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 Dal Houston
I am terribly saddened by all the argumentative discourse that seems to be going on in today’s world. It seems as though it is no longer enough just to disagree on certain issues. We are expected to classify someone as an enemy if they do not always agree with us on all issues, lest we be considered weak.
To make things even worse, because those who disagree with you are now considered enemies, the sentiment seems to be that it is only fair and proper to destroy them, because they are the enemy, again with the fear of ridicule for being weak if we do not fight.
With all that said, and seemingly unrelated, I am a big John Wayne fan. From watching him dive into his role as a cowboy, to marveling at his time portraying a soldier or appreciating his acting gig as a sailor, there is seldom a week that goes by without me watching at least one
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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.
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