Dancin' in Anson: A History of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball

In the 1880s, there wasn't much in Anson, Texas, in the way of entertainment for the area's cowhands. But Star Hotel operator M. G. Rhodes changed that when he hosted a Grand Ball the weekend before Christmas. A restless traveling salesman, rancher, and poet from New York named William Lawrence Chittenden, a guest at the Star Hotel, was so impressed with the soiree that he penned his observances in the poem "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball."

Reenacted annually since 1934 based on Chittenden's poem, the contemporary dances attract people from coast to coast, from Canada, and from across Europe and elsewhere. Since 1993 Grammy Award-winning musical artist Michael Martin Murphey has played at the popular event.

Paul Carlson defines the many people and events mentioned in Chittenden's poem and explains the Jones County landscape laid out in the celebrated work. The book covers the evolution of cowboy poetry and places Chittenden and his poem chronologically within the ever-changing western genre. Far more than a history of the Jones County dance, Dancin' in Anson: A History of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball is a novel but refreshing look at a cowboy poet, his poem, and a joyous Christmas-time family event that traces its roots back nearly 130 years.

Author: Paul H. Carlson
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Published: 11/15/2014
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.10w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9780896728912
ISBN10: 0896728919
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | State & Local | Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)
- Literary Criticism | Poetry

About the Author
Paul H. Carlson is emeritus professor of history at Texas Tech University. He has published numerous books and articles, is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the Philosophical Society of Texas, and a Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association and the West Texas Historical Association. He lives with his wife Ellen in Lubbock County.