Bing Crosby's niece looks at his life in Nevada

But Bing Crosby as a Nevada rancher? That's a stretch, right? Not really, after reading Carolyn Schneider's book, "Bing: On the Road to Elko" (Stephens Press, $19.95 hardcover). Schneider, Crosby's niece, visited her uncle on his Elko County, Nev., spreads and has spent the past few years researching his life on the range. Crosby bought his first Nevada ranch in 1943, the 7Js Livestock Co., east of Elko. A year later, he traded the 7Js for the Quarter Circle S, near Tuscarora. At the height of his property ownership, Crosby had seven ranches, raising cattle on tens of thousands of acres around Elko. "When I was in Elko researching, I was able to interview a few people," Schneider said. "One lady said, 'We knew when he started buying property. The word was not to annoy him or he'd leave. We wanted him to stay so we did not bother him.'" But once "Uncle" Bing showed up with holes in his jeans, he became one of the guys, Schneider said...more