From: laro@idworld.net   
      
   "Aunt Cee Pants" <2XL@dontemailme.com> wrote in message   
   news:3ff9657f@news.zianet.com...   
      
   > Suggest away! I'm always looking for a good read.   
   > Local library has finally come into the 20th (not 21st yet)   
   > century with recently initiated inter-library loans   
   > so chances are I can find anything you suggest.   
      
   First would be _Interwoven_, by Sallie Reynolds Matthews.  A remarkable book   
   of the lives of those two families, the Matthews and the Reynolds families,   
   and how the lives of both families were, eventually, so intertwined.   
   Inside the covers is the family genealogy, and if you want more, I've got a   
   small brochure on the family that Watt Matthews gave me when I was visiting.   
   If you get the most popular version of this book, there will be drawings by   
   Buck Shiewetz/Schiwietz  (sp?) of the ranch, the buildings, etc.  Those   
   original drawings were all framed and hanging in the old ranchhouse there.   
   That was really why I was there, to carefully pick up, crate, and transport   
   all the drawings back to our museum for a show on "the printed word", a   
   symposium put on by Al Lowman, grand bookman of Texas (I'd say today he is   
   the champion bookman of Texas.)   
      
   Next are two fairly large format books, _Watt Matthews of Lambshead_ by   
   Laura Wilson and another more scholarly book _Watkins Reynolds Matthews: A   
   Biography_ by Lawrence Clayton.   Both books are written about old  Watt,   
   but the latter was written by a local professor, a local cowboy, local and   
   ranching historian, and a dean at the Hardin-Simmons University ( I believe   
   that's the right college.)   Lawrence passed away a couple of years ago and   
   I never got him to autograph that book.   
      
   I did get Watt and Laura Wilson to autograph the other one, really more of a   
   picture book about the ranch.  Lots of history, lots of words, but largely a   
   photographic story of the ranch.  It's really good if you want to understand   
   the area, the land, the old homes.   
      
   The latest book I bought was _Bravo of the Brazos_ by Robert K.DeArment.   
   Seems to be a pretty well done book with more info on Larn than I'd ever   
   seen before.  The author mentions that when Sallie wrote  _Interwoven_ she   
   said not one word about Larn, but that she had spoken privately about him   
   and her words were recorded and printed, I believe by Frances Holden in one   
   of her books.   
      
   The book that preceded that book was _John Larn_ by Joseph Blanton, assisted   
   by Watt Reynolds Matthews (same feller.)  Probably out of print, maybe   
   difficult to find.  I believe this was the first time a family member had   
   spoken out about Larn.   
      
   There is at least one other book on the ranch, written by Frances Holden.   
   Her hubby was a historian/professor at Texas Tech Univ.   
      
   I'd suggest reading them in that order, if possible.  It wasn't the order I   
   acquired them, but if I had it to do over, I'd read them in that order.   
      
   Watt was an extremely memorable character.  From his birth, his college   
   years, his address for over 90 years was that one address, Lambshead Ranch,   
   Albany Texas.   
   His only "away"period was while he ws at Princeton U.  He ran the ranch   
   until he died.  His funeral was even an event!   An honor guard of Texas   
   Rangers lined the road to the ranch, he was buried in a pine box with all   
   family members present driving one nail into the lid....  man, oh man, I   
   only met the fellow on two occasions and I remember almost his every word.   
   He took me on a driving tour of his ranch, took most of a day. There is   
   something like 55 miles of Brazos River that runs through the ranch, and the   
   ranch is quite large, around 60 sections of land, 40,000 acres.  (They still   
   raised cattle, but they also had a few ahl wells around here and there.)   I   
   was due to leave the ranch after I packed the artwork, but when Watt asked   
   me if I wanted a tour of the ranch, I said YEP!   I called the office and   
   told them I'd been delayed and I didn't care if they paid me for the time or   
   not!  The tour took most of a day.   Then he had his cook fix me a steak on   
   the fireplace in the cookhouse.  (if you get the picture book above, there   
   are several photos of that cookhouse and its two fireplaces.)   
      
   Watt was famous for his hospitality and I can vouch for the truth in that.   
   One writer told a story of visiting Watt while researching a story and while   
   he was there, the phone rang.  Watt answered, talked for a long time, and   
   closed the call by inviting the caller out for dinnner (supper) that   
   evening.  The writer asked, "who was that?"   Watt answered, " It was a   
   wrong number."   
      
   Don't know what happened to that ranch after Watt died.  I took a group out   
   there to tour the next year and it was still in one piece, but relatives all   
   owned a share and I can imagine some wanted to "take the money and run"   
   while others wanted to preserve an important part of Old West History.   
   Always the case.   
      
   I've written an essay here.  Sorry.  This is one topic that is really   
   interesting to me.  There was another guy who used to come around this   
   newsgroup and spar with folks like old Stevie boy, but he got irritated and   
   quit the ng.  (He should see the nm.general now!)   He loved that area, he'd   
   been there many times and he and I could exchange stories about the park and   
   it's superintendent (Lester) who was quite a fellow himself.   
   Shame he left because he was the only other contributor who had been there.   
   That park is the custodian for the official State of Texas Longhorn Herd and   
   those folks take care of them like their pet livestock.  Lester ran it all,   
   plus he does black-powder shooting, teaches shooting to the local kids.  I'd   
   never seen a black powder shooter who had only one hand, before I met   
   Lester.  I've got to stop here.   (stop me before I write again.)   
      
   > As for pageants, we have the annual Billy the Kid   
   > one where I live - in Lincoln - along with the   
   > re-killings at the old courthouse! Whoopee doo!   
   > More and more you hear of the need to let the   
   > Kid go, historically speaking, but ain't gonna   
   > happen anytime soon, IDT.   
      
   I believe we attended one of the very early versions of the Billy the Kid   
   Days in Lincoln.  It would have been about 1970 (I'm guessing, based on my   
   memory of driving a VW camperbus).  We were in the old courtroom, saw where   
   Billy had gone outside to do his business, and heard the tale of how he got   
   the guards OFFguard, for their last time.  Our only visit to that part of   
   NM, and it was a long time ago.  Always wanted to go back and this trip,   
   make it up to Ft Sumter (wasn't he buried there?)   
      
   Sorry for the long post.  I'll probably catch some flack from someone about   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)