whole life, you had my heart in mind.”

I looked at my three girlfriends, one sitting to my left, the other two across the table. The reaction was universal: tears of an indescribable kind, the kind that don’t stop immediately or easily. They roll in from a deep place, a place of knowing, sweetness, and understanding.

Or, maybe from a place of wishing for something that never was.

Whatever the case, the tears didn’t need permission. They knew why they arrived, and we were better for it.

I had my final answer. Steve Jordan was right. P+P PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 67

Photo by Matt Nichols

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R

eturning November 18, the annual Holly Jolly Holidays transforms ESPN’s “Best College Town” into a winter wonderland! As the holiday season begins in Oxford, locals and visitors alike will gather to take part in the myriad of festive events and celebrations that make the charming small town a holiday destination. From the ceremonial “Lighting of the Square,” visits with Santa, a 4,000-square-foot ice-skating rink, and the newly launched Peppermint Trail, the holidays in Oxford will give you all the Christmas joy you need!

With so many celebrations and activities to take part in, the holiday spirit is infectious here, even warming the heart of the grouchiest Grinch! Be sure to follow this Oxford holiday guide so you don’t miss out on one bit of Holly Jolly Holiday cheer.

Lighting of The Square The start of the season is marked by the ceremonial lighting of the canopy of lights and buildings around the Square. This year, join Santa Claus on Sunday, November 19 at 6 p.m. to ring in the holiday season! FOX Business Network’s Small Town Christmas will also be on site to capture Oxford’s small town holiday magic, so be sure to tune in on December 16 when the episode airs. As the Square lights up and is cloaked in a holiday glow, you will feel transported to the set of a Hallmark movie. This tradition truly encapsulates the magic of the holidays, and it is the perfect way to kick off the season!

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Ice-Skating Who says you have to travel to the North Pole for ice skating?

Break out your warmest mittens and come experience your very own ice capades on Oxford’s 4,000 square foot real ice rink beginning November 18 through January 7! Admission gets you unlimited skate time and includes your skate rental. If you’re not quite ready for a triple axel on the ice, young and inexperienced skaters can rent a skate aid to make navigating the rink a breeze. The rink will be located at the Old Armory Pavilion on the corner of Bramlett Boulevard and University Avenue. It will be open Monday through Friday 3 p.m.- 8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.6 p.m. The rink will be closed November 23 for Thanksgiving and December 24 and 25 for Christmas. For more information about skating hours and pricing, go to VisitOxfordMS.com/HollyJolly.

local Oxford favorites, including various gifts and special treats.

Locations and details will be updated throughout the season on Visit Oxford’s website.

Visits with Santa Luckily for us, Santa always puts Oxford on the nice list! Come share your wish list and visit with jolly old Saint Nick at the iceskating rink at the Old Armory Pavilion. This is also a wonderful time to snap a free photo for your holiday cards. Santa will make his grand appearance four times during the season – check Visit Oxford’s social media for dates and times.

Shop Get all your Christmas shopping done in one fell swoop! Oxford’s local shopping is anchored by Neilson’s Department Store, the oldest department store in the South. It has been providing clothing to generations of family members since 1839. Hinton & Hinton, a store that has been styling the men of north Mississippi for over thirty years and features brands such as Lucchese, True Grit, and Barbour, recently opened a dedicated women’s store showcasing a collection of clothing, outerwear, footwear and accessories. For the true shopaholic, ladies will be in heaven in Cicada Boutique which carries New York inspired style with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Marla Aaron, Rag & Bone and countless others. If you’re looking for unique gifts, the Square has an array of shops that offer one-ofa-kind pieces such as Etta B pottery from Olive Juice Gifts, Estelle Glassware from Katherine Beck or a vintage vinyl from The End of All Music.

Peppermint Trail While tried and true holiday traditions are so special, so is the beginning of new ones! Starting this Holly Jolly Holidays season, guests can follow the Oxford Peppermint Trail for peppermint flavored holiday treats and peppermint-themed offers. From coffee, cocktails, sweets, and more – experience the peppermint craze at your favorite Oxford restaurants and shops as you follow along the red-and-white candied trail. Stay tuned for holiday surprises from 70 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

Eat What is the holiday season without delicious and festive food?

Oxford is a “foodie town” known for its rich culinary scene, and there is truly something for everyone (even Santa’s pickiest elves).

For classic Southern comfort food like sweet potato casserole and fried catfish, you cannot go wrong at Ajax Diner. Be sure to try a seasonal cocktail and delicious upscale wood fired pizza at Saint Leo, or check out what Chef Joel Miller is serving at Kingswood restaurant located inside the newly renovated Oliver Hotel. For a casual dining experience, local favorites like Proud Larry’s and Volta are always a good choice. For fine dining, be sure to check out McEwen’s and Snackbar. End your night with a festive cocktail at the Graduate Hotel’s rooftop bar, The Coop or Oliver Hotel’s cocktail lounge Nightbird, scheduled to open later this fall. For a “pick-me-up” treat, be sure to get a cup of coffee or hot chocolate at Heartbreak Coffee on the Square or the Caffecito’s coffee truck parked by the ice-rink. Oxford is also full of delicious brunch options, whether you prefer a traditional breakfast at First Watch, a fabulous pastry at Bottletree Bakery, or a “Tex-Mississippi” style breakfast taco at The Sleepy Cactus.

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Stay No matter where you stay in Oxford, you are sure to experience a generous dose of that famous Southern hospitality with a splash of holiday cheer! With a wide variety of hotels to choose from, you will have no trouble finding a comfortable place to stay during your visit. For an elevated, curated stay, try boutique hotels like the newly renovated Oliver Hotel or The Graduate. For a charming stay, you cannot go wrong with a local bed and breakfast such as The South Lamar B&B or The Z B&B, both conveniently located close to the Square. There are also plenty of trusted chains like Courtyard by Marriott, Hampton Inn, and La Quinta, as well as others.

As the temperatures drop and the holidays approach, there is no shortage of holiday joy to be found in quaint and charming Oxford.

The holiday season has always been magical, but the return of the annual Holly Jolly Holidays truly transforms the small town into a holiday destination. From November through January, Oxford is bursting with holiday cheer and local charm. We may be biased, but with so many festive activities, treasured traditions, phenomenal restaurants, and incredible places to stay, Oxford is truly a mustvisit this holiday season.

For more information on Holly Jolly Holidays or visiting Oxford, go to VisitOxfordMS.com.

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Caring for the King Leadership and Stewardship of an American Icon

W

hen riverboat captain Richard King first put a stake in the ground and called a portion of the South Texas his own, it was out of pure fascination with the land and its surroundings, as well as its vast potential. Even with the lofty dreams of most entrepreneurs, its hard to think that King could have imagined what King Ranch has become today. But becoming the King Ranch of today, the one we all know and admire, was not by happenstance or because it was too big to fail.

It stands today as the beacon of American ranching and conservation because of the steady hands of the many stewards over the years who have understood its heritage and were acutely aware of their role in maintaining the brand standard and legacy.

King Ranch is far from just the branding that you might see on a truck around town. For nearly 170 years now, the King Ranch has operated as a successful business, with multiple ventures stemming from both its natural resources, its careful use of the land, its ranching prowess, and the ancillary lifestyle brands known for preserving the Western life. Across the 825,00 acres King Ranch is the home of 40,000 cattle, 225 Quarter Horses, and an abundance of game species that attract hunters and leaseholders annually to the Santa Gertrudis, Laureles, Encino, and Norias Divisions that make up the total property.

Being at the helm of such an enterprise is a responsibility that requires a wide range of knowledge and talent that is undoubtedly difficult to find. With business units in cattle, energy, natural resources, retail, real estate, and agriculture (to name a few), one must have not just the experience across all those verticals, but also have concrete plans on how all those units must co-exist and thrive.

One can’t simply be a cattleman, he must also be a retailer. One can’t be just an oil man, he must also know crops. With each day mandating

the attention be focused on any one of the Ranch’s dealings, perhaps the greatest skill needed is adaptability and agility.

And so you have Robert Hodgen, President and CEO of King Ranch, Inc., leading the charge to strengthen the King Ranch brand and ensure its prosperous future for the next generation to enjoy.

