The longtime resident of Steamboat Springs, Matt Tredway, who adopted the lifestyle of the cowboy since his child, wrote a book filled with stories of breeders who stretched his original Gunnison hometown at the Yampa valley.
“I was a child in the city, but I grew up working on these ranches,” said Tredway, who said that his new book, “The West: Essays of Mountain Cowboys” should be on the shelves in the next two weeks at the Booker Bookstore, 68 Ninth St. St.
Tredway said the book will also be available at the Abracadabra bookstore in Gunnison and should be available online at some point this fall.
“Essays of Mountain Cowboys” is a collection of stories covering the personal experience of Tredway that grows in Gunnison and working on ranchs throughout his life. He said that the material reflects personal family stories as well as the cowboys stories with which he worked during his life.
The book is inspired by emblematic families of Routt County County, notably the Green, Daughenbaugh, Stanko, Deline and Schalnus families. The stories also come from breeders, including Shane Yeager, Cass Leonard and the Hilddreth brothers, to name just a few. There are also stories that honor the contributions of cowboys artists like Curtis Zabel, Rudi Mergelman and Barbara East.
“The stories are based on the people with whom I have crossed the way,” said Tredway. “It starts with Gunnison, then in a way in the county of Routt with the Stankos, Daughenbaughs and Schalnus” by South Rout. There is also the old braid Rawhide, Cecil Connor, and some familiar names from Phippsburg. »»
Tredway wants readers to feel that they are walking in his access room, where he keeps a collection of Western memories. He said that the stories and memories of the book are linked to the artefact collection of his house which includes stools, spurs and guys.
“The collection I look at is hanging from a wall in my brochure room. It surrounds a leather seam and a table where I brush guys, stools and other cowboy tools,” writes Tredway in the introduction. “With an unused eye, it is a random group of worn stools, rusty spurs and old faded leather. For me, it is a unique assembly of inheritance cries to be heard.”
Tredway, a longtime wrestling coach and Steamboat Springs retired school district 15 years agosaid he had spent a winter talking to the stories he had heard in his lifetime. He added that the text of the book was surprisingly met quickly, and he is currently working in the publishing and production process, led by Sophie Dingle and Melissa Vanarsdale.
John F. Russell is the sales journalist at the Steamboat Pilot and today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@steamboatpilot.com Or follow it on Twitter @ raf1966.