Yearly Archives: 2013

I’m currently on the move: stay tuned

Welcome back.  The dictionary defines “biography” as a detailed accounting of a person’s life, highlighting the significant events that occurred during that lifetime.

Typically there are two approaches to these stories: the first is “autobiography” which is written by the person himself, with or without the assistance of another writer, sometimes called a “ghost writer”. The second approach is a biography written in the third person and there are many famous examples of this type of biography, particularly biographies of famous historical figures. If the biography is authorized by the subject, the subject frequently assists the writer by providing access to personal research materials and giving interviews.

I have written both types of biography and I am currently at work on a project for a private company that will include 50 authorized biographies of people from all over America.

Written biographies, as opposed to verbal story telling, began in the middle Ages when the written word itself became more common. Monks and priests used biographies to spread information about Christianity in an attempt to inspire converts. Usually these were stories about the lives of saints, popes and martyrs. With the invention of paper around 1258 written biographies became even more common and began to portray the lives of poets, artists and royalty as well as religious figures.

In the Americas biographies were seen as a way to create understanding about the “New World”. When Benjamin Franklin’s life story was published in 1791 it became a model for “modern” American writers because of its straightforward style.

By the 1920s biographies were extremely popular with the American people and Hollywood began producing films based on the lives of famous people, including many historical figures.

The book I am working on falls in between. The people I am writing about aren’t saints or monks but they are also not Hollywood celebrities or influential political figures. These are everyday people who still have a unique and often moving story of their own.

The themes in their lives are universal: coping with tragedy, love of family and faith in God. Like so many people, they all working hard to get ahead.  They range in age from the early twenties to well over sixty and are spread out geographically from coast to coast and border to border.

The hope is that these stories will encourage others facing obstacles in their lives. I know they are an inspiration to me as I criss cross from California to New York with many stops along the way, seeing American through the eyes of working people.

Over the past nine years I’ve had the opportunity to write about several of my friends in this column and I thought I’d wrap up with a few “bios” of my own. I first met the late Tommy Morrison in Tulsa in 1991. At the time Rocky V was just coming out and Tommy was a big star in Tulsa. Our meeting took place at what was then the hottest sports bar in town called the Outback Sports Café. The Outback was run by another sports celebrity in Tulsa whom I’ve also written about, Charlie Mitchell.

A person of his status could have been a bit stuck up but Tommy wasn’t that kind of guy. He was friendly to everyone which was good news for me. I was working for Mitchell at the time and with the best upper cut in boxing, Tommy could have been trouble but he was just fun to be around. Even after defeating George Foreman and winning the heavy weight title of the world two years later, Tommy didn’t change.

Another man I’ve mentioned in past articles is Virgil Gaede who for years served as the Chairman of the Bi-Plane Expo. It also wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention his wife Lavonne. Together they served on many committees, volunteering hundreds of hours for the good of our community.

I have also written about Alan Carlson, Bill Creel, Craig Woods, Leva Dunlap and many more who have left us. They are all history now but they are people whom many of us knew and still miss.  My hope is that they will never be forgotten.

Till next week I’ll see ya down the road…..

Cattle sales are a western tradition but this one is unique. Photos to come.

Welcome back.  This week as promised it’s a report from last weekend’s major cow sale in Yukon, OK. which is a few miles southwest of Oklahoma City. You may have heard of Yukon before because it is the hometown of several notable Oklahomans, including Garth Brooks.

This cow sale is not your ordinary run ‘em through the ring, sell ‘em to the highest bidder and on to the next cow kind of sale. This my friends is what Express Ranches calls “The Big Event”, and it is. Preparations begin several days in advance as a small army of workers arrives to set up tents of all sizes, including one that is large enough to hold a football game in. Then they arrange tables, chairs and decoration in the tent where over 1,000 guests will enjoy a specially prepared shrimp and steak dinner, cooked on the premises by Chef Ralph Knighton and his crew. Ralph is known around the world and I’ll get to him a little later.

On Friday morning hotels are filled and the party begins as cattlemen from all over the country arrive to preview the cattle that will be auctioned off over the next two days. Express Ranches are the country’s largest seed stock operation so there are folks from coast to coast and all points in between here to check out the cattle that, by the way, are as pampered as my own daughter. Beautiful registered Black Angus cattle fill dozens of pens outside the sale barn and inside there are rows of bleachers all with a view of several big screen TVs. There is also a horseshoe shaped table filled with computer terminals to accommodate off site bidding. The cattle sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and like race horses, many of them are purchased by syndicates which can include many individual and even corporate buyers. This is truly big business but built on the American values of individualism, hard work and devotion to country. Many a deal is still done with a hand shake here despite the large amounts of money being exchanged.

Things really got going at 6PM on Friday when customers, ranch employees, friends and family were invited to a gala dinner.  The evening kicked off with a recording of Clem McSpadden’s reading his famous cowboy prayer, followed by two sky divers one carrying the  stars and stripes and the other carrying the state flag. The two landed within moments of each other in front of a cheering crowd. Then a company of soldiers dressed in fatigues entered carrying a huge American flag while we all sang the national anthem. After the anthem we feasted on a wonderful steak and shrimp dinner served under the watchful eye of Ralph Knighton.  Ralph was Governor Keating’s personal chef for the two terms he was in office as well as several other high profile people. As you might imagine, the food was five star from start to finish.

Governor George Nigh was the emcee for the evening, introducing the luminaries in the crowd such as retired Lt. General and former astronaut Tom Stafford who is from Weatherford and the Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon. There were many heartfelt tributes to our servicemen and women and to the joys of being an American as well as a moment of silence for everyone impacted by last springs’ violent tornadoes. Ranchers, celebrities, politicians and professional cowboys like Billy Etbauer all rubbed shoulders throughout the night.

The legendary Randy Owen from the band Alabama wrapped up the evening with two hours of great music. For those of you who don’t remember, Alabama was the country band in the 1980s with Randy leading the group. On this night Randy’s band played both well known songs he has recorded and new ones and soon had the crowd on their feet. In addition to being a Country Music Hall of Fame artist, Randy also operates a working cattle ranch and it was obvious he was right at home at The Big Event.

All in all it was another extremely successful two day event for Express Ranches and for Oklahoma which benefits so much from the presence of operations like this which attract peope from all over to our great state.

Till next time I’ll see ya down the road……

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I hope to bring you more on this case in November when I plan to be back in Boston at Whitey’s sentencing. It looks like the end of the trail for the last of the Winter Hill Gang.

Welcome back.  The Irish Mob wars of 1966 in Boston were dangerous if you were a gangster but there was also opportunity for advancement. When the founder of the Winter Hill Gang, Billy McLean was killed, James “Whitey” Bulger stepped in. This week I am bringing you a brief profile of Whitey’s top hench men who helped him keep an iron grip on the crime scene in Boston for over 20 years.

As I wrote last week, Stephen “the rifleman” Flemmi was one of the men who was closest to Whitey and together they murdered many people including Flemmi’s own stepdaughter (who he was secretly dating) and another longtime girlfriend. Flemmi was eventually convicted of ten murders and has been implicated in 10 others. In partnership with Whitey, he was involved in extortion, drug dealing and just about any other crime the gang came up with. Eventually he became an informant and today he is being held at an undisclosed federal prison. He is 79 years old.

In his youth John Martorano appeared to have a bright future as an athlete and a student. He grew up in the Boston area and was a devout Catholic, even serving as an alter boy. In high school he was a standout football player and played along side future CBS News television journalist Ed Bradley. Bradley called Martorano, “the milkman” because he said he always delivered. Although Martorano was offered several college athletic scholarships, after high school he became involved with the Winter Hill Gang and worked as a hit man. Martorano was convicted on twenty murders but he served only 5 years in prison after agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Today he is 72 and a free man.

Although you have probably never heard of him, Kevin Weeks was a key witness against the corrupt FBI Special Agent who helped Whitey, John Connolly. Weeks was a tough kid when he was growing up and he worked as a bouncer at the gang owned “Triple O” bar where Whitey, Flemmi and Mortorrano hung out. He quit college in 1976 to become part of the gang’s extortion ring, shaking down drug dealers. In his memoir “Brutal, Life in Whitey Bulger’s Winter Hill Gang” Weeks recalled that this was lucrative work and he didn’t mind it even though things could get bloody. Although he was also involved in many gang murders Weeks managed to spend just a short time in prison by turning state’s evidence and he is now at work on another book.