Just over two years into the role, Hodgen’s professional experience is the confluence of a strong agricultural background, financial background, and educational background. In other words, the exact makeup needed to be at the top of such an historic brand. In talking with Hodgen, the first thing you’d notice is that the magnitude of the brand and its place as an American icon is not lost on him in any way. He knows what King Ranch means to people of Texas and how just the thought of King Ranch evokes a specific feeling. For some, it’s just a piece of ground between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, while to others, it’s the Running W brand emblazoned on a shirt that symbolizes strength and quality. Combined with his professional past and exceptional education (BS, Animal Science from Oklahoma State University, plus an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania), Hodgen is an avid outdoorsman who understands the Ranch’s conservation programs and can work with the staff to carefully manage the herds of game species like deer and nilgai. In addition to big game species, Hodgen and the team meticulously maintain the Ranch’s quail habitat and population, ensuring that the longstanding tradition of Texas quail hunting remains at the King.

Between bird hunts (you have to experience the product, right?) and good times with friends and business associates in the field, Porch + Prairie spent some time with the Indiana native to bring into focus what the Ranch is today, the pressures that come with its stewardship, and how today’s programs help reinforce the brand’s great future for another 170 years and beyond.

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P+P: By now, most everyone knows the King Ranch brand by name, but there still might be a few that don’t know the wide range of industries that the name touches. The brand has expanded well beyond its cattle roots, no?

RH: Great question, yes, the business is much more than a humble cow camp on the banks of the Santa Gertrudis Creek.

Today, King Ranch, Inc., and its Running W® brand are among the most widely recognized identities in the United States. Nurtured by eight generations of family ownership, the culture and values of this iconic brand are lived out in its balancing of the ranch’s legacy with its long-term focus on environmental sustainability, conservation, innovation, and profitability.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, King Ranch, Inc. is a privately held agribusiness, real estate, and natural resource management company owned by the ~170 living descendants of Captain and Mrs. King. Established in 1853, the company’s historic 825,000acre ranch in South Texas is larger than the state of Rhode Island and is widely considered the birthplace of American ranching.

King Ranch’s core competency is operating large-scale, complex agricultural enterprises, and it is the 10th largest private landowner in the U.S. with holdings in Florida, Texas, and California. The company’s owners have an unwavering commitment to longterm habitat conservation and environmental sustainability as demonstrated every day in the active management of its flora and fauna.

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P+P: You mean to tell me that King Ranch stands for more than just their partnership with Ford Motor Company?

RH: Absolutely, I think our company Vison best explains what we stand for: To inspire a culture of stewardship, continue our legacy of innovation and hold ourselves to the highest standards of excellence.

The company is one of the largest producers in the U.S. of cotton, milo, and sugar cane and has a significant presence in almond and pistachio production. The firm ranks as the #2 producer of turf grass and juice oranges in the country and operates John Deere dealerships in Texas.

The firm also operates 1853 Brands, the internal brand management, licensing and apparel business of King Ranch focused on premium leather goods, outdoor apparel, and South-Texas lifestyle products.

1853 Brands has both an online and an eight-store brick-andmortar retail presence under the name King Ranch Saddle Shop (www.krsaddleshop.com) as well as a 22-year branding partnership with Ford Motor Co. King Ranch’s operations in South Texas include the third largest cow/calf enterprise in the U.S., and it consistently produces some of the world’s best Quarter Horses, such as Coronel del Rancho (AQHA’s 2021 Versatility Ranch Horse world champion). AQHA’s Best Remuda Award in 2019 recognized the ranch’s decades of great horses. King Ranch is a premier U.S. hunting and fishing destination for many game species with 770,000 acres of wildlife

habitat and miles of coastline which become the winter home for more than 350 bird species.

King Ranch has roots in U.S. energy production dating back to the 1930’s and continues to explore for natural gas on the historic Home Ranches. At the same time, the company is at the forefront of the U.S. energy transition movement with the announcement of several solar projects on King Ranch lands and by taking an industry leadership role in actionable surface and sub-surface carbon sequestration opportunities. While energy or carbon sequestration activities are in important aspect of the business, we also actively balance those pursuits with with a sharp focus on minimal surface disturbance and responsible remediation when an asset is no longer productive. In addition, There are also parts of the ranch where we simply won’t disturb the natural surface area for any type of subsurface use or exploration.

P+P: The sheer magnitude of the piece of land, complete with its varied terrain, creates a daunting challenge to ensure proper stewardship throughout the years and while time and weather and other factors have made their attempts, the ranch is in a great place for flora and fauna. In your opinion, is this a function of nature doing its own corrections, or is there a large human intervention involved?

RH: As with all things on King Ranch, it is about balance and a long-term view for how we manage our resources. We really have

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multiple diverse ecosystems across the various divisions and actively manage the habitat for both non-game and game species as well as our coastline with a critical eye towards how our actions impact the Lagua Madre. If you look at the ranch from the air, you will see a series of strips and dots. When you are on the ground you realize we have created a very purposeful mix of grass and brush with an emphasis on creating “edge” where wildlife can thrive. We have a team that thinks about the width of the brush strips and distance to each “motte” in the middle as well as the overall ratio of grass to brush. The direction of the strips also takes into account how we will gather cattle from the pasture and still allow us to work a bird dog into the wind come quail season. Most people think we only manage the habitat for hunting on the ranch, but we are just as concerned about conserving and creating habitat for the over 350 bird species and multiple other non-game species that call the ranch home.

P+P: With a brand of this size, there is an immense amount of pressure each day to ensure that the product or service maintains that high level of quality it’s been known for. How do you look at the business each day and keep 170 years of reputation at the forefront of your mind across all business units?

RH: The business is really about our people and the amazing culture that you find inside King Ranch. Our employees have a sense of pride that is truly remarkable. As a leader, I focus on

the values we say are important and encourage our team to live out those core values every day. We then utilize those values to drive our behaviors and those behaviors then shape our culture. The only way we can be successful across eleven different business units in three states is to have a consistent culture where the team holds each other accountable.

P+P: The Running W is iconic in its own right, so affixing that brandmark to any other partnership has to be thought out very carefully. What are the values and principles that become the common thread between King Ranch and some of its partnership programs?

RH: First and foremost is the concept of authenticity. Anyone we would collaborate with in the future must be an authentic leader within their industry. We are extremely selective in our partnerships and during my 2 ½ years with King Ranch, we’ve only launched one new partnership. That being the bourbon collaboration with Brown-Forman. This partnership is really a collaboration between two iconic and authentic American Families who have a shared sense of core values.

Another aspect of our operations that we truly view as a partnership is with the owners of the long-term hunting leases on the ranch.

Together we engage in stewardship practices that not only create great recreational opportunities for the lease holder and their guests, but also work in the best long-term interest of the ranch and our stewardship of the natural resources.

P+P: King Ranch helped establish and continually supports the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) as both an homage to the late Texas conservationist and former employee of the Ranch from back in the very early 1900’s as well as a modern institute that is at the forefront of global wildlife research. First off, stepping into this role and learning the history of the Ranch, what does the Kleberg name mean to you?

RH: The Kleberg name is an integral part of the rich heritage of the family behind King Ranch. Not only is every owner of the ranch today a descendant of Captain and Mrs. King, but they are also a direct descendant of their youngest daughter Alice and her husband Robert Justice Kelberg. My sense is that Alice and Robert Justice Kleberg had a passion for the land and all the resources held by the land. That is why he worked with his cousin Caesar to establish what became the game seasons and bag limits we have today. Those same conservation practices that are now used by every state in the union started on King Ranch around the turn of the century. In addition, their oldest son, Richard “Dick” Mifflin Kleberg was 10-term member of the US congress and was responsible for establishing the Federal Duck stamp. In many ways, I believe King Ranch should be considered as one of the originators of what has become the western model of conservation that places a value on the wildlife and then works tirelessly to create and conserve habitat where that that wildlife can thrive. To be clear, that value is not just the value for hunting game species, that value has a social, societal, environmental and recreational value that goes far beyond pulling the trigger.

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Today the CKWRI is at the forefront of wildlife and habitat focused research around the world. The Professors within that program are internationally recognized leaders with their respective fields.

King Ranch is proud to support such a great program that is vitally important and relevant today as a way to continue the legacy started by the Kleberg’s and King’s over 100 years ago.

