Some of my earliest memories are of those evenings spent with my older brother in the dining room of our home. There, we would listen to “Gunsmoke” on the radio. Sometimes, we would make tents from old sheets and the furniture...then imagine we were camping in the “old west.” Our father was always a big fan of cowboy shows. Walt listened to Gunsmoke along with us. However, I don’t remember him getting into one of the “tents.” He was too big! When television finally arrived, Dad watched every western that came along. Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Bonanza; all were favorites. Walt never lost his infatuation with the West. I wonder if that was because of the environment within which Dad was raised. The Waggoners of Martinsburg, IL had prided themselves on their horsemanship. The most memorable photo I remember of my dad’s father, John William Waggoner, is one of him trick riding by standing on the rump of a horse. Even as far back as the Civil War, the Waggoners had shown their affinity to horses by joining the cavalry rather than infantry. In the cavalry they were allowed to bring their personal horses with them. Back in the first part of the twentieth century, Dad, like so many in rural areas, had ridden a horse to school. He had plowed fields with horses. Horses had pulled the family wagon. Could his upbringing with horses have been the reason for Dad's affinity to westerns? Here is a study that represents him "working" at his craft.