Maybe that's why Stan grew up in the Santa Clara valley north of Los Angeles, Ca. His father, Harold, worked on the historic Newhall Ranch for several years. And it was there, riding horses and chasing company cattle, that Stan developed his life-long love of all things Western. Of course, going to the movie theatre at Santa Paula and watching the great B-Westerns didn't hurt, either. He still likes to watch films by Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Jimmy Wakely, Lash LaRue, Johnny Mack Brown, Red Rider and Little Beaver, and so forth.
Stan sneaked through the graduation line at dear ol' Fillmore (Calif.) Union High School, then earned his B.A. from David Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tn., and his M.A. from the University of New Mexico. He also completed all of the course work toward a Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma before running out of money and energy, in that order.
He has worked as a salesman, freelance writer, newspaper editor, administrator of mental health programs, and as a morning radio talk show host. For several years he has spent his free time traveling around the country sharing stories about the West, both old and new. He has performed at the Great Pikes Peak Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Colorado Springs, Co., at the Charley Russell Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Great Falls, MT., and at the 89er Days Celebration in Guthrie, Ok.
In addition, for several years now he has performed annually at the National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas, and at the Oklahoma Cowboy Poetry Gathering at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Of course, he has also performed for private parties, churches, senior citizen groups and conventions. In 1996 he twice performed for the Honorable Frank Keating, Governor of Oklahoma.