P+P: Kleberg is credited with much of the game restoration on the ranch by creating hunting practices that would allow for the recovery of herd and bird numbers. Notably, deer hunting ended when the rut began, and quail could only be shot on the rise of a covey. Is it easy to see Kleberg’s fingerprints on the hunting program at King Ranch today?

RH: I would answer it slightly differently and say the legacy that started with Caesar Kleberg and his passion for the land and wildlife impacts more than just the recreational hunting. It impacts how we think about balancing the habitat for every species on the ranch and where we choose to actively manage the habitat and where we choose to leave the habitat alone and let nature take its course such as the live oak forest on the east side of the Norias division.

In terms of recreational hunting, today the work started by Caesar Kleberg shows up in the fact that we fly the ranch in a helicopter

P+P: In the ever-changing world of land management and specifically cattle management, what do you think the next 25 years will say about King Ranch?

RH: We believe that cattle are an essential part of the conservation story in North America and will continue to prove that when managed properly, cattle improve the habitat. Three hundred years ago we had tens of millions of bison in this country, and they were part of the natural environment. Cattle on pasture and in the range county create multiple benefits for the grasses and forbs that are then used by the wildlife. If left alone today, South Texas would turn into one big mesquite and Huisache jungle with a monoculture environment that would not be conducive to the hundreds of animals that live on the ranch today. Cattle are one tool in this constant fight to create a balanced ecosystem on the ranch. To help achieve this constant balancing act our livestock and wildlife departments come together to conduct forage studies at least once a year and more as conditions dictate to adjust stocking rates across the ranch. For example, we consider the Nilgai herd when deciding how many cows to stock in a given pasture each year based on rainfall and pasture conditions. We believe King Ranch will continue to be at the forefront of demonstrating that cattle and wildlife when managed properly create benefits for all stakeholders.

We believe that cattle are an essential part of the conservation story in North America and will continue to prove that when managed properly, cattle improve the habitat.

each year and take game surveys. These surveys are then combined with pasture conditions and the general health of the wildlife populations to determine our harvest limits which will vary from year to year.

In addition, I believe that Caesar’s legacy continues to influence our decisions to improve the habitat we have today without any outside group or agency directing us to do so and us not asking for public recognition for the efforts. For instance, this past year, we took it upon ourselves to create another two acres freshwater pond about a mile off the coastline of Norias specifically so that that the red-headed ducks that forage each day on the Lauga Madre had access to more fresh water. In a place that was originally called the Wild Horse Desert, fresh water can be scarce and is essential to their survival each winter. Most people want to talk about quail and trophy deer on the ranch, but we are also concerned about waterfowl and migratory birds of various shapes and sizes.

I believe the principles from the past apply very much to our conservation efforts today. To me, Caeser Kleberg’s fingerprints are more like a DNA stamp on our genetic code for how we conduct ourselves, what we value as a company and how our family shareholders value the land.

P+P: How do you feel that King Ranch can best prepare for those changes?

RH: Continue to employ great people with a diverse set of skills and empower them to create a great culture that values the land and its various resources. We must continue to have a generational view of all of our activities on the ranch and realize that others are watching what we do every day. Our Vision statement talks about holding ourselves to the highest standards of excellence and that is the only way we can prepare for the changes ahead.

P+P: Any final thoughts about the journey you’re on at King Ranch, Inc.?

RH: Family ownership is beginning a transition of both power and voice from the fifth to sixth generation and we now have the first member of the eight generation with us today. It is clear to me that the younger family members have just as much passion for the legacy of King Ranch as their parents and grandparents. As the leader of the business, it is refreshing to know that our focus will continue to honor the legacy of King Ranch and keep the ranch as one of the last great habitats in the world. The family doesn’t support the activities around conservation because they must, they do it because they want to and know it is the only way they can pass down this truly remarkable place on earth to the next eight generations. P+P

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John Wayne...

For Which He Stood.

By Beka Garbutt

J

ohn Wayne. The name itself has many different associations.

For some, it may just be a name embedded in rolling credits after an exceptional film; for others, a familiar face on the screen and shared time with family enjoying those classic western and military films so many know and love; still others think of a patriotic pilar that stood for the ideals that America has held close to her heart; some hear the name and instantly respond with the well-known catchphrases: “Pilgrim,” or “That’ll be the day,” or even “A man ought to do what he thinks is best.” For me, the name John Wayne is as familiar as my own. I was introduced to the actor at an early age by my grandma who instilled in me a love for all good classic movies, but especially those that starred the one and only “Duke.”

She introduced me to “Donovan’s Reef,” “Chisum,” and “True Grit;” but her favorite was the best-known classic, “McClintock!” We could quote the best lines and always shared a sigh of contentment as the final credits rolled by. My grandma loves America better than most, I believe, so her appreciation for the actor ran deeper than his on-screen presence. His patriotism drew a level of respect from her.

She made sure I listened to his album “America, Why I Love Her,” and I have vivid memories of being in her home with John Wayne’s deep voice declaring his love for America in the background: “From Alaska’s gold to the Everglades, from the Rio Grande to Maine My heart cries out, my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.

You ask me why I love her? I’ve a million reasons why.

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My beautiful America, beneath God’s wide, wide sky.”

My grandma’s influence ensured that John Wayne was high on my list of heroes. I loved his movies and as I got older, I took an interest in learning about the man behind the screen. Who was John Wayne?

He was Marion Michael Morrison. Only not really. He was actually born Marion Robert Morrison, but his mother decided to name her second son Robert and, though there is no record of a legal name change, somewhere along the way Marion Robert became Marion Michael. He was the oldest son of Clyde and Mary “Molly” Morrison, born on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. The birth announcement in the newspaper stated simply, “A 13-pound son arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Morrison, Monday morning.” Thirteen pounds that Molly would later say nearly killed her. Winterset, Iowa, was a small farm town that epitomized the “heartland of America” visual. Rolling hills surround the small community and neighbors knew no strangers. It was a modest beginning. Clyde was a pharmacist by trade, but attempted several different business ventures that did not pan out. Finances were tight and Clyde suffered from health problems that eventually forced the family’s move out west where they settled in Glendale, California.

He was “Duke.” But Duke was actually the name of the family dog.

Marion hated his name; it made him the object of some teasing in school. He was often seen around town with the family dog, “Duke,” in tow and the story goes that boy and dog spent a good bit of time at the local fire station. He refused, however, to tell the fireman what

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He was a hard worker – a trait that some attribute to the awareness of the constant financial troubles that the Morrison family struggled with as Duke was growing up. At Fox studios, he assisted with sets and props until he eventually worked his way onto the screen. He did his obligatory years in B level movies until 1939 when John Ford cast him as “Ringo Kid” in the hit film “Stagecoach.”

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his name was out of embarrassment, so they took to calling them both “Duke” and the name stuck.

He was an actor. Only he did not originally intend to be in the movie business. Duke Morrison was a star athlete at Glendale High School and enrolled at the University of Southern California in 1925 on a football scholarship. His chosen field of study: Law. His time at USC was cut short however when he lost his scholarship due to a body surfing injury that ended his days on the football field. Without the scholarship, he lacked the funds to continue his education and was forced to quit school. Prior to his exit from the University, however, he had landed a job at Fox studios. He was a hard worker – a trait that some attribute to the awareness of the constant financial troubles that the Morrison family struggled with as Duke was growing up. At Fox studios, he assisted with sets and props until he eventually worked his way onto the screen. He did his obligatory years in B level movies until 1939 when John Ford cast him as “Ringo Kid” in the hit film “Stagecoach,” a story that follows a misfit group of travelers making their way through dangerous Apache territory bound for Lordsburg, New Mexico. It was a big role for a new actor, but John Ford saw the potential and Duke was ready to make his mark. If you’ve seen the film, you might remember that you hear him before you see him. The crack of his shotgun, followed by a hearty “Hold it!” interrupts the stagecoach’s journey as the camera focuses in on the face that America would come to know and love. Then with that iconic twirl of his rifle, John Wayne

sparked a career that few could ever dream of. He would become a hero on the screen, an icon in the nation, and a legend well after his time.

