Historian David Coffey wrote that the "late Texas folklorist and historian
Lawrence Clayton found beauty where many might see only mesquite and
limestone; he found humor in unlikely places, and he found nobility in the
hard lives of cowboys and the roughnecks.
"For years, Dr. Clayton chronicled the history of the Clear Fork
Countrythe stretch of land cut by the Clear Fork of the Brazos Riverof
Shackelford and Throckmorton counties. His thoughtful prose on the
region's colorful past and its equally colorful characters has appeared in
dozens of publications over the years. His efforts to record the stories of
area ranches and the men who built them and worked them represent a
major contribution to the state's recorded history. Indeed, few writers
could capture in words the ranch life of West Texas the way Lawrence
Clayton didfewer still might bother to translate the nomenclature and
nuances of a working ranch to underexposed readers of all backgrounds.
Unfortunately, much of Clayton's work resided in scholarly journals or
magazines not easily accessible to a wider audience. But these stories and
others long unpublished belonged in books to be passed down through
generations. Before his death in December of 2000, Dr. Clayton worked
diligently to see that this history—these unique tales—remained available to
all who are interested (and to some who don't yet know it). This volume
goes a long way toward honoring his wishes, and we are all better off for
it."
_________________________________________________________
LOU RODENBERGER, professor emeritus of English at McMurry
University, has written numerous critical essays about writers of the West
and Southwest and is a fellow in the Texas Insitute of Letters, the Texas
State Historical Association, the West Texas Historical Association (past
president), and the Texas Folklore Society (past president). Rodenberger
co-edited with Sylvia Ann Grider Texas Women Writers: A Tradition of
their Own and the forthcoming book 21 Short Stories by Texas Women:
Then and Now, both published by Texas A&M University Press. She was
also among Clayton's many friends.
Other Western Titles
