Capturing cowboy mystique

It started with cocktail party chatter in suburban St. Louis. But this wasn't ordinary city slicker gossip. These were stories of cowboys and cattlemen, ropers and riders, drinkers and brawlers, ranch wives and war brides, odd neighbors and crazy bulls. The tales hooked Craig Savoye, a college professor and author of unpublished novels and screenplays always on the lookout for a new book project. For a guy from the suburbs, the stories were magical. One thought kept running through Savoye's mind: “You've got to be kidding me!'' So Savoye traveled to Nebraska to hear firsthand the stories and yarns of the Sand Hills and the people who lived in the heart of the state's cowboy country. His first stop was a master storyteller, the late Wayne Jenkins, a Callaway rancher and father of the cocktail party yarn spinner whose stories originally inspired Savoye. Savoye returned again and again in search of Nebraska nuggets. Sometimes people didn't pan out. Sometimes he uncovered gems. Now nine years and dozens of interviews later, he has published a book featuring 23 stories and character sketches, “Nebraska Stories: Tales of Cowboys, Ranchers, and Assorted Characters.''...read more