Thursday, January 16, 2014

Pleasant Valley Wars

Jinx entertained us with Western songs and stories.

Book signing after his talk

Feuds, cattle rustlers, honest ranchers and horse thiefs . . . interesting days in the Old West.

January’s speaker was Jinx Pyle from Payson. He took our members on a historical adventure when sheepherders and cattlemen were in such conflict they ended up in a bloody war! Mr. Pyle, a seventh-generation Arizona rancher, told us the story of The Pleasant Valley War. 

As Pyle grew up, he committed often repeated stories to memory. These stories, handed down from great-grandparents, conveyed dates, places, events, and local and state history. He is a walking history book of Payson and the Mogollon Rim Country. Over the years, Pyle and his wife have written 14 books, including The Pleasant Valley War.