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“A measure of a man’s life is not only what he does for himself but what he does for others and the communities he impacts. Tens of thousands of people of been impacted by my Uncle Hawk’s views on land
and wildlife conservation, his love of wild birds, his rodeo
clowning, his wonderful photography, his sanctuary for wild
horses, and by his humor and never-ending curiosity about all
he observes that he has written so eloquently about in 17 books
It has been a journey for me, his niece, to prepare this celebration
of his life to date. To put it all down in one publication in this
unique way, using so many old photos, in a more or less
linear fashion, tells the story of a life so fully and richly lived, I
can’t imagine, short of maybe climbing Mt. Everest or the like,
how he could have had more adventures or successes.
I’ve said it before and I need to say it again...I have been
inspired and encouraged by his example to do the
same with my life. I am now known internationally for my
ranch rodeo and buckaroo lifestyle photