Dayton O. Hyde

Month of January 2022: Young Reader’s Classics

Originally published in 1971.

NOT AN AR PROGRAM BOOK

Cranes in My Coral by Dayton O. Hyde (1971), 1st edition, hardcover, 86 pages.

This is 1 of the 4 books saved by the Woolwine family. This book was in with my cousin’s (Lancer Woolwine) family photos, which I am currently organizing for their family. So, needless to say, this book stays with his family.

1/27/2022 - This is such an adorable story, I ordered my own copy (1st edition hardback) from Abebooks.com for $10.28.

Dalton Hyde loved nature and lived by the philosophy that we are responsible for taking care of the land and environment, of which he strongly advocated. According to Wiki, his writings are mostly "expository", meaning truths and facts are embedded into the narrative. I couldn't find anything definitive, but I believe this to be one such book. One newspaper article, Greely Tribune (Greeley, Colorado) , Mon., November 10, 1969, p. 19: "Audubon Society, Government Disagree On Whooping Crane Reservation Plans", does verify that he did indeed raise four Sandhill Cranes. But, this article says they all returned to Yamsi on their own the following year. In the book, Dalton had to drive down to California to pick them up from a zoo and drive them home, minus one, the runt who apparently didn't make the migration. So, maybe, mostly nonfiction...with great flair added to the story?

Dalton discovers four eggs on his Yamsi ranch, in Oregon, layed by Sandy, the Sandhill Crane the family rescued and raised to adult. He places these eggs under his hens to hatch and he soon finds himself the father of Eeny, Meeny, Miney and Moe (the runt).

Sandhill Cranes were nearly extinct at this time, only 3,000 left in the entire U.S., and Dalton had big dreams to help repopulate their numbers, in which he truly was instrumental in this endeavor. This is a very engaging and humorous account of his interactions in raising four huge birds who were literally up his butt 24/7.

Will definitely be looking into more of his works.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dalton Ogden "Hawk" Hyde, Sr.
(b. 1925, Marquette, Michigan - d. Dec 22, 2018 at the Yamsi Ranch in Chiloquin, Oregon, age 93)
- A rancher
- WWII Veteran - swam ashore Normandy beach on D-Day
- Photographer - won awards for his rodeo photography
- Essayist
- Conservationist
- Author of 18 books
- Founder of South Dakota's Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary (11,000-acres between Hot Springs & Edgemont)

A FEW BOOKS TO LOOK INTO:
- Home
- Sandy
- Yamsi
-Pasture of Beyond
-Don Coyote
-The Major, the Poacher
-Island of the Loons
-The Bells of Lake Superior
-Mr. Beans
-Life in the Saddle
-Wild Horses
-Where Horses Run Free
-Tributes
-Strange Companion
-The Last Free Man (Story of Mike Daggett and the Battle of Kelley Creek February 26,1911. This is Dalton's favorite novel based on true facts, which he spent 15 years researching.)

DOCUMENTARY:
"Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde" (2013)… (más)

2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge

Yamsi by Dayton O. Hyde
(1971, 1st ed.) 318 pages.

SETTING: Central Oregon

Dayton Ogden "Hawk" Hyde (March 25, 1925 – December 22, 2018) was an American “expository” author and nature conservationist who spent the majority of his life at the 6,000 acre Yamsi Ranch, which comprised the whole valley at the head of the Williamson River, near Chiloquin, Oregon. This book is loaded with black and white family and ranch photos.

“Yamsi” was the family’s 2nd generation cattle ranch the author had purchased from his Uncle Buck. “Yamsi” is a Klamath Indian word, which means ‘home of the north winds’, and is named after Yamsay Mountain in Klamath County, Oregon, where lava stones were hauled down to build the original ranch house in 1928.

Dayton lived through the transitional, and passing era, of cattle driving the 30 miles on his ranch and true cowboys roping newborn calves to be branded, cut and inoculated (if needed). He saw and knew the last of the Yamsi tribe. He brings you into his life as a rancher, sometimes with a sense of humor, from season to season, the endless chores, the debts incurred, and the unpredictable hired hands. After reading this, I’ve learned that being a cowboy was, and still is, one tough job. Definitely not a job for the lazy man.

Yamsi Ranch today continues to raise cattle holistically, still owned and ran by the Hyde family. It is privately owned and is now a wildlife sanctuary and earns extra money by providing accommodations for summertime vacationers especially interested in fly fishing (April 22-Oct 31), hiking or riding nature trails, birdwatching, kayaking or canoeing. If back then, it was becoming unrealistic to run a ranch on just raising and selling cattle, it must be even more so today. Dayton Hyde knew changes would have to be made for his ancestral ranch to survive, and it looks like his descendants have figured it out.

MORE ABOUT YAMSI RANCH
http://yamsiflyfishing.com/about/

OTHER NOTE
I felt he overused pronouns in just about every sentence, sometimes making his writing feel unnatural. But, he did get his points across, and I love his attitude and actions towards preserving the land as natural habitats for wildlife for future generations to enjoy.… (más)