Country Lifestyles
Mildred Farris — Rodeo Royalty
By Judy Wade
“The prettiest picture was when Mildred carried the American Flag and Clem McSpadden read the Cowboy Prayer at the National Finals in Oklahoma City,” said Donna McSpadden, wife of the late Clem McSpadden, long-time rodeo announcer at the National Finals Rodeo, in a tribute to Mildred Farris. “She always wore her white suit with a rhinestone vest that sparkled in the spotlight.”
Farris carried the flag in the opening ceremonies of the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City for 17 years and one time at the NFR in Las Vegas in 1997 for the opening of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.
Mildred Lois Cotten was born in Andrews, Texas, in 1933, the daughter of W.B. and Blanch Cotten, feeding cattle from a jeep and working on the ranch alongside the cowboys. She attended Andrews High School, graduating in 1951. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, in 1955 where she was a member of the rodeo team. She met John Farris at the Texas Cowboy Reunion Rodeo in Stamford, Texas, and the two were married in May of 1955.
To read more pick up a copy of the May 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Mildred Farris presenting the flag at the NFR. (Photo by Springer)
The Farrises at their induction to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. (Photo courtesy of the Farris family.)
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Annette Bridges
Everyone needs a room with a view that makes their heart happy. My honest favorite panorama would be either the mountains or the ocean. I have yet to convince my hubby to make permanent moves to either, although he does enjoy the visits as much as I do.
The location of our house on our ranch does not provide the expansive field of vision of our land that I would enjoy. So, I have created a room decorated and furnished in a way that gives me smiles, giggles, and a wonderful peace-filled feeling when I am hanging out in it. I am in that place right now writing this column. I am in a lounging position with my computer in my lap on the chaise that was once my sweet mama’s. I had it reupholstered this year to give it a fresh look.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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