Natalie Bright - Keep em Full and Keep em Rollin: The All-American Chuckwagon Cookbook

Natalie Bright is an author, blogger, and fifth-generation Texan. She writes books for kids and adults, and blogs at Prairie Purview, featuring the places, history, and people of the American West, which are constant sources of inspiration for her work. She holds a BBA from West Texas State University and works with her husband, a geologist. They have two sons and own a cow/calf operation that produces black and red Angus cattle. Sign up for Natalies newsletter through her website (nataliebright.com) and connect with her on Twitter, Facebook author pages, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Keep Em Full and Keep Em Rollin is Natalies first book for TwoDot Books.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following people for assistance in making this book possible.

Sincerest gratitude to Don and Shirley Creacy for sharing your passion for chuck wagon cooking and for those award-winning recipes, and for patiently answering my endless stream of questions. You both are so very precious to me. Thanks to Billy Paul and Tavia Vinson for your dedication to a lifetime of ranch work. And Tavia, Im forever in your debt for sharing your love of cooking. To Belinda Sursa, thanks for the recipes and for those great quotes by Joe. Thanks to all the cowgirls and cowboys who help us every year in the spring and fall. I appreciate you for tolerating me and my camera. Your passion for the work you love is contagious. Thanks to Sam Howell II and his Cocklebur Camp chuck wagon cooking crew. My afternoon spent observing your crew in action and the information you shared was invaluable for the completion of this book.

Much gratitude to my writing critique group for their support and encouragement: Dee Keel, Rory C. Keel, Lynnette Jalufka, Barbara Propst, and Joe Nichols. You guys are the best. Thanks to an amazing group of readers and fact checkers, who made this book better: Casey Bright, Shirley Creacy, Denise McAllister, Molly McKnight, Steven Raymond, and Phyliss Miranda. To my friend Jodi Koumalats, thanks for that fantastic book about cattle drives and your continued encouragement and friendship.

Thanks to my family, so many of them gone now. At the time, I never realized how lucky I was to grow up surrounded by a strong work ethic. I took for granted a dining table covered in homegrown and home-cooked meals. After dinner, more often than not, we pushed back our chairs and went back to work. To my uncle Luther Williams, thanks for blessing me with numerous books from your collection. Thanks to my cousin Kathy Fisher, who always keeps an eye out at the book sales for related materials. I really appreciate your efforts.

Thanks to Warren Striker and Millie Vanover, who work in one of the most fascinating places on the planet, the archives at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. I appreciate your research expertise. Thanks to the staff at the Cattle Raisers Museum for your assistance. One of the best parts of the research for this book was the time spent looking at archival images.

To my editor, Erin Turner, thank you for the spark and for the opportunity to research and write about this topic.

To my favorite guys: Chris, Casey, and David. Thanks for letting me ramble nonstop about chuck wagons and cattle drives, and more importantly, for being taste testers. Your support and encouragement mean more than anything.

And to you, fans of all things Western. Thanks so much for keeping the spirit of the American West alive.

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WEBSITES:

Genealogy Trails: genealogytrails.com/chuckwagon/chuckwagonrecipes.html

Legends of America: Legendsofamerica.com/we-oldwestrecipes/