Riding Shotgun and Embracing the Western Spirit
I’m thrilled to host my friend Debby Lee for this month’s “Indigenous Women Honoring the West.” She’s a member of the Yakima Nation in Central Washington State but lives on the “west side,” as we east siders of the state say. Wink. She’s kind, giving, and one hard-working woman.
So, let’s get to it and meet Debby.
I would introduce myself by saying “Howdy Partners,” but that often-used phrase is too cheesy, and I don’t have any crackers. So, I’ll simply say, “Hello, my name is Debby Lee and I want to thank Carmen for having me on her blog today.”
While I don’t have much of a ranching background, I did spend a good part of my childhood on my grandparents’ 40-acre farm with plenty of dairy cows. Some of my fondest memories were picking blackberries, shucking corn, and making dressing for cucumbers so fresh they hadn’t been refrigerated yet. I learned how to drive a tractor as a young teen and stacked a lot of hay bales.
I can still hear the rumble of the tractor and the clackety-clack of the hay bailer as grandpa and I motored through the sea of golden hay that swayed in the summer breeze. I can still smell the hay bales stacked in neat rows in the cow barn. That barn looked gigantic to a kid, but then again, so did the cows.
It would be hard to pick a favorite farm animal. I did help feed the cows on my grandparents’ farm, and I had raised a bunny. I dream of someday owning enough property to have goats, chickens, ducks, bees, a few cows, maybe a pig or two.
Who doesn’t like bacon?
I’m not sure what inspires me most about the Western lifestyle, but I think it’s the idea of a fresh start out in the middle of nowhere, the challenges of rising above difficult circumstances, the good versus evil, and realizing the possibilities for redemption, the kind that fosters a steadfast hope.
This might explain why some of my favorite western movies include Young Guns, Bad Girls, Dances with Wolves and Redeeming Love. I also enjoyed the 1986 version of Stagecoach with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson.
Speaking of stagecoaches, my book, Heart of Endurance, is set in a real unincorporated community called Stagecoach, Nevada, which was once a station on the Pony Express route.
This author believes that nothing represents the Old West like a stagecoach. What would Western folklore be without this iconic mode of travel gracing the pages of novels, televisions, and movie screens everywhere?
The Concord coaches were built by J. Stephen Abbot and wheelwright Lewis Downing, who formed the Abbot-Downing Company in Concord, New Hampshire. They utilized leather thorough-brace suspension, which were leather straps that created a rocking motion for passengers and worked as shock absorbers. This allowed a more comfortable ride for the occupants.
These horse-drawn conveyances were pulled by either four or six horses, which were swapped out roughly every ten to fifteen miles. They could stand nine feet tall and carry up to twelve passengers. Many carried the US mail, too. The stagecoach could travel an average of five miles an hour, probably faster if it was being chased by outlaws brandishing their six-shooters.
The main driver normally held the left reins in his left hand and the right ones in his right hand. The driver was usually accompanied by someone riding in the seat alongside him. This man held a shotgun, and his purpose was to protect the driver from rogue Indians and/or outlaws.
This is where the slang term, riding shotgun, comes from.
As railroad tracks stretched across the American frontier, trains provided travelers with shorter times for their commutes. Even so, the Abbot Downing Company continued to manufacture stagecoaches until 1919. Stagecoach travel was eventually disbanded, but not before it rolled into history and into romantic imaginings of women like us, women who love the West.
Find Heart of Endurance
About Debby
Debby Lee, a member of the Yakama tribe, started writing as a child but never forgets home, the cozy town of Toledo, Washington, and her Native American roots.
A former president of the Olympia chapter of Romance Writers of America, Debby enjoys participating in both RWA and the American Christian Fiction Writers. Her full-length title with Barbour Publishing is a 2024 Selah Awards Finalist. She also has six novella collections with Barbour. The Courageous Brides and Mountain Christmas Brides both made the ECPA Bestsellers list. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steven Laube Literary Agency.
A self-professed nature lover, Debby feels like a hippie child who wasn’t born early enough to attend Woodstock. She wishes she could run barefoot all year long and often does when weather permits. During football season, she cheers on the Seattle Seahawks with other devoted fans. She’s also filled with wanderlust and dreams of traveling the world.
Connect with Debby
Debby loves to hear from readers. Go ahead and ask her a question about her books, life, or love of football.
