SIGNED! The Life of a Cotton-Picking Cowboy Norman Benson Photos & TEXAS History

Description: **SIGNED** autographed by author Norman Benson! Nice green hardcover with gold lettering and dust jacket. Lots of light erasable pencil underlining and marks in margins. Many turned corners, now un-turned. Handwritten name on end-paper and title page. Bit of transfer from dust jacket to back cover. Dust jacket has some noticeable tanning and edge wear. Smoke-Free/Pet-Free. Article: HOMESTEAD: Norman Benson, cotton-picking cowboy By Jerry Lackey Norman Loyd Benson grew up on farms near Lometa and Goldthwaite where he and his brothers picked cotton to help make a living for the family. “We were pulling cotton one day when we saw the dust fogging over a little hill and pretty soon we could see a big herd of cattle coming,” Norman said. “There were several cowboys, a chuck wagon, a horse remuda and all it takes to make a trail drive.” He said it was just like a book he read called “Life in the Early West and on the Chisholm Trail” when he was younger and wished he had lived in those times. Norman was born June 17, 1913 to Loyd Webster and Maud E. Benson at Lometa in Lampasas County. His siblings were Bruce J., Grady, Armilda, Myra and Rosalie. “I got so tired of the cotton patch, so when I was a young fellow, I loaded my saddle in the back of an old pickup and traveled to West Texas,” he told the Standard-Times years later. “It was either the cotton patch or the big pastures. I spent eight years working on ranches near Eldorado and the Pecos River.” The C.C. McBurnett ranch near Eldorado was his first stop. Jess Shwope was foreman and the pay was $30 a month and board. When Norman told Shwope he planned to get married during Christmastime, the foreman said he had no accommodations for a married man. Norman married Sybil Lee Allen (born August 6, 1919) on New Year’s Day in 1940 and returned to Schleicher County and a job on the Eddie Reynolds ranch for $40 a month. “My job was riding some young horses and feeding cattle and sheep,” he said. “I hadn’t worked but a few days until it came one of the coldest spells I can remember. We had snow, sleet, wind and everything that goes with a blizzard. The spell lasted two weeks. About all we did was feed livestock and try to keep the ice broken on the water troughs, and keep wood chopped for the wood stoves.” Norman and Sybil later worked on the Bill Speck ranch, the Frank Meador ranch, Jess Koy ranch and the S.D. Harper ranch. “Occasionally there would be a goat roping at Eldorado or at one of the neighbor ranches and we enjoyed going to them,” he said. “I started roping when I was 21 years old learned to ride and rope on the range.” When Norman and Sybil were expecting their first child, they took a job on the Dick Warring ranch near San Angelo. Turned out, on July 13, 1941, they welcomed two twin girls. They had four children altogether: Letha Janelle Benson Coleman and Retha Lavelle Benson Harmon (twins), William Loren “Bill” and Norma Lee Benson Hopkins. “I learned to ride, rope and cook for a big bunch of ranch hands and raise kids all at the same time,” Sybil Lee told the Standard-Times in 1984. “There was never a dull moment.” The family moved to San Angelo, when Armstrong Street was just a caliche road, so their children could receive a good education. The Lakeview tornado demolished the Bensons’ home in 1953, but two years later a friend offered to help rebuild the house. In later years Norman hosted many team ropings at the small ranch three miles north of San Angelo. In November 1955, he hosted an old-fashioned “First Monday” horse sale. “Back in the days when a new sorrel colt caused more excitement than the 1956 car models, it was a custom for horsemen to gather on the town square or some other meeting place the first Monday of every month to chaw and whittle and maybe swap some horses,” he said. Norman’s paternal grandparents were George Jefferson Benson, born in Eufala, Barbour County, Alabama, and Sallie Rhoda Webster Benson, born in Horry County, South Carolina. Norman’s maternal grandparents were Daniel B. Blauvelt (1848-1928) and Delila Augustine Miller Blauvelt (1857-1935). They lived in Lampasas County. “We would always go to Grandpa and Grandma’s (Blauvelt) house for Christmas and meet all of my aunts, uncles and cousins in my mother’s family,” Norman remembered in his book, “The Life of a Cotton-Picking Cowboy.” “One Christmas I had a chance to go to Grandpa’s and spend a few days before Christmas,” he said. “One day old Major (their dog) ran a rabbit into one of Grandpa’s rock fences while I was out hunting and without thought I began moving the rocks around trying to get to the rabbit. Grandpa came along and had to give me a little scolding for tearing down his fence. But, he went ahead and helped me get the rabbit and then we fixed the fence back.” “I like to live in the past, but I like to live in the present,” Norman said on his 71st birthday. In their retirement years, Norman and Sybil hosted many 42 domino games and always attended team ropings and rodeos in West Texas. “Being a cowboy has been an interesting life for me,” Norman said. “I’ve rodeoed and cowboyed all I could life has been wonderful.” George Jefferson Benson died May 24, 1917. Sallie Rhoda Webster Benson died in 1925. Norman Loyd Benson died Feb. 6, 1995, and Sybil Lee Allen Benson died Oct. 28, 2007. Packaging and Shipping: Always carefully wrapped when shipped. Calculate your shipping by entering your zip code or country. International Buyers: Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Price: 16.23 USD

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

End Time: 2025-01-21T17:01:29.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.88 USD