Catherine Greig had been one of Whitey’s girlfriends since 1977 and she was arrested with him in 2011. According to a longtime Bartlesville police officer Grieg’s was also once arrested in Bartlesville! After pleading guilty to harboring a fugitive, conspiracy and identity theft, Grieg was sentenced to time in a low security facility and she is scheduled to be released on June 10, 2018.

Greig had attended the Forsyth School for Dental Hygiene and when she got involved with Whitey she provided the pliers he used to torture some of victims. He often pulled peoples teeth before they died to get information and make it t difficult to identify them.

At one point in his “career’ Whitey lived in a Boston condo with a view of three  of his private cemeteries where he had buried bodies, many without fingers or teeth and many without heads.

Of course there were many more gangsters involved in this case as well as over a dozen corrupt Boston cops and FBI agents. If you want to learn more about the gang look for Steve Davis’ new book called “Impact Statement” which is scheduled to be released on September 22^nd. Steve is the brother of Deborah  Davis who was murdered by Whitey and Flemmi and he tells a true story of some of Boston’s darkest days.

And now from the bad to the good. Sunday’s big party and fly-in at Will Roger’s Dog Iron Ranch drew record crowds. As many of you know Will is one of my heroes and apparently hundreds of others haven’t forgotten him either. Most of the Rogers clan was there and as a special treat Will’s great great grandson flew in from California. Although he is still in high school, he is the first Rogers descendant to land a plane at this event. I think Will would have been happy to see everyone enjoying the beautiful weather, fine food and great entertainment. If you haven’t been to the Dog Iron lately you need to visit. The ranch and the museum in Claremore offer fascinating information about one of Oklahoma’s most interesting and beloved men.

Next week a report from “the world’s richest cow sale” and its right here in Oklahoma.

Till then I’ll see ya down the road….

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More from my travels on the east coast and my continuing coverage of the Whitey Bulger trial….

Welcome back.  The Whitey Bulger trial has cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars for court appointed lawyers, extra security and much more. A detailed accounting of these costs is sure to be included in a new book that Howie Carr is writing about the case. As I mentioned last week, Howie is a big radio personality in New England and I met him on several occasions while I was attending the trial. Steve Davis (whose sister was murdered by the Winter Hill gang) is working on a documentary about the gang which should reveal more about their organization as well. I am keeping in contact with both Steve and Howie and should be bringing you another related story hopefully next week.

In the meantime there is an ongoing dispute surrounding the distribution of $822,000 that was discovered in the walls of Whitey’s Santa Monica apartment. The families of several of his victims have obtained judgments against him and others are now filing suits. Whitey himself has just been convicted of racketeering and 11 counts of murder and is facing life in prison when he is sentenced in November.

My time in Boston was far too brief but I had other business in New York City. It started with a 30 minute Metro North train ride to Grand Central Station, and then it was a six block walk to the Today Show set on Rockefeller Plaza. Tickets to participate in the audience are free but no political activism or advertising is allowed. When I attended last Thursday morning there were at least a dozen people protesting the prison at Guantanamo Bay as well as others whose causes I couldn’t determine. The plain clothes security people meandering through the crowd acted quickly with the assistance of New York City police they removed all the protestors from the set.

A cowboy lost among the 8.25 million people who live in NYC, I was no problem for these bad boys. Here’s a few interesting facts about this particular piece of earth that I learned on Wikipedia:

• The total area of NYC is 304 square miles and change as compared to Oklahoma with 69,898 square miles and 3.8 million residents

• The city is made up of 5 boroughs, Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

• New York was settled by the Dutch in 1624 and came under English control in 1664.

• It was the capital of the United States from 1785 to 1790.

• It is the largest city in the United States and one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world: over 80 different languages are spoken here.

This was not my first trip to NYC and it won’t be my last.  It also was not the first time I took the opportunity to visit Strawberry Fields in Central Park. This is a 2.5 acre area of the park that has been designed as a tribute to the late Beatle John Lennon.

