September 2018 12 Ms. Walker, born in born Mart, Texas, in 1918, had music in her genes, as her grandfather composed hymns, and her mother, Oree, was an accomplished pianist. Cindy displayed early signs of cowgirl grit, when at 22; she walked into the Crosby building in L.A. to pitch her songs to the superstar of the day, Bing Crosby. She talked her way past the receptionist and convinced Larry Crosby to give a listen to her song, “Lone Star Trail.” He invited her to sing it for Bing the next day. Not only did Bing record it, it became a top ten hit for him and secured Cindy her own recording contract with Decca. A strikingly beautiful woman, she also landed a movie deal of her own. Eventually, she asked to be released from both contracts, insisting all she wanted was to be a songwriter. You can see her as a singing actress in a video of “Ride Tenderfoot Ride,” performing, “Oh! Oh! Oh!” Cindy started her songwriting day every day at 5:30 and wrote every day of her life. When she knew she had the lyrics, she would sing them to her momma and momma would play the melody on the piano. Once they were finished, they would record the songs on a small reel-to-reel recorder and put them in a bag for Dickie Flatt, the local printer to pick up for the music transcriber, who created the sheet music, which would then be given back to Cindy. Her songs were often characterized as unpretentious, just as she was. “You Don’t Know Me” was such a tender song that even many years later, she cried trying to tell the story of how she came to write it. Once, when asked if it was harder being a female songwriter, she responded, “No, because the artists just wanted a good song. It didn’t matter if a woman wrote it.” Upon her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, renowned Hall of Fame songwriter, Harlan Howard, described Walker as "the greatest living songwriter of country music.” During the ceremony, she read a poem for her late mother, which was acknowledged with a standing ovation. She left the stage in tears after softly blowing a kiss to the guests. An entire concert was once dedicated to Cindy’s songs at the Monterey Cowboy Gathering. Each year, Mexia, Texas, celebrates “Cindy Walker Days.” Two plays; “You Don’t Know Me, the Cindy Walker Songbook” and “Paper Babies,” have been written in tribute to her life and work. It has been estimated that more than 500 of Walker’s songs have been recorded and that her songs made the top-forty charts (country or pop) more than 400 times. In 2006, she was persuaded to record a CD of her own songs. Ms. Cindy Walker was a beloved and deeply respected legend in her own lifetime. John Lian Sullivan (1945-2018) Not many commercial airline pilots go on to become expert wheelwrights and devoted chuck wagon competitors, but John L. Sullivan did. When physical challenges prevented him from flying anymore, he decided it was a good time to learn to farm organic apples. After a suitable amount of research, he launched his orchards in Washington but soon discovered apples did not afford him the kind of lifestyle he wanted for himself and his family. Coincidentally, once retired, he had also purchased some horses for use in hunting, even though he hadn’t ridden horses much. And, around that same time, he happened to see an ad for a broken down farm wagon, which he decided to buy and renovate with the tools he had just used to build his first log house. You begin to see John Sullivan was the kind of person really drawn to the challenges of learning new things. John soon crossed paths with Doug Thaemert (former blacksmith at the Museum of the Horse in Patagonia, AZ), an expert on historic wagon restoration, who told him if he was going to fix a wagon or buggy or coach, it was imperative to do it authentically, otherwise it was just a fixed up piece of transportation. So, John bought manuals and he apprenticed himself to skilled craftspeople like Bill Twigg, to learn wheelwright and wagon restoration skills. He even took blacksmithing classes at Eastern Arizona College. Next, on his journey, John met some chuck wagon folks at a western festival and soon came home with a “chuck wagon” in need of restoration. His wife, Sandy, wryly notes it was little more than a pile of wood and rusty metal. He soon traveled to the Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, where he chanced to meet chuck wagon cookie extraordinaire, Wayne Calk, who told John “he couldn’t just stand and watch.” If he was interested, then he needed to step into camp and pitch in. This soon put John and Sandy on the chuck wagon trail, so to speak. John Sullivan had a zest for learning and trying new things, but he also loved to share his knowledge ORME DAM Victory Days2 FORT MCDOWELL YAVAPAI NATION’S 37TH ANNUAL November 16-18, 2018 Fort McDowell, AZ Fair & Rodeo www.fmyn.org | www.fortmcdowelldestination.com January 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 3 • FREE Bill Smith, The Man Whose Mill Made The Vulture Prosperous p. 6 Are You Rattlesnake Ready? p. 18 Buckeye Days Schedule p. 19 ADVERTISER HIGHLIGHT: Dynamite Horseman Supply p. 38 PAGE 20 PAGE 46 SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN MUSEUM’S HERITAGE CELEBRATION February 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 4 • FREE FEB8-11 2018 FEB8-11 2018 Photo: © Craig W. Cutler Fine Art PAGE 21 PAGE 17 PAGE 8 True Cowboy Keepers continued from page 10 John Lian Sullivan John Sullivan had a zest for learning and trying new things, but he also loved to share his knowledge and pass it on to others, so that history and heritage could be accurately preserved.