Hal Swift came into this world
in Speedway City, Indiana. It was a week before Christmas,
1928--the 25th anniversary of Orville and Wilbur Wright's history-making
flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. He was born Ralph Harmon
Swift, but got the name Hal while working as a disc jockey at a radio
station in Monterey, California in the early 1960s. His boss
didn't like the double "uff" in Ralph and Swift, so Hal held a contest
with his listeners. There were over 200 entries--and the one who came in
with the winning name went home with an unopened copy of a
long-play record album by Peter, Paul and Mary--taken, of course, from
the station's library.
He had most of the childhood diseases available in 1935, right after he
started the first grade. Indiana didn't have kindergarten at that
time. Because he was sick for so long, he had to start school all over
again, and by the age of twelve was taller that most of his
teachers--well, the lady ones, anyway. He was a lieutenant in the
school's traffic patrol, and played trumpet in the school band.
After two years in high school, his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona,
where he took up string bass and became one of the country's youngest
members of the American Federation of Musicians. As such, he was
privileged to
work with many great musicians, including jazz guitarist,
Howard Roberts, jazz pianist, Pete Jolly, and singer, entertainer, Marty
Robbins. At the time, though, Marty was still Martin Robinson.
In 1947, while in North Phoenix High school, Hal (still Ralph) got into
broadcasting when a studio band he was playing with needed an announcer.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1948 and served as a shipboard Morse code
radio operator while a member of the Japan occupation forces, and then
during the Korean War. After his honorable discharge in 1952 he
went back into broadcasting and worked in stations from Mount Shasta to
Monterey, California, then in Reno, Nevada. He worked in various areas
of broadcasting, from the original disc jockey stuff, to being a
reporter and news editor, a commercial writer and salesman, and a
broadcast engineer.
When all of this excitin' stuff paled in 1977, he decided he'd become a
minister, and do something really worthwhile in this world. By
January of 1991 he found he'd much rather be doin' the excitin' stuff,
and went back into radio--and writing. His writing interests
turned to things Western, probably, he says, because by now--in addition
to his home state--he'd lived in Arizona, Texas, California, Colorado,
and Nevada.
As a youngster, going through all those childhood diseases, he got to
read a lot. He says, "In late 1933, maybe early 1934--somebody
gave me a book titled, 'Demon Dick and Bunker Bill.' It was based
not-too-loosely on the song, 'Big Rock Candy Mountain.' Do you
remember that?" he says. "Where the bluebird sings, by the
lemonade springs, in the big rock caaan-dy mountain." He says, "I don't
recall the story line now, but I do recall I enjoyed the book a whole
lot. It was about five inches tall, maybe 17 inches wide, and
about a quarter-inch thick. The cover was cardboard, and the pages
were similar to newsprint, only rougher, I believe. The whole
thing was done in rhyme, and was illustrated, like a comic book. I know
the cover was in color, front and back, but I don't remember if the
story page cartoons were in color. Those pictures and rhythms are
still in my head somewhere. I kept the book for years.
I don't know where it is now--I think I gave it to one of our sons.
I'll have to ask.
"Around 1936-37 my mom took my little sister and me and moved to
Phoenix, Arizona where we hoped my sister would be cured of asthma.
We only stayed a year, but we moved back to Phoenix in 1945.
My wife, Carol and I lived in Yuma, Arizona from 1982 to 1986. So,
I've lived in Arizona three times now. That first move, though, exposed
me to some real, live cowboys--as well as a few real cowboy
musicians--and just added to the interest Demon Dick and Bunker Bill had
kindled in me."
Although he says he rode a little with some real cowboys, he never
worked at it. "I was never a cowboy wannabe," he says, "more
of a cowboy could-a-been. I had plenty chances, but I managed
mostly to avoid 'em. I decided not to let not working as a cowboy
keep me from enjoying writing about them, though. He said he didn't know
exactly how to respond when a radio friend named Bob Carroll asked him
in an interview if he'd ever worked at being a cowboy. He said,
"Bob made it all right that I hadn't when he said, 'Arthur C. Clarke
writes pretty good space stuff, and he never worked as an astronaut.'
That Bob's okay."
His book, Cowboy Poems and Outright Lies is being offered on line
at
Silver Creek Music and Books. (More
about that
below.)
He has an unpublished novel,
Ballad of a Small Town, about 1864 Drytown, Utah Territory -- now
Wadsworth, Nevada -- during the final year of the Civil War. "The
town was important," he says, "mainly because it was on the way to
someplace else. But it was, and still is, an interesting town."
With his wife, Carol, Swift currently lives in Sparks, Nevada, not too
far from Drytown. All three of their sons also live in Nevada.
They're honored in Cowboy Poems and Outright Lies in a poem
titled,
Them Boys of Ours. Hal loves the West and is currently enjoying
reading, and writing, about it.
You can read more about Hal
Swift and you will find a large collection of his poetry at:
http://www.cowboypoetry.com/halswift.htm
AND IN CASE YOU
HAVEN'T SEEN IT...DON'T MISS HAL'S POEM.....
"RODEO PARADE".
A click of the mouse will take you there.
Your comments are invited. ........................
nevada.swift@yahoo.com
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