FORT COLLINS WESTERNERS

Our next regular meeting will be Monday, May 13th, 2013, at the Elks Club in Fort Collins (1424 E. Mulberry Street).  Social hour begins at 6:00pm.

How do the facts of history give rise to fiction? This question will be explored at a slide show and reading from Mariano’s Crossing, an award-winning historical novel by David M. Jessup.   His novel was recently nominated as one of three finalists for the Colorado Book Award, in addition to winning first place in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Contest.  Based on real people and historic events in post-gold rush Colorado, Mariano’s Crossing relates the mesmerizing struggle between Mariano Medina, former mountain man and friend of Kit Carson, his Indian wife, Takánsy, and young John Alexander, the son of a hardscrabble sawmill owner, over the future of the Medinas’ fifteen-year old daughter, Lena. Their tug of war soon spirals out of control as secrets past and present propel them toward their final, haunting encounter.

David M. Jessup co-owns Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, where he introduces low-stress, grass-fed cattle raising methods to guests, and guests to the ways of both the old and the new West. A history buff, he is passionate about preserving open space, battling invasive weeds, catching wild river trout on a fly, singing cowboy songs, and telling stories about the American West—some of them true.

Cost for dinner is $18 per person.  The menu is:   Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles, California Vegetables, Tossed Salad, Dinner Rolls, Cherry Pie, Coffee & Tea

See you at the Elks Club on May 13th.  Please RSVP by noon on Friday, May 10th, to Joan Day, 482-8088