History Society Welcomes All to Cowboy Poetry

By Cynthia Grant

The weather was perfect for an outdoor evening of cowboy poetry and country music on Aug. 18. Members of the Emery County History Society and other guests gathered at Castle Valley Outdoors for the annual Cowboy Poetry Night. This event has been staged for 20 years or more.

That evening, the history society recognized Owen and Jeanie Olsen with the “Preserving the Past Award.” This presentation typically recognizes people who have done something of importance over a period of considerable time to preserve knowledge and understanding of the history of our area.

This year’s award is different in two respects. Ed Geary, president of the society, explained, “First, we are recognizing a team.” The other difference is that “preserving the past means a very tangible and material preservation of historic structures and artifacts.”

Owen and Jeanie are not only creators and preservers of the past, but also promoters, janitors and groundskeepers of the wonderful living history museum of O’Ville. Owen has made it his mission, with his wife Jeanie’s help and support, to offer a village for a number of relic homes from Emery County’s early history.

The advent of pressurized irrigation has required unimpeded space for wheel lines and pivots. A number of early homesteads were in danger of being destroyed for the sake of progress. Owen rescued these and other memory-filled dwellings and gave them a new and lasting home in Cleveland.

This has been a massive labor of love for him and is getting more and more difficult as he gets older. Jeanie explained that only two of the buildings were moved intact. Owen reconstructed the remainder one log at a time. Jeanie said all of the cabins are from Emery County: five from Cleveland, two from Lawrence, one from Huntington, one from Quitchupah and one from Molen.

“I guess when he was younger…he didn’t get to play with Lincoln Logs very much,” Jeanie said. This is his version of playing with Lincoln Logs on quite another scale. He learned as he went, including how to put them back together, adding missing floors and roofs, chinking, and filling with furnishings.

This has been a labor of love in which Owen takes great pride and satisfaction. “You’re all invited to come and enjoy the history; just give us a call.” This couple has been willing to sacrifice their comforts to make the community better.

The cowboy poetry entertainment for the evening came from Shem Guymon and Justin Jennings, both homegrown talent from Cleveland. They performed their own compositions as well as those from other artists. Shem presented one number that he had just begun to memorize that very morning.

Josie Robinson and Evelyn Huntsman added their own impromptu humor to the evening. As dusk descended, Justin Jennings and his wife were spotted in an impressive show of dancing to the music of “Country Roads.” Band members included Carter Grant and his son Dallin, David Prettyman and Steve Lasslo.

The ensemble continued playing as guests were treated to orange and root beer floats to top off the evening. Many thanks to our poets and “Country Roads,” and those who came to enjoy. It was a well-attended and very enjoyable evening.

Mark your calendars for the next Emery County History Society event, which will be a field trip to Melon Days in Green River on Sept. 17.