He was an American. Of that fact, there is no question. His name became synonymous with patriotism. The characters he portrayed displayed high values with the drive to defend them when necessary, both on the western frontier and the battlefield overseas. His western films highlighted the beauty of the country he loved so well and reminded viewers of the idealistic lifestyle the frontier encapsulated, while never shying away from showing the harsh realities of the hard work and fight that it took to settle the west. The Alamo was a project particularly close to Duke’s heart. As America emerged from the horrors of World War II, John Wayne decided to create a film that brought to life the ideals America was founded on and the sacrifice often required to preserve them. The film focused on liberty and independence and has been called John Wayne’s “cinematic love letter” to the country he held so dear. Films like Sands of Iwo Jima and The Green Berets called Americans to understand that the true heroes were those fighting for the freedom that we so easily take for granted. He worked hard to ensure his military films accurately depicted the realities of the battles that were being portrayed. Sands of Iwo Jima was intended to be the most realistic World War II film to date. The movie was filmed at Camp Pendleton and the Marines were heavily involved in ensuring its accuracy. The famous recreation of the raising of the American PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 85

He was the American dream – a shy boy, bullied for his name, from a penny-pinching broken family in the farm country of Iowa who worked his way into the hearts of Americans one screen appearance at a time.

He had the attention of the nation and used that influence to promote patriotism. In 1973, he released “America, Why I Love Her,” a 10-track spoken word album intended to bolster the American spirit in the wake of the Vietnam War.

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“To the people of the world John Wayne is not just an actor – and a very fine actor – John Wayne is the United States of America…..I beg you to strike a medal for Duke, to order the President to strike it. And I feel that medal should say just one thing, ‘John Wayne – American."

Maureen O'Hara flag on Mount Suribachi included three Marines that were involved in the actual flag raising, Privates First Class Rene Gagnon and Ira Hayes and Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John Bradley. General Holland M. Smith, the American commander in the real battle of Iwo Jima also briefly appeared in the film as himself. During the production of The Green Berets John Wayne traveled to Vietnam himself to visit bases and gain an understanding of the struggles American soldiers were faced with on the front lines. Once again, the help of the US Government was enlisted and Duke was given permission from Major General John Wright, the commander at Fort Benning at the time the film was being made, to film on base and had The Department of Defense review the film’s script for accuracy. The driving force behind these films was more than just entertainment, “My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for.”

He was the American dream – a shy boy, bullied for his name, from a penny-pinching broken family in the farm country of Iowa who worked his way into the hearts of Americans one screen appearance at a time. He had the attention of the nation and used that influence to promote patriotism. In 1973, he released “America, Why I Love Her,” a 10-track spoken word album intended to bolster the American spirit in the wake of the Vietnam War. The title track was a poem written by John Mitchem praising the beauty of America and the strength of her citizens. Other tracks included were “The Pledge of Allegiance,” “Taps,” and “The Hyphen” – a poem calling

Americans to bond over their differences rather than allowing them to cause division. On the back of the original album Duke inscribed a letter to his listeners reminding them that all too often “The good things about America” are taken for granted. He calls Americans to “nurture her strengths and strengthen her weaknesses so that she will always be a ‘land of the free and the home of the brave.’” The album spent 13 weeks on Billboard charts and was re-released by the family in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks as a source of comfort and, once again, a call for patriotism in one of the darkest moments of America.

To this day John Wayne remains one of the most popular actors in the industry. The heart behind his films and the ideals that he stood for are not lost among the changes in society. It has been said that America loves John Wayne because he represented what Americans wanted their country to be – a quiet presence of courage, strength, grit, and good old-fashioned justice.

In 1979 Maureen O’Hara, longtime costar and beloved friend, stood before Congress to make her case that a Congressional Gold Medal be awarded to John Wayne. Her words beautifully summed up the sentiment of many around the nation, “To the people of the world John Wayne is not just an actor – and a very fine actor – John Wayne is the United States of America…..I beg you to strike a medal for Duke, to order the President to strike it. And I feel that medal should say just one thing, ‘John Wayne – American.’”

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The Outdoorsman’s Inheritance

Garrett and Ron 88 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

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By Cameron J. Kirby

hen the wind blew through the trees it reminded me of sailing; the water would form thousands of small creases before a strong gust, leaving temporary scars on the water. We would hunt these scars using our tiller and sails. Even while grounded the feeling of movement gently rocked my perception. The breeze was strong enough that any scent we emitted was quickly dispersed in all directions. The elk below didn’t notice us as they left their wooded retreat and came into the cut. We were three hundred yards up a ridge of clear-cut, belly down – snaking our way closer. Our eyes were locked on an outcropping of deciduous trees coursing in the wind.

The day prior I had received a call from my closest friend, Garrett.

His father, Ron, had secured an elk tag in Oregon’s coastal mountain range and they wanted me to join them.

Like an episode of Scooby-Doo, we split up. We watched Ron hike back toward the truck, slowly blending in with the wilderness. He was an older man, yet he had no difficulty traversing the rough stuff and keeping up with those forty years younger. Without his watchful eye, it felt like we were kids again, preparing for our trek into Mordor.

Garrett and I had known each other since childhood, from a young age we co-developed our appreciation of nature and our sense of wonder through play. Reenacting the battle of Endor or tromping through Middle Earth, we sought out the wild because it was the only appropriate backdrop to our adventures. Eventually, it evolved from a hockey stick blaster rifle to a hunting rifle, and the orcs were ultimately replaced by a furred or feathered quarry.

We approached the logging road and spotted the old Chevy S10 we fondly referred to as Cricket. Ron was sitting on the tailgate with a cold beer in his hand smiling at us as we approached. I could tell he was proud that we had navigated back to the rendezvous point unscathed, but there was more than just pride in his face, he seemed content.

Ron had always been an active hunter and fisherman and was the only man I knew at the time who threaded the line between rugged outdoorsman and polished professional. He would often take his business clients on fishing trips and duck hunts, selling himself, as much, if not more than his product. Growing up, Garrett would regale me with their stories of adventure: salmon fishing in Alaska, hunting deer and elk in California, and wing-shooting migratory birds throughout the Pacific Northwest… and now, I was finally invited to tag along.

It took no convincing before I loaded up my gear and enthusiastically drove to the Oregon coast; pondering the grand adventure I knew I was embarking on.

Our tag was limited to a bull elk with a three-point minimum; thus far we had only spotted cows. They found comfort in skirting the forest and occupying the area between tree cover and the artificial meadow. Garrett was lying forward, and to my right, with the wooden stock of his Browning A-Bolt resting on top of his pack; I was busy glassing the tree line looking for tines. Shifting in and out of sight the cows slowly grazed, I spotted the ghost of a bull set back in the shadows. His antlers came in and out of focus, like a phantasm in the void. My fatigued eyes were straining to see him, was it a cow with a halo of branches?

The elk had reentered their sanctuary and hadn’t been visible for half an hour. Ron was several paces behind, watching us assess the situation. He crept closer until we were within earshot, “Why don’t you boys follow them into the woods? I’ll hike back to the truck and meet you on the logging road below.”

We passed the threshold and entered the thick deciduous woodland that the Pacific Northwest is known for. Fallen timber punctuated the floor with lush, neon moss ever aiding in its decay. I could smell the musk of the elk before I saw them, eventually, we were close enough to see movement, the herd of cows was silently drifting through the verdant landscape. While we struggled to silence our footfalls, they moved like zephyrs through the wood. As we edged closer, we realized luck wasn’t on our side. There were no bulls to be found.

“When you hunt along a road, you see a road,” Ron said as we bounced along the furrowed forest route in Cricket. Our elevation declined in both miles and outlook as a halo of light enveloped the horizon. Dusk was well on its way.

We spent the next several days in the area switching between glassing clearcut and stalking through the dense timber searching for the tawny ghosts inhabiting this graveyard of trees. We saw many elk, but none that could fill our tag. However, like most times spent hunting with family and friends, it was a wildly successful, unsuccessful hunt… with plenty of bottles killed along the way.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this would be both the first and the last time I hunted with Ron; he is still alive and well with great stories to tell (making the best stew you’ve ever tasted), but he no longer hunts big game. In a lot of ways, I feel like this hunt was a way for him to pass on his inheritance of experience, enthusiasm, and ultimately his hunting buddy to the next generation. Fathers and sons won’t always share the same passions, yet, through community, it’s possible to find mentors for just about any interest.

