Echoes of the Trail Kids' Cowboy Poetry Contest

In 2007, Echoes of the Trail sponsored its first kids' cowboy poetry contest. There were 13 entries from area schools from which the committee selected three winners. By 2009, there were 106 entries! The judges for the 2009 kids' cowboy poetry contest had a hard time selecting just three, so they added four honorable mention awards! The winning poems are shown below.

First Place $50

Gold Dust
By Dakota Mashek
Eugene Ware Elementary School
Teacher: Linda Jackson

California gold dust in the air,
People searching everywhere.

Started 1849
Working in the rain or shine
Ended 1858

Oh, no, what a fate!
No gold in sight!
What a fright!
Who will make it out alive!
How will I survive?

California gold dust in the air,
People searching everywhere.

---

Second Place $30

Cowboy Poem
By Garrett Tatro
Winfield Scott Elementary School
Teacher: Stacia Weilert

I'm riding down the street
My boots on my feet
My shirt on my back
The sky turning black

My guitar in my hand
No need for a band
Singing a cowboy song
As I wander along

My chaps at my side
I wear them with pride
Riding the open plains
Just holding my reins

---

Third Place $20

Everyday Life for a Cowgirl
By Lacie Forquer
Winfield Scott Elementary School
Teacher: Stacia Weilert

Holding onto the reins,
Bolting past big old trains.
On my gorgeous brown and white pinto,
Holding on while I quickly lasso.
Swiftly trotting around the banks,
Fighting past the hissing snakes.
Trotting through empty ghost towns,
Watching some deadly showdowns.
Exploring the wide open old west,
Working for the Pony Express.
Searching for a newer poncho,
Also wanting a better banjo.

---

Honorable Mentions

Billy the Kid
By Aaron Eastwood
Pleasanton Elementary School
Teacher: Pam Ham

Billy the Kid was said to be friendly.
And his real name was Henry.
He killed 21 men the same as his age.
For being so violent he should have been locked in a cage.

He was born on the eve of the Civil War.
And will be remembered forever more.
He favored a Mexican sombrero
And was said to be a personal and friendly fellow.

He was friends with Pat Garret.
But soon he got tracked down like a ferret.
He escaped from jails five times.
But didn't know he would get shot from behind.

He relied on Pat Garret as his friend.
But didn't know he would cause Henry's end.
He was in a gunfight when
Pat put him to his deadly end.

---

Honorable Mention

Annie Oakley
By Alexis Johnson
Pleasanton Elementary School
Teacher: Pam Ham

Her name was Phoebe Ann Mosey.
Most people called her Annie Oakley.

She was famous for her sharp aim
And her skill for hunting all wild game.

She could hit 100 clay targets from 16 yards.
And she could put 5 bullets into playing cards.

She knocked the ashes off a cigarette, with one shot.
Held by Price of Prussia in his mouth! She was hot.

She was also famous for performing with "Buffalo Bill."
The Wild West Show was really a thrill!

Her skill paid off the mortgage on her mother's farm.
The first female American Superstar Cowgirl who never did no harm.

Her health declined in 1925; she got sick.
And she died of pernicious anemia at the age of 66.

She died November 3, in Greenville, Ohio.
She'll always be remembered for her Wild West Show.

---

Honorable Mention

Belle Star
By Dakota McCullough
Pleasanton Elementary School
Teacher: Pam Ham

Belle Starr went so far to a Texas town.
Shortly before, Carthage, her town burned down.

One of Belle Starr's best friends was Cole May.
He helped her along the way.

She married a guy named James C. Reed.
Soon after they got married he went to jail for doing a bad deed.

She always drank and she always played a card
Until she finally settled down, that was hard.

Belle Starr came to a violent death while drinking Shine
When somebody shot her in the spine.

Belle Starr's oldest child, oh how she cried.
She wrote a poem and felt it deep inside.

Here's what it said:

"Shed not for her a bitter tear,
Nor give the heart to vain
Regret, 'tis but the casket that
Lies here, the gem that filled
It sparkles yet."

---

Honorable Mention

The Old West
By Thomas Nighswonger
Winfield Scott Elementary School
Teacher: Stacia Weilert

My spurs just got all rusted up
Used my favorite bullet to shoot my cup
No I'm not fancy, no glass bowls
No I got no water from this dried up water hole.
I hunt buffalo, and rabbit too
What about fish and lizard stew
Snakes not bad, neither is pie
But I don't want to waste my money and die
My good arm chair is a pile of leaves
My lullaby is the wind in the trees
I leave alone the bumble bees
My pillow is a couple tumble weeds