Country Lifestyles
Pam Blanscet Schenk’s Story of the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train
By Judy Wade
“I was one of five women who rode horseback or in the wagon every day that the wagon train moved,” Pam Blanscet Schenk said about her trip with the 1986 Sesquicentennial Wagon Train that zig-zagged its way across 3,000-plus miles of Texas celebrating the 150th anniversary of the state’s independence from Mexico.
“I was in Jacksboro working in my uncle’s ice plant when I heard and ad on WBAP radio about the wagon train. I thought, ‘That’s the closest thing I’ll ever get to living like it was 100 years ago,’” Schenk recalled.
Frances Johnson told her about Betty McGaha, who was outfitting a wagon in Henrietta, and Schenk was able to join her and her driver and horse wrangler Randy Chadwick for the journey. “My plan was to ride my mare Roxy and pack my other horse Bo with my supplies. I got a pack saddle and panniers and learned how to balance the load and pack everything,” she explained.
Her plan didn’t work out quite the way she thought it would. “I found out Roxy was pregnant, so I took my dad’s big thoroughbred, Duke. That didn’t make my dad too happy,” Schenk related.
Schenk is 5’ 1”, and Duke was a conservative 16 hands, or at least 5’ 4” at the withers, so saddling and mounting proved a challenge for the cowgirl every day, but she managed. However, Duke proved to be a challenge several times. “During one of our ‘practice wagon trains’ before we actually set out, we were camped on the Ross Ranch in Jolly. A pump jack started up, Bo and Duke spooked and Bo got a rope wrapped around my leg,” she recalled.
To read more pick up a copy of the September 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe 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.
Local celebrity dancers of the greater Gainesville area brought the house down recently at the second annual “Dancing With Our Stars” contest in Lindsay. The event raised more than $200,000 as the sponsored dance teams did their best to take home the grand prize.
The money raised will go to the “Heart of NTMC” Campaign for the purchase of a cardiac capable CT machine for the Gainesville hospital. Rodolfo “Rudy” Martinez and Sherry Sherriden took home the Mirror Ball Trophy.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Jesse Kader
I’m super excited for this month’s article. I’m thrilled to share my first ever Jesses Jewelz exclusive piece with you. This blazer has been in the works and design for close to a year and I finally get to offer it to you. It is also available in two other colors. I hope you love it as much as I do. See them and the other colors at www.jessesjewelz.com
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