Garrett and I still hunt yearly and are actively working with my own boys to fully appreciate the wild places and the thrill of hunting.

I realize that the love of the woods starts as play; the best way to connect kids with nature is to make it fun, to make it into something greater than the sum of its components. Children need to experience nature through their kid goggles; hopefully, some of that wonder will wear off on the rest of us. Maybe the next time I head up into the mountains I'll bring a pith helmet and a hockey stick blaster rifle.

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Behind the Hat: Wendy Kunkle and the Legacy of Kemo Sabe

Photo by Stephanie Weinreis

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Photo by Stephanie Weinreis

In a world that has become increasingly reliant on online stores and the desire to have something immediately, Kemo Sabe invites you to slow down.

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endy Kunkle loves the West. It’s one of life’s simple truths, and if you don’t believe me, then you have never set foot inside Kemo Sabe, the retail empire owned by Kunkle that not only celebrates the style and apparel of the American West, but celebrates the Western experience as well. After all, Kunkle once sat across the table from the Aspen Chamber Resort Association to pitch them on bringing back a hitching post and horses to the front of their storefront.

Why? Because it just felt more western.

There are many moving parts and ingredients in the day-to-day operation that give Kemo Sabe the brand presence and reputation it enjoys, but chief among them would be passion . Passion for the product, yes, but for Kunkle, it’s the passion for the people. Walk into any of their stores and you’ll find a team ready to drop what they’re doing in a heartbeat so that they can give you their undivided, personal attention. That kind of customer commitment starts at the top and for those who work there, they see how leadership lives out that commitment every day.

In a world that has become increasingly reliant on online stores and the desire to have something immediately, Kemo Sabe invites you to slow down. And if we’re being honest, you’re going to

want to. Each team member is focused on the process of creating something, be it your new cowboy hat, or a custom buckle, or maybe just an elevated experience. What makes Kemo Sabe great for so many, and likely one of the biggest pieces to their reputation, is that every customer gets that experience. It doesn’t matter if you walk out with bags and bags of new items, or if you walked in to look around and admire, the team makes it their mission to be there to enhance your trip. That kind of buy-in across such a big brand is not easy to get and speaks volumes to how Kunkle paves the way.

Kunkle’s path to the helm of Kemo Sabe is not the one of a founder’s story or of a corporate buyout by someone previously unattached to the company. Rather, Kunkle had been an employee of Kemo Sabe for nearly 20 years before purchasing the brand from then-owner Tom Yoder in early 2020. She knew the brand, she knew the heritage of the company, and better yet, she knew exactly what Yoder wanted Kemo Sabe to represent from the beginning, and now well into the future. It was customer-centric from day one and it’s never changed. There is an important detail in this—for the team at Kemo Sabe, no matter which level of the company they are at, Wendy Kunkle was one of them. She can relate to what its like with a first-time customer because she’s been there.

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When I travel to large cities, I make it a point to wear my Cowboy Hat, and it's remarkable to see how people react. They ask questions like, "Are you a real Cowgirl?" and "Are there still Cowboys in the US?"

Photo by Patrick Tracy

She can relate to the long days that go beyond the store’s posted hours just to finish a special piece for a client because she’s been there. Because of that, she can lead from the front, confidently showing the way to each new team member that comes in. The messages of customer service and hospitality never ring hollow because the team knows she’s been in their shoes and in the end, they have created a company as renowned for how they treat their customers just as much as they are known for the product moving out the door.

Kemo Sabe has come a long way since its start in 1990 when it occupied a small space in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Beyond its home in Aspen’s Wheeler Block Building flagship, Kemo Sabe has an additional four stores for guests to travel to in Park City (UT), Jackson Hole (WY), Vail (CO), and Round Top (TX). In addition to the brick and mortar storefronts, Kemo Sabe hits the road in what is known as the Road House, a massive trailer that brings the Kemo Sabe experience into the local communities across the country and gives the brand a chance to interact with a wider audience all across the map. To Kunkle, that’s the good stuff—seeing how people have looked to Kemo Sabe to bring people together for those special occasions in life, knowing that someone’s day is made because Kemo Sabe provided one heck of an experience.

P+P: First and foremost, our country is in a great period in time where so many are interested in re-educating themselves on the American West and have started to become students of the Western and cowboy lifestyles. As someone who is not only involved in those world professionally, you also live it everyday. Do you see a wide gap 92 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

between what most think the West is about vs. what is actually is?

WK: While many people are drawn to the West's allure and lifestyle, it's important to acknowledge that the West is not just a cowboy fantasy but a diverse and vibrant region with a rich history and culture.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed an influx of urban residents seeking refuge in small Western towns, often fascinated by the lifestyle. When I travel to large cities, I make it a point to wear my Cowboy Hat, and it's remarkable to see how people react. They ask questions like, "Are you a real Cowgirl?" and "Are there still Cowboys in the US?" The Western mystique can lead to these misconceptions, and wearing a Cowgirl Hat certainly makes you more approachable.

It's all part of the fun and the charm of the West, but there's much more beneath the surface than meets the eye.

P+P: For those who are visiting the West, one of the things that is quickly apparent is how kind everyone is. Even as the region continues to find new residents moving in from out of the area, the friendly community side continues to shine through. How has the backdrop been an integral part of not just your businesses, but for you as an individual?

WK: I've come to appreciate the genuine warmth and kindness of people living out West. Even as new residents move in from other areas, the friendly and close-knit community spirit remains a constant. This backdrop has been integral not only to my businesses but also to me as an individual, shaping my values and outlook on life.

It's a supportive environment that fosters a sense of belonging and connection, which is something we strive to extend to our customers and visitors.

Photo by Brooke Welgos

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We've evolved this credo to "Make Everyone Feel Important" because it extends beyond our customers to every encounter throughout the day.

P+P: For the rest of our readership who might not have the same experience in the West that I might, what would you want them to know about life out West that they might not previously know?

WK: To those who haven't had the opportunity to experience the West, it's important to understand that life out here is a rich tapestry of cultures, traditions, and landscapes. The West isn't just cowboys and open plains; it's a region of diverse communities, natural beauty, and a deep connection to the land. It's a place where you can embrace a slower pace of life, connect with nature, and savor the unique blend of old and new that defines Western culture. The West is about authenticity, a strong sense of community, and a genuine love for the land we call home.

P+P: At the core of your business at Kemo Sabe is the credo from Kemo Sabe Founder Tom Yoder is “Make the Customer Feel Important”--- how is that credo ingrained into your team each day?

WK: Our core business principle at Kemo Sabe is rooted in the belief that everyone should feel important. We've evolved this credo to "Make Everyone Feel Important" because it extends beyond our customers to every encounter throughout the day. We make it a priority to introduce new team members to this concept through Mark Sanborn's book, "The Fred Factor." Our team is not just here

Photo by Stephanie Weinreis

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to fulfill customer needs within Kemo Sabe but also to enhance their overall experience in our towns by offering recommendations and advice on making the most of their time here.

P+P: Western wear, in particular headwear, to me really help express the personality of the person inside the garment—purpose of the piece, the fit, the finish, etc--- for the newcomer walking into a Kemo Sabe store, how does your team help someone through that process?

WK: Western wear, especially headwear, is a unique expression of one's personality. When someone walks into a Kemo Sabe store, our team takes them on a 45-minute journey through our offerings.

Whether you're shopping for a hat, boots, a buckle, or a belt, we encourage customization to make each item as unique as the person buying it. We believe shopping should be fun, so we kick off the experience by offering a beverage and work closely with customers to help them design items that reflect their individual style and personality.

P+P: Going on four years is as owner of Kemo Sabe, one of the most influential Western lifestyle brands in the country, is it still as exciting as when you first took it over?

Photo by Patrick Tracy

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Photo by Brooke Welgos

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WK:Absolutely, owning Kemo Sabe remains as exciting as it was when I first took over. Every day is an adventure, and I'm grateful to work with an exceptional team of individuals. We hire based on personality and grit rather than just resumes, so everyone at Kemo Sabe is not only a professional but someone you'd want to spend time with outside of work. My work is my passion, and I'm fortunate to have fun every day.

