Selmon, John C 1969-06-13

"Scandalous John" Selmon relates his experiences as a cowboy and foreman on the Spur, Half-Circle S, and Flat Top ranches, his work on these ranches, and the Texas Cowboy Reunion in Stamford. Because of microphone trouble, part of Side 1 and all of Side 2 on Tape 1 are inaudible.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: John C. Selmon

Additional Parties Recorded: None

Date: June 13, 1969

Location: Stamford, Texas

Interviewer: Charles Townsend

Length: 40 minutes

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: John C. Selmon, Born: San Saba County (July 2, 1884), Parents and grandfather, Discusses his early experiences working on ranches, Spur Ranch job of breaking horses, Nickname of "Scandalous John", Working with Spur Ranch cattle wagons, Driving cattle to Estelline, Texas, Branding, Story about killing a rattlesnake under his bedroll, Spur Ranch brand, Working for Half-Circle S (1906-1913), Roping and dragging cattle to branding fires, Working for Swenson Ranch (1913-1920), Foreman for Flat Top Ranch, Discusses the number of cattle branded on all, Swenson ranches, Sorting and shipping cattle to market.

Tape 1, Side 2: [Inaudible]

Tape 2, Side 1: Flat Top Ranch (continued), Story about running bootleggers off, Horses, Breaking the horses, Selmon’s horse, "Brownie", Will Rogers’ visit, Breaking horses (again), Texas Cowboy Reunion, Origin, Chuck wagon meals, Old Timers’ Association, Ranch retirement systems, Ranch wages, Discusses showing horses at shows, Contrasts past and present-day cattle roundups, Discuses difficulty of getting ranch hands now, Discusses horses on the ranch, Swenson Reunion.

Range Dates: 1884-1969

Bulk Dates: 1890s-1920s

Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:

---

Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.