This time of year is so busy, there is hardly time to reminisce to that far back. Gosh, let me think... Jim was seven, Rob almost three, and they had become cowboys way back at their first rodeo in New Orleans! They were quite impressed that they were in cowboy country in Wyoming. The Fourth of July parade was our first real western experience, the shoot-out, the dance hall girls, all the horses, with their colorful riders. We were also quite taken by the antler arches on the square of Jackson. Another thing that was fascinating to us was all the art galleries, every few feet around the little town. They were in every nook and cranny. There were, also, artists set up painting and displaying their artwork. We really felt like we were in the right place, and it would be just a matter of time before Hermon was discovered. He did manage to sell some of his images on leather at a shop called the Coyote Den, the first day there. We found a great campground behind the Wagon Wheel Village Motel and Restaurant. There was a creek nearby, where the boys fished and caught lots of rocks. I spent lots of time wading in the frigid water to untangle and retrieve the fishing line. Hermon met the folks who owned the Indian Trader, Paul and Mary Rodgers; they became wonderful friends, with whom we became closely attached for many years. Paul let Hermon set up to paint in front of his shop. Then Hermon asked about the front porch of the restaurant, where the traffic was really heavy, and there was plenty of space to display his finished artwork. He did lots of little wildlife and scenic paintings, and they sold, almost as fast as he could paint them, for around one hundred dollars. His leather Indians sold quite well, also. So we were off to a great start, and it was fun to live by the creek and visit with our newly found friends. The Wagon Wheel Village was full of young people, working there for the summer. Hermon made a hit with all of them, esp. the ladies. Some of the guys even modelled for a couple of the paintings. Hermon took us out to take photographs for reference, at least once a week. We spent lots of time up in the surrounding mountains and in the Elk Refuge with the kids. What a dream life we were living! Hermon, the boys and I would enjoy having breakfast at the restaurant with our friends about once or twice a week, when they had the radio show with Babe Humphrey, from the Bar-J Chuck wagon. He and three others put on a western show and chuck wagon dinner at the working ranch. That was a blast. Hermon became good friends with Babe and the entire band, esp. a young cowboy, named Scott Vaughn, the yodeler. What fun we had with that group for that whole summer and the next.
