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Silent Friends

DeWitt — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:13:42 +0000

Gene Hoopes was one of those remarkable, yet humble human beings that you would like to meet and spend time with. Though I never met my paternal great-grandfather, as he passed away in 1967 and I was born in 1969, I feel that I knew him from his history and his writings. Gene Hoopes was an adventurous, resourceful, and creative person. These traits can be traced through his entire life from his time as a captain in the Army Air Service during World War I, to being president and general manager of the Union Drawn Steel Co. in his hometown of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania after the war, and president of various banks in Pennsylvania. But what really intrigued my great-grandfather was the spirit and rustic beauty of the American West and the untold stories waiting there. He decided to leave Beaver Falls after the Union Drawn Steel Co. was purchased by Republic Steel Co. and travel to the West, where he finally settled in Prescott, Arizona. There he established a dude ranch and penned several books, of which Silent Friends was one of his first and some say finest. He loved animals, and when you read this book, you will immediately fall in love with the fun and adventurous tale of Gene Hoopes four-legged animal friends. My parents, who live in Skull Valley, where my great grandfather had his dude ranch, did a great deal of research on Gene Hoopes. They uncovered many interesting facts and anecdotes about his time in Arizona. My parents have the original books that my great-grandfather published in the 1950s, and I have them to thank for their inspiration to bring this book and the others Gene Hoopes wrote, into print again so that you may enjoy some classic writing and heartwarming storytelling. My love and thanks go to my maternal grandmother for providing a safe and quiet environment in which I could compile and organize the original books to be digitized and transmitted to my friends at Inkwell Productions, who have been gracious and helpful with the process of preparing this and the other books for production. In this busy and hectic twenty-first century, I feel that, with the advent of advanced technology, we have missed taking a breath. We need to step back for a moment and see the beauty in nature and in the animals that God has provided us for company. My great-grandfather did and, during and after reading this book, you will momentarily be taken to a more peaceful world.

Jim Dawson Returns

DeWitt — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:09:54 +0000

Here again, for devotees of Jim Dawson and his tall tales, is a collection of the wrangler’s whoppers at their best. In stories that will stand any dude’s hair on end, Jim tells how he got rid of an unsatisfactory cook (far be it from Dawson to do anything as simple as firing him),… why his horse is called “Hornet,”… how he was arrested for kidnapping, and many, many more hilarious adventures.

Told in the vernacular of the hard-riding cowhand, these tales are bound to be favorites with Westerners and dudes alike Jim, his, guitar, and his ever-present home made cigarette make a picture long to be remembered and cherished. For, in addition to his dry humor,

Jim Dawson displays a shrewd awareness of human nature, which is frequently startling in its clarity. How he handles New England schoolmarms and government scientists with equal dexterity, and the dudes who visit the Lazy R always leave a bit wiser than when they arrive.

Dawson’s incredible tales are interspersed with his obvious love of nature. The descriptive passages of the rare beauty to be found on the Western desert make a city-dweller long for the peace and unspoiled natural wonders to be found there.

Youngsters, their parents, and their grandparents will find sheer joy in perusing the pages of JIM DAWSON RETURNS, for it is about a man who epitomizes all that was exciting and good and lasting about our great land and the people of the West. Lassoing a steer, branding a cow, or going out on the trail are adventures that we cannot all share in physically. We can, however, in this book, relive all the excitement of the West and relearn the virtues that played so great a part in the making of our national character.

End of the Trail

DeWitt — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:08:09 +0000

EUGENE S. HOOPES is no tenderfoot at Western life and lore, having penned three books, Tales of a Dude Wrangler, Silent Friends, and Jim Dawson Returns, prior this latest volume. Readers who admire the genuine Western touch which prevails in Mr. Hoopes’ work will no doubt be surprise to know that the author is a native of Pennsylvania and an alumnus of Pennsylvania Military College. With degrees in Military Science and Civil Engineering, Mr. Hoopes embarked upon a distinguished career with the Army, following which he and his wife, Viola, moved to their present home in Prescott, Arizona.

Much of the character of Jim Dawson is a reflection of the author’s own nature. Like the sagacious wrangler, E. S. Hoopes is – as his many friends in Prescott will affirm – a veteran woodsman. Like Dawson, too, Eugene Hoopes has displayed a deep understanding of the animal kingdom and its ways – as is attested to by the artistic manner in which he trains his horses and narrates his authentic tales about a part of the American civilization that is vanishing, all too quickly, form the scene.

Tales Of A Dude Wrangler

DeWitt — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:04:44 +0000

Jim Dawson, Head wrangler of the Lazy R. Dude Ranch, and a man of remarkable character and imagination, is the central figure of these wise and entertaining tales of the Far West.
With his slow grin, his drawling speech, his guitar, and his seemingly inexhaustible supply of stories, Jim was the terror and delight of the dude ranchers. There was never the occasion when Jim lacked a story to tell. Many of these purported to come from his own experience, as when he was asked to join Buffalo Bill’s Wild-West Show; shot a man in a saloon brawl; or when he watched baby rattle snakes dancing to the tune of “Yankee Doodle.” He also had a rich supply of Indian and western folklore, drawing on a stock containing such wonders as moving mountains, “Methuselum” crickets, superstitious snakes, and Indian-snatching buzzards.
Those familiar with American folk-heroes and legends will recognize in Jim Dawson the composite appeal of a host of popular characters. Those who love a good yarn for its own sake (and who doesn’t) can open any page at random. Here’s a feast!