P+P: The expansion of the Kemo Sabe brand has been exceptionally noteworthy in recent years, especially as you expand into new towns. Are those expansions part of the long term plan you laid out early on, or more centered around being opportunistic and agile as a company?

WK: We've never adhered to a strict expansion plan. We believe in seizing opportunities as they arise, which keeps us agile and open to change. The recent expansions into new towns have been a result of seizing these opportunities, and they align with our philosophy of embracing change and taking chances.

P+P: Those storefronts are impressive and all have a tight tie to the past, be it how they are designed, or the historical buildings they reside in. Inside them is a wonderful visual overload that really displays the breadth of the brand as well. In many cases, a visit to Kemo Sabe is not just a trip to a retailer, but rather a full on experience, yes?

WK: Our storefronts are designed to provide an immersive experience for every visitor. From the meticulously curated merchandise and the ambiance of the store to the music, the smell of leather, and the drinks we offer, we strive to create an unforgettable experience. Our staff is the heart and soul of Kemo Sabe, and they ensure that every visit is not just a shopping trip but a memorable journey into the world of Western culture.

P+P: Speaking of those experiences, your stores and even the mobile units around the country are a great place for a corporate gathering, or bachelorette trip, or even just a nice private night on the town with some friends. That element of community and coming together is another tenet of the brand, no?

Our storefronts are designed to provide an immersive experience for every visitor.

Photo by Patrick Tracy

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Photo by Brooke Welgos

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Photo by Stephanie Weinreis

WK: The best part about Kemo Sabe is our customers, who become like family to us. We're not just a retailer; we're a hub for community and coming together. Whether it's a corporate gathering, a bachelorette trip, or a night on the town with friends, we offer a space for people to connect, celebrate, and have a great time. The sense of community is deeply ingrained in our brand.

P+P: You have been in a variety of industries and ventures over the course of your career--- are there things that you bring from your experiences outside of Kemo Sabe that impact the business today?

WK: Throughout my career, I've been involved in various industries and ventures, and I bring a wealth of experiences to my role at Kemo Sabe. These experiences have shaped my approach to business and the values I hold dear. I've learned the importance of adaptability, the value of relationships, and the significance of innovation. Each of these aspects influences the way we operate and grow at Kemo Sabe.

Photo by Patrick Tracy

P+P: How do you envision the expansion of residency in the West to pan out over the next few years? Do you think it continues to grow at its current pace, and I suppose separately, how do you as a brand owner prepare for that potential upswing?

WK: It's difficult to predict the exact trajectory of residency expansion in the West over the next few years. While the West's allure remains strong, the pace of growth may vary. As a brand owner, we are open to growth opportunities but are committed to ensuring that any expansion aligns naturally with our team and makes sense for our business. We operate as a cohesive unit, making decisions collectively and embracing change as it comes. P+P

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DARN TOUGH BIRDS Written by Edgar Castillo Photos by Jon “Hutch” Hutcheson

T

he weatherman had provided us with an unusually accurate forecast for the second day of the Kansas regular upland bird season. He had rolled the dice and by sheer luck accurately predicted a cold, sunny, and windswept day of blustery temps for our Sunday excursion. Our morning would be focused on the unseasonably dry wetlands for the wily court jester of the uplands.

That colorful trickster with its multi-color metallic sheen of mosaic plumage who’s earned the reputation for being difficult to hunt for both hunter and dog. Ringneck roosters are neurotic birds that learn and adapt by the minute during hunting season. They evolve constantly in an effort to just survive the onslaught of orange clad hunters chasing them. Roosters are downright darn tough birds to kill. By days end we would learn just how much ringnecks are determined to survive.

Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest wetland within the interior of the United States and a critical stopping point for millions of birds that utilize the Central Flyway. It is synonymous with being a waterfowlers mecca. Duck hunters from across the country venture to this central oasis to shoot ducks and geese. However, this year “The Bottoms” would be void of duck hunters and gobs of floating decoys.

Instead, a few of us upland hunters who frequented the area saw the immediate potential after the dismal reports we had seen ALL spring and summer. It was dry to the bone. The once lush and 100 - WINTER 2023 | PORCH + PRAIRIE Magazine

abundant marsh that would fill up with thousands upon thousands of ducks and shore birds needed a new tenant. An over abundance of cattails, tumbleweeds, and fallow fields of various grasses had grown and sprouted up throughout the property. The Bottoms became an open vacancy for pheasants.

There have always been pheasants at Cheyenne Bottoms, as we often heard crowing roosters while waiting for that early morning flight of ducks. And on a few occasions chased them in ankle deep water! Heck, I’ve witnessed a pheasant swim to get away. But this time, the entire area was prime real estate for pheasants, and we took advantage of the opportunity to walk areas once filled with water for a chance to shoot some ringnecks.

We arrived at Spoonyville. Aptly named for an amazing duck hunt from a couple years prior. Cautious not to make an abundance of noise, as pheasants have hyper-sensitive vision and hearing. Their eyesight is incredible at spotting movement. It’s a safe bet that pheasants can easily spot a hunter wearing orange. And hearing, well we all know they hear us trampling through the grass and brush and maneuver accordingly to sneak around, behind, or through hunters.

With non-toxic ammo secured in our vests we stepped off.

Three dogs of various sizes scampered out into the sand-colored switch grass. Kyle’s, chocolate-colored German shorthair Blaze, immediately started working the field. He ranged a bit farther than

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the two tri-colored French Brittany’s. Stormy, Rich’s young Brit, was smaller of the two Frenchy’s, seemed to run on jet fuel as she covered a lot of ground in search of scent. While Hutch had Tod work a bit closer to work the edges.

Conditions were not ideal that day. Not only had it been dry, but the wind was howling. We meandered through a series of patches of tall grass only to hear shouts of…

“Rooster!”

The birds were flushing wild. An occasional “Pop” was heard, as someone tried in desperate vain to connect. The landscape was perfect. It was ideal habitat for pheasants. It was easy walking as the islands of tall grass were surrounded by much shorter grass. It created a natural pinch point pressuring any roosters that were skulking out of the wind forced out into the open area. Hutch had exchanged his shotgun for a camera in order to capture the hunt. Faint, rapid clicking’s could be heard as our images were caught.

I was watching Blaze methodically work the network of habitat. His nose was dug into the ground. He would occasionally lift his head and check the wind then resume to sniffing. He was definitely birdy.

Kyle commanded Blaze with soft whisperings.

“Clooose.”

“Clooose.”

“Edgar, watch him! Could be a running rooster.”

Roosters can run upwards to ten miles an hour. Which is plenty fast to frustrate hunters and even the canines on their trail. And fly even faster they can. Speeds from 35 to 48 mph. Factor in a strong wind and will power to stay alive, and pheasants can attain 60 miles per hour!

My leathered gloves creaked as I tightened the grip on my Ruger Red Label. Kyle and I stopped for a few seconds. We hoped that our sudden halt would cause the bird to get jittery and expose itself to the danger that was waiting. Blaze’s gears shifted into a tracking mode. He was definitely on a scent trail. He zigged and zagged in a swirling pattern when he abruptly stopped. He wasn’t on point, but

something had caused the sudden halt.

“Tuka, tuka, tuka” The familiar sound of a cackling pheasant rooster was loud enough to get past the howling wind as I turned my attention towards to my left. The bird leaped into the air in front of Kyle from ankle high grass. Its wings fluttering rapidly desperately trying to climb into the blue airspace. It was a magnificent sight. The roosters tail feathers were fanned out. Its feathers glistened in the sunlight. I could see the shimmery chromatic colors reflect the sun’s rays.

Kyle smoothly raised his shotgun into the air. We had been walking into the sun, so his silhouette resembled a howitzer poised to fire its deadly payload.

“Boom” The shot rang out. We watched the bird clearly take the impact of the BOSS number 6 shell. Loose feathers created a cloud in midair.

However, the rooster continued flying! To my surprise the bird was now directly over me. Instinctively my shotgun swung straight up.

The injured flying rooster was directly above me. It felt like I was participating in a driven pheasant shoot in the English countryside.

Another thunderous explosion rocked the quiet Bottoms.