Strawberry Fields was established with a 1 million dollar gift from Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono. Today over 120 countries contribute to the plantings and maintenance of the area. At the center of the area is a beautiful mosaic medallion with the word “Imagine” in the middle referring to Lennon’s song about his hopes for peace among people everywhere. On this day as every day dozens of people were taking pictures there. A single guitar player was playing Beatles’ songs and the site that has been designated as a garden of peace was just that.

A few tips for travel to the city: Don’t drive your car into town. Parking is tough to find and extremely expensive. Cabs are good for short distances and the double Decker sight seeing buses are great. It is usually free to attend any of the TV shows but expect lines to get in. If the weather is good the Today Show is fun because you can be seen out on the plaza. Matt, Al and Savannah were very nice, shaking hands and having their photo taken with everyone. You can find food everywhere in New York, from street vendors to swank restaurants. With the diversity of the population any cuisine you can think of is represented. According to my daughter and traveling partner the shopping is amazing which may be the worst thing that happens to you in the city…

I also want to mention how friendly and helpful I find New Yorkers, despite their reputation.  Even a scout, tracker, translator and interpreter can get turned around.

Do you want to be careful? Yes, but on average, given the size of the population, your chances of meeting a kind person are better than good. This really is a uniquely beautiful part of our country.

Till next time I’ll see ya down the road….

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Coming soon: I travel east to seek justice for a dead man.

Welcome back.  The band is called Cody Canada and the Departed. I was invited to attend a recent music festival in Caney, KS where this group was scheduled to perform but unfortunately due to my extended stay covering the fires in Colorado I missed their show. The good news is that I did get the opportunity to visit with Cody on the telephone. He is from Yukon, Oklahoma and many of you may remember him from his years with the popular band Cross Canadian Ragweed. I am working on a future story about his career and the influence of legendary performers such as Waylon Jennings, Steve Earle and Willie Nelson had on him.  Stay tuned for more about this accomplished musician and his new band.

The next bit of information is related to a “soon to be released” movie called The Lone Ranger. I was in New Mexico last year when they were filming along the Cimarron River in a majestic canyon that starts just outside Cimarron and runs up in the clouds to Eagle Nest. The beauty of this place could probably be better described by a more accomplished writer but you really have to experience the area to fully appreciate it with Eagle Nest Lake on one side and the ski area of Angel Fire on the other. The sunsets here at 9,000 ft. attract photographers from around the world.

If you’re not up for a sunset, the village of Red River is just down the road out of Eagle Nest. This is a former mining town that has preserved its historic character and has many interesting shops and restaurants. I haven’t been to many other places like it in my travels and I highly recommend a stop here if ever you’re in the area.

I’m bringing these places to your attention, along with Taos, Cimarron, Philmont Ranch and the UUBar Ranch because on Friday July 5^th, the east side branch of ARVEST Bank will be hosting a presentation on the area at 10:30 AM.  Jerry Poppenhouse and several other photographers who just returned from the area will be showing photos on a big screen including footage of wild life, mountain scenery and historic structures as well as scenes from the wildfires which were close to our home base on the UUBar. There will also be photos of the old Santa Fe Trail which illustrate the challenges that travelers faced along the trail. So if you like New Mexico be sure to catch this great presentation which by the way is completely free.

Since I will be leaving for the east coast in just a few weeks I got curious as to what folks up there will be doing for the 4^th of July. We have so many great events here and I found out in Yankee Magazine that they will be celebrating New England style. Here is just a sampling of the many events along the coast.  The grand daddy of them all is the annual Boston Pops Concert which concludes with a fantastic fireworks display. The concert is always televised on OETA so you can see it in Oklahoma too. If you happen to be in Boston, you can take a dinner cruise in Boston harbor and experience the fireworks while on board an historic tall ship.

In Bristol, Rhode Island they have the country’s oldest continuous Independence Day celebration which includes a parade, a ball, a drum corps show, visiting ships and of course fireworks.

Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA is a recreation of life in New England during the 1830s with authentic arts and crafts, food and drink and actors portraying people from that era. They offer an old fashioned 4^th of July with a reading of the Declaration of Independence and the opportunity to learn period dances and drill with the Sturbridge Militia before ending the day with fireworks. This is a big attraction and always draws crowds.

So from shore to shore, border to border, Americans will be celebrating our independence tomorrow in ways both old and new, on water and on land. You have a good one too, stay safe and till next week, I’ll see ya down the road…

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