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Brink sisters extend book tour
to Helena, Bozeman, Great Falls

The authors of Montana Stirrups, Sage and Shenanigans will share ranching stories from their new book during a promotional tour of the state that begins in Miles City July 13. They are the three Brink sisters—Anne Krickel, Jeanie Thiessen and Francie Berg—who grew up on a historic 1880s cattle ranch where the owner once ran thousands of cattle on both sides of the Yellowstone River.

During a Saturday afternoon program on July 13, they will entertain with music, readings and storytelling and autograph books at the Miles City Public Library, then lead the Historic Trails Tour of the Brink Ranch, ten miles east. Evidence of the 1876 Ft. Buford military trail from Ft. Keogh can still be seen there, as well as the 1913 Yellowstone Trail, first auto highway across the northern tier of states, which was built by local people.

Ranch families are enthusiastic. Watty Taylor, recent president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association calls Montana Stirrups, Sage and Shenanigans “Wonderful reading! A great book of ranch life stories that those of us involved in ranching can relate to. And for those not involved it gives a great perspective of how ranch families become so dedicated to a livelihood that it shapes the personality of family members for a lifetime. Helps our urban cousins see that their food is raised by caring families."

The Brink Sisters Book Tour continues in Jordan on July 14, 1:30 pm at the Garfield County Senior Center; in Forsyth July 15, 4:00 pm at the Rosebud County Library; and Billings July 16 and 17, with events at the Billings Public Library and Westpark Village Senior Center. The authors will present programs, make media appearances, autograph books, and visit bookstores and gift shops. They offer special book prices at all locations. Their tour will continue through the state during summer and fall and include the Montana Historical Society in Helena, Sept. 12, and the Festival of the Book, Oct. 10-12, in Missoula.

They tell stories of favorite and not so favorite horses. Buck—Mr. Personality, “good old Eagle” and Dusty, that expert cutting horse who never missed a chance to throw his rider while pretending to shy at the rattle of a dry weed.

The Brink sisters recall trailing cattle to and from summer range, each time a four-day challenge. Two teenagers taking a hundred head of cows through what was often remote but beautiful country during lovely spring and fall weather—or its opposite. Even though “we were sometimes too cold, too wet, too wind-blasted, too miserable and the job too hard, we mostly considered trailing an adventure in which the unexpected happened.”

World War II was no distant drumbeat; it was immediate and engaged everyone in the community. Nazi POWs topped beets in their fields. Neighbors guarded the railroad bridge across the Yellowstone River from sabotage all through the war. Country school kids sold Red Cross stamps for a penny and saved their own money to buy War Bonds at $18.75 each.

“This book reminds me of the patriotism of our family and community during World War II, the closeness to the land, the stewardship we felt and the satisfaction of hard work,” says former governor of Montana Tim Babcock.

An old west epic with a modern touch, Montana Stirrups, Sage and Shenanigans: Western Ranch Life in a Forgotten Era, is filled with vivid personal stories of ranching, wildlife and western humor. It is a social history as well, of the uncommon people of the west, who practiced tolerance and respect, knew the close ties of family and community and extended hospitality to strangers.

The authors describe the beauty of the badlands after a summer rain. “Sun flooded the cliffs with golden light and each color glistened—rose scoria, veins of black coal, slick gumbo dusted with thin slices of sparkling mica and the vivid greens of grassy draws edged in juniper and sage—while a double rainbow arched across the sky.”

The 408-page book Montana Stirrups, Sage and Shenanigans: Western Ranch Life in a Forgotten Era is available in softcover (29.95) and hardcover (39.95) in bookstores, gift shops and by mail from Flying Diamond Books, 402 S. 14th St, Hettinger, ND 58639 (605-347-1806). Email info@MontanaStirrupsandSage.com. More information and online purchases at www.MontanaStirrupsandSage.com.

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