It had been a direct hit. Steel pellets had crashed into the rooster hard. We all watched in blind confidence that the pheasant would fall dead. What happened next was unbelievable. We stared in disbelief as the rooster did a complete somersault in midair, twisted its body, and leveled out from the impact. Its wings frantically flapping in a desperate attempt to continue to fly. The bird buckled hard. A last ditch to hold onto life. The dogs knew this too as they watched the bird continue to fly and slowly descend and gave chase. Each dog vying to reach the rooster first and bring it back. But the rooster must have had a determination to make it another day, because just as we thought it was going down, it began to flutter violently and somehow began to gain altitude. The rooster’s determination to live and not end up in a dog’s mouth nor our hands, kept it pumping enough blood into its beating heart to glide to its own final resting

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spot of the rooster’s choice.

With our mouths wide open and dogs barking frantically, we watched the rooster fly away. It became a speck barely seen flying above a sea of cattails until it vanished into the blue sky. We never saw the rooster fall.

“Did you see that? That rooster did a complete somersault Edgar, when you hit it!”, said Kyle in a soft Texan accent. All four of us were in utter shock as to what just happened.

Ringneck Roosters have always held a sort of amazing ability to survive shots. It seems like their bodies were built to withstand the onslaught of BBs. Countless hunters across the country have cursed roosters for their natural feathery armor as they fly away appearing unscathed. A rooster’s backside can take a string of pellets that can cause them to slow down in flight, but on more than occasion fails to allow penetration for a lethal hit. A common argument rises from these escapes is what is the proper shotgun gauge, choke, and shot size needed to kill a rooster. Well, those topics will only open a can of worms and heated arguments. Kyle shot the rooster with a 20-gauge non-toxic number 6 BOSS shell, and I followed up with a hardhitting thump from my 12-gauge using #4 shotshell! Remember both of these shots were relatively close range, within thirty yards, most likely with open chokes. It’s safe to say that the rooster took several direct hits of BBs from both of our shotguns.

We stood there reliving what had just happened. Playing it in our minds over and over like a movie reel. Rewinding the vision of the rooster flipping head over tail like a high diver at a swim meet.

The judges would have given the rooster undoubtedly a high score.

Fifteen minutes later we were still talking about. Unbelievable. We all had our own stories with roosters who had been hit and flew away.

But many of those were of longer shots and eventually the bird came down. Some did continue to fly but their quickness in the air to put distance between them and hunters helped them survive as pellets merely only peppered them.

I broke open my Ruger Red Label and with a “thump”, the lone shell that had failed to bring down the rooster ejected out. It was replaced with another number 4 heavy load shell. The shogun closed with a gentle snap. The empty red hull found its way in the back of my bird vest. The rest of the guys were already walking and had reformed a line to hit the next clump of tall grass. With a quickstep I played catch up. Readying myself for the next rooster to flush. That bird would be met with a barrage of gunfire making sure it was killed.

We did eventually find a couple of roosters that played by the rules, or more likely just ran out of luck. Their tickets had been called, and we collected. Even a few Bobs found their way into our bird vests.

However, hunting bobwhite quail is a whole different story. They are referred to as Gentleman Bob for a reason. They are kind and respectful to hunters and dogs alike. They abstain from trickery and follow a certain etiquette ignored by the majority of roosters.

My respect grew even more that day for the ringneck pheasant rooster. With a brain that weights a mere four grams, a rooster sure does possess a lot of “super powers” that help it survive. Eyesight, hearing, agility, and body armor of its physical traits. Throw in the pheasants determination to survive, surrounded by its sneaky, conniving ways to literally outsmart hunters and dogs is mystifying.

Its cowardice to get away is but a mirage to just how darn tough these birds are. There’s no question that the rooster we shot ultimately died from its injuries, but I like to think that maybe, just maybe, it survived. But probably not. P+P PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 105

Running Wild with the Running W

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Y

ou’ve seen it time and time again and despite the simplicity of its design, the Running W brand of the King Ranch represents a long history of passion, conservation, land stewardship, and the multitude of businesses that fly under its flag. No matter where the brand appears, it is taken seriously, making it no surprise that when King Ranch launched it’s King Ranch Saddle Shop, each product had to be build tough, able to withstand life on the range, and live up to the lofty standards of its namesake.

With no chance to back down from the challenge, King Ranch Saddle Shop delivered in the beginning, and continues to deliver to this very day. Now led by successful outdoor apparel industry veteran James Elledge, KRSS is poised to take a massive leap forward in the worlds of fit, fashion, and functionality as it continues to evolve with the market. While Saddle Shop will never shy away from or deviate from its lineage of leather goods and wares, the modern rancher and outdoorsman is introduced to new fabrics that can not only stand up to the work of the day, but look great in the process. Of course not everyone who comes to King Ranch Saddle Shop makes their living working on the land, but all who come through the doors of their well-adorned retail stores have a strong understanding of what KRSS special and have a genuine appreciation for what the company means to the outdoors, to ranching, and to Texas.

With an exciting new year upon us, we talked with James Elledge, who in his great career, has been a foundational piece to many of the brands we all see and experience today. With his background, Elledge’s past successes get paired with the historical influence of the King Ranch name, forging an exciting future and the confluence of 170 years of tradition with the styles and fabrics of today.

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P+P: King Ranch Saddle Shop--- the official purveyor of KR branded ranging from leather goods and home goods, to even specialty items like luggage and saddles. How have you made the quality of the goods from Saddle Shop synonymous with the brand’s already existing reputation?

JE: We take a lot of pride in our history and the legacy of the King Ranch Saddle Shop. Originally formed to meet the needs of the hard workers on the Ranch and other cowboys in the area, the Saddle Shop began as an outpost for Western saddles, tack, and other durable goods. Today, we keep the emphasis on the highest quality materials and construction. From the leather goods we still hand make in Kingsville, TX, to the apparel and home goods that we create from sourced materials, we don’t cut corners. Each product must be up to our quality standard, and it must be able to last for generations.

P+P: You have an extensive background on the direct-toconsumer market, specifically in Texas, as well as within the demographic that takes their hunting seriously, but also likes to invoke that hunting and ranching styling in their everyday wear.

How do you apply that personal experience to now running this unit at King Ranch?

JE: It’s an honor to work for a company with such notoriety.

The King Ranch brand is truly iconic, and I am grateful for this opportunity to share the story. One of our goals for the King Ranch Saddle Shop, as well as the hunting and wildlife department on the Ranch, is to educate consumers on the rich legacy of conservation and sustainable wildlife management. My background as one of the founding Partners and Head of Marketing/Sales at Duck Camp, a

performance hunting and fishing apparel brand, translates nicely because the Saddle Shop is a smaller division of King Ranch with aspirations to grow significantly over the next 10 years.

I’ve been fortunate to work with a host of talented conservation minded sportsmen and media outlets that already admire King Ranch in some way. But perhaps they don’t know the history of Caesar Kleberg as a pioneer of conservation and hunting limits/ regulations in the United States, or how King Ranch established the globally recognized Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle. Some folks think King Ranch is merely a line of Ford trucks, or simply a large ranch in Texas. But there is so much more to the tale. Now it’s our job to articulate the story and produce high quality products that excel in the field, on the water, or at the home ranch.

P+P: When looking at the soft goods and lines to feature within Saddle Shop, what are those pieces that you feel the market is demanding today?

JE: Functional travel and outdoor goods that exude quality. In today’s world, the consumer is inundated with cheap plastic feeling shirts or ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ style garments and home goods. The underlying sentiment from the companies producing this quality of products is that you can always replace it. But timelessness and heirloom quality items are irreplaceable. We strive to offer a hunting or brush jacket that a Dad is proud to pass down to his son -- and that the son uses as a campfire conversation starter decades later to tell his own son stories about Grandpa. You don’t see that in today’s market of mass commodities. Like the family members and our home Ranch, we want our products to thrive for generations to come.

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We take a lot of pride in our history and the legacy of the King Ranch Saddle Shop. Originally formed to meet the needs of the hard workers on the Ranch and other cowboys in the area, the Saddle Shop began as an outpost for Western saddles, tack, and other durable goods. Today, we keep the emphasis on the highest quality materials and construction.

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P+P: How do you stay at the forefront of the industry and keep up with trends associated with fabric, style, cut, and so on while still ensuring the garment holds up to the demands of the task at hand, be it quail hunting in the brush or working calves on a ranch?’

JE: Research: consumer and market, and field testing. The Saddle Shop is an outpost of King Ranch, so we make sure to field test our products. If the fabric doesn’t hold up to a South Texas brush beating, we go back to the drawing board until we find something that fits our standard. Now, we didn’t fully field test one of our products for Fall ’23: our lightweight Snake Gaiters. We let a professional rattlesnake handler test that one!

Whether it’s testing our products or a photoshoot, we do it all on the Ranch. Our cowboys wear our products and give us feedback. Our full-time wildlife biologists and hunting guides are currently helping us design and prototype new hunting products for Fall 2024 and 2025. If they don’t approve the final sample, we won’t launch it. The same goes for our family shareholders: we strive to produce products that they feel confident in and want to share with their friends.

P+P: Retail store expansion is hardly on the list of most brand’s “most needed projects” list, but King Ranch continues to invest in creating storefronts around Texas and beyond. What are you seeing in the retail world that makes you want to invest in those storefronts?

JE: Even in turbulent financial times, we’re fortunate that our brick-and-mortar retail shops are successful. We’re still getting the turns, and more importantly, we’re sharing the King Ranch story with new people who have yet to discover the brand. Consumers love that they can walk into a King Ranch retail store and smell nothing but fine leather. They can also study a mount of a giant free ranging, low fence harvested South Texas whitetail buck, or a Rio Grande turkey with a beard so long it once dragged the ground. These informative and sensory in-store experiences keep our customers coming back, and they tell their friends.

P+P: In a similar way that many feel like print media is a thing of the past (a thinking us here at Piper Ranch Media passionately disagree with), many feel that brick and mortar stores are in a similar situation. From the media side, it’s about preserving the experience and feel. Would you say the same for the retail world, specifically with Saddle Shop?

JE: It’s undoubtedly about preserving the experience and feel.

With so much communication happening digitally, people want a nice coffee table publication that they can dive into and read with intentionality. While reading a well written article in a magazine, the focus is solely on the pages, whereas digital blurbs are mostly skimmed over and not absorbed. The same is true for our retail shops in terms of diving in with the intention of having an experience that one simply can’t get other places.

P+P: While the retail stores and online marketplace are steadily growing, another great business is on the Corporate Gifts side within Saddle Shop. I know Paige Cameron, who spearheads that unit and who’s earned her sterling reputation for customer experience and trust, has a way to work collaboratively with the buyer to showcase their own brand through great goods bearing the King Ranch logo.

Why do you feel that so many companies rely on Saddle Shop to present gifts to their teams or customers?

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JE: It may sound trite, but our Corporate Gifts truly are unique.

Paige’s clients come back every holiday season for more gifts for their company or organization because they can’t find the quality of gifts anywhere else. For those companies looking for a logo branded piece that their employees will cherish and hold on to, there isn’t a better option. We offer personalization in the form of company logos or personal initials. A fine piece of King Ranch leather that’s customized for a collection of individuals working towards the same goal is always well received.

P+P: How much of that business, particularly within Corporate Gifts, is based on personal relationships versus the desire for the product itself?

JE: Paige does an incredible job with this channel for us and has a personal touch that snowballs to new clients – there’s no denying that.

But what initially draws people – the “buyers” for their company or other organization – is the uncompromising quality of the products themselves. Whether that gift is going on a private jet or in a saddle bag, it tells the story of unrelenting King Ranch quality.

P+P: Are there some recurring themes as to the types of pieces that are most popular?

JE: #1: Leather pieces that are functional and look great. Our leather duffels and travel bags are just as popular as our statement piece Shooting Bags. When you travel with one of those duffels, or heel your dog on a dove hunt while you tighten the belt on your bird bag, you’re subtly making a statement that you believe in quality and value heritage. #2: distinctive styling. Our Kineno Brush Jacket is a perfect example. It’s purpose built to keep thorn thickets and other nagging brush off your arms as you’re riding horseback, but it’s just as at home in the stands of a hometown Friday night lights football game.

P+P: Of course competition is always a consideration in any business, but for our readers, many who own businesses themselves, what do you want them to know about King Ranch Saddle Shop that makes it a great choice for their needs?

JE: I want them to know that King Ranch is not chasing a fad or a quick dollar. We’re in it for the long haul, as evidenced by our 170year history. We’ve put in the time and our experiences guide the way we make every decision. We produce the types of products that we use in daily life on the Ranch and that will never change. Consider making our history a part of your future. P+P PORCH + PRAIRIE magazine | WINTER 2023 - 115

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Sometimes you just need a voice. A voice that has been there before. A voice that has weight. A voice that has built successful businesses. And a voice that will stand up for you and fight in the interest of fair business. Our strength, and our weight, matters.

And when you need it, we’ll be there for you.

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NEW LOCATION - Our December Premier Auction will take place at our new location in Bedford Texas: 3600 E Harwood Rd. Bedford, TX 76021

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Arthur William Merrifield’s Historic Special Order Winchester Model 1894 Takedown Lever Action Rifle Attributed as a Gift from Theodore Roosevelt’s Nephews During a Western Hunting Trip with Factory Letter

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Greg Lampe Collection

Extraordinary and Historic Theodore Roosevelt Presentation Factory Panel Scene Engraved Third Model Merwin, Hulbert & Co. Army Single Action Revolver in .44-40 Inscribed for Roosevelt's Friend and Ranching Partner William Merrifield with Pearl Grips, J.S. Collins Holster Rig, Roosevelt Presentation Gold Tiffany Pocket Watch, and Extensive Documentation

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back porch

by Peder von Harten

Deep Thought.

I spend a lot of time in deep thought, for better or worse. I’ve tried to stop in the past, feeling that too much time thinking would prevent me from being present and enjoying life a bit. For those who are deep thinkers themselves, you know the feeling. You get stuck on a thought and a whole slew of emotions might come into play. Happiness, sadness, grief, anger, excitement, nostalgia, longing. The list goes on forever. From there, thought turns into a form of anxiety that comes with questioning your every move or dwelling on every upswing or downswing.

It can be exhausting and entirely overwhelming, so much so that you look in the mirror and want to tell yourself to never go down that rabbit hole again.

I’m going the other way.

One of my best, or worst qualities depending on how you see it, is that through my work and even some of my personal pursuits, I have a great deal of time that I spend on my own with nothing to do but think. And think. And think. And think. I’ve avoided most of the scientific questions like “why is the sky blue?” and I generally avoid the philosophical “what is the meaning of life?” type stuff, but I do look back a lot on the twists and turns in the road that got me to where I stand at this very moment. There are times when those answers are as clear as mud and that’s ok, it gives me something to think about some other time.

But then there are times that the thoughts are so crystal clear it’s like you are reliving something all

over again. These are the moments that I am happy I spend so much time thinking about life, liberty, and that pursuit of happiness. In the past four decades, I have seen some pretty crappy things and stuff I wish I hadn’t endured, but those are far outnumbered by those experiences that I am still humbled to have had, even though at the time they might have felt inconsequential or small. It comes to mind that if I wasn’t so much of a thinker, I might never dust off the old memory of Christmas as a kid, the rainy day forts made from the patio cushions, or the twinkle in a grandmother’s eye when she’d tell us a story or two.

No one recognizes the magnitude of those moments when they are living them and all too frequently nowadays, no one stops to look back at them until perhaps it’s too late. I don’t want to be one of those people and while maybe some thoughts and memories I wish would stay hidden, I guess they too serve their purpose for they are those rainy moments that make the sun that much more appreciated. I can’t promise you that it’s all great, but I am pretty certain that unlocking those great memories of the past might help push you toward a more rewarding road ahead.

In a season of both reflective thought for the year that’s passed and with hopeful thought for what’s to come, I encourage you to stop and take the time for the deep thoughts that move you. Perhaps to call home, possibly to pick up the pen and write those thoughts down, or maybe even move you to tears. Until then, I’ll be somewhere on the wind, most certainly lost in thought.

Every year, DSC hosts its annual Convention that raises funds for grants in conservation, education, and advocacy. The four-day 2024 DSC Convention is open to the public and will fill over 800,000 square feet with 1,000 exhibitors featuring outfitted hunts, firearms, gear, wildlife art and much more.

Mark your calendars! DSC 2024 Convention – January 11-14