OklahomaHorses Magazine Sept 2022

28 OklahomaHorses • September / October 2022 Cowboy Writer Baxter Black Found Humor in Everyday Life by Leigh Ann Matthews | Photo by Gary Grainer B axter Black, veterinarian and master humorist, wrote more than 30 books of poetry, novels, children’s literature, and commentary. Black spent his life making us think and making us smile. His knack for finding humor and philosophy in everyday life with large animals and the people who tend to them granted him measurable opportunities — and he made the best of them all. Born at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in New York in 1945, he was the first of four sons — Baxter, Bob, John, and Stephen — of Robert and Teddie Black. The family moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where Robert Black was dean of agriculture at New Mexico State University. His sudden death made his eldest son the “man of the house” at age 15. Black began to write in high school, and his teacher strongly encouraged him to “write about what you know.” His first love was agriculture, so he applied for veterinary school, realizing that no matter what came about, he could always “fix your cow.” He was accepted at Colorado State University. College life fired up Black’s entrepreneur- ial side. He did a variety of things to make money, including leatherwork, barbering, and laundry. He also played guitar and performed on weekends with some of his classmates. Getting a Start Black’s storytelling began after he graduated from vet school in 1969 and began to work as a company veterinarian for J. R. Simplot Company in Idaho. With no television and few radios, ranch cowboys spent much of their spare time telling stories, which gave Black material for poems and songs. He moved to Denver in 1980 and worked for a pharmaceutical company, but his reputa- tion soon allowed him to pursue a full-time career as a cowboy entertainer. One summer, Black performed for the Arizona Cattle Feeders’ Association in Cave Creek, Arizona. A young woman named Cindy Logsdon worked there. Her boss wanted her to meet Black, so she arranged for Logsdon to volunteer on the beer cart during a golf tournament that Black planned to participate in. Logsdon explained, “It was really pretty funny because Baxter already had brought a lady with him as his date.” Later that year, Black went to Payson, Arizona, to perform for the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association. Logsdon was also at the meeting, and the two became acquainted during a music jam session after the event. Black’s career took him back out on the road, but he and Logsdon kept in touch. In October, he invited her to a family reunion in Noble, Oklahoma, where his father had been born and raised. The two “had a blast” with Black’s family, and his Aunt Effie be- came great friends with Logsdon. Logsdon also had an Oklahoma connec- tion. She was raised in Tulsa and graduated from Edison High School. Her father, the late Guy Logsdon, was a well-known historian who had served as director of libraries at the University of Tulsa. He also performed music with his wife, Phyllis, throughout Oklahoma. The next spring, Black planned to go to Oklahoma with Logsdon to her family Baxter Black (1945–2022), shown here with his horse Blue, was a veterinarian and cowboy writer. “Because farm and ranch people have chosen to work directly with God, we get a closer look at life than most folks. We’re not insulated from its precarious nature. In return we’re exposed to the beautiful sunrise, the smell of rain, the quiet snow and satisfaction of saving a life now and then.” — Baxter Black