Day 4 Session (July 3, 2006)

• Posted by: chantal
• On: 07/03/2006 11:40:17
• In: Uncategorised

Minister Zwozdesky asks, "Does anyone know what a cowboy or cowgirl is?"  The Washington audience responds, "It's a person who rides a horse!"  While riding a horse is certainly something a cowboy has mastered, Grade 3 students from Red Deer Lake School and guests from the Bar U Ranch in Alberta showed Washington that cowboy culture encompasses a whole range of activities. 

Ranching and cowboy culture date back to Alberta's earliest European settlers, who were enticed by the province's vast expanse of land and fertile prairies.  Today, cowboy culture is still prolific and stands as a symbol (for some) for what it means to be Albertan.

Night herding, dangers on the trail, camp cooking, Arbuckles coffee, and storytelling were all described through video clips and words by the students of Red Deer Lake School.  Washington learned that night herding can be exhausting. To ensure that cows aren't scared by thunderstorms (and subsequently stampede in all directions), ingested by wolves, bitten by a snake, swept away in a river current, cowboys must stay awake throughout the night.

Likewise, camp cooking was also tiring.  After chopping wood, hauling water, and cooking three meals a day, students indicated that a cowboy's favourite part of the day was going to bed.  Luckily Arbuckles coffee was always on hand as it not only helped keep the cowboys awake, the crates that it was packaged in could be repurposed as furniture.   

Would you believe it if a cowboy told you they saw a cow kissing a horse? Storytelling (often exaggerated stories) was a way for cowboys to provide entertainment for one another and depending on the story, to make themselves look braver than their fellow companions. 

Using a series of "cowboy" props, Minister Zwozdesky asked the Washington audience if they could guess what purpose they serve.  A horse bit, a horseshoe, a stirrup, and a halter were all identified correctly by the Washington audience.

Lewis, from the Bar U Ranch, also described the process of branding cattle - the only legal, highly visible method of identification.  One Washington audience member questioned whether this hurt the cows, but Red Deer Lake School students assured her that it did not, as a cow's skin is very thick.

The Washington audience seemed very intrigued by all of the information they learned about cowboy culture.  The children asked a lot of questions which were well received by Red Deer Lake students, including "Did cowboys have electricity?" "What did the cooks use to cook with?" "Did cowboys ride cows?" Red Deer Lake students queried the Washington audience as well, wondering what kind of ranches were in Washington, whether there were historic sites in Washington like the Bar U Ranch, and what was unique and special about Washington.

The session ended with a cowboy song about the  Bar U Ranch.

Signing off on Day 3 of the Festival, Chantal Tacail