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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1074

	WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to 
join the citizens of Oldham County in recognizing Sam Brown for 
his literary contributions to the Western heritage of Texas; and

	WHEREAS, Sam Brown was born in 1945 in Amarillo, but was 
brought home to the edge of the caprock, five miles west of 
Adrian; his mother was the oldest resident of Oldham County who 
had been born there, and his father arrived in the county in 1928, 
driving 40 head of workhorses and mules when he was 14 years old; 
and

	WHEREAS, Sam began learning wrangling skills as a young 
boy; he was only eight when he was paid five dollars for helping 
his father work some cattle; when Sam was 14, his father took over 
the management of the 72,000-acre Masten Ranch; and

	WHEREAS, He graduated from Adrian High School in 1963 and 
from West Texas State University in 1967; after college 
graduation, he taught school for a year in Silverton before 
joining the army; he served a tour of duty in Vietnam before 
returning to Oldham County and his life as a cowboy in 1970; and

	WHEREAS, In the 35 years since his return, Sam has spent 
most of the time working as a full-time cowboy and also spent many 
summers traveling across the United States as he competed in 
rodeos; and

	WHEREAS, He uses the time in the saddle to work on his 
stories; twice he has been selected by the Texas Folklife Society 
to represent Texas at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 
Elko, Nevada; and

	WHEREAS, Drawing on his heritage and experience, Sam Brown 
has written six Western novels for Walker and Company in New York;
his first novel, The Long Season, was set in Oldham County in the 
1880s and was chosen runner-up for the best first novel from 
Western Writers of America; The Big Lonely, another Oldham County 
novel, was chosen as runner-up for the best Western novel of the 
year; and

	WHEREAS, Sam spent the winter of 2005 on Four Way Ranch, 
and each spring he helps during branding season on seven Oldham 
County ranches; the way work is done today has not changed much 
since he was a boy, and traditional cowboy skills are still 
needed; now, therefore, be it

	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
79th Legislature, hereby commend Sam Brown for his contributions 
to the culture and the literature of the Old West; and, be it 
further

	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 
him as an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate.
                                                                         Seliger




________________________________ 
    President of the Senate
 
    I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on May 29, 2005.



________________________________ 
    Secretary of the Senate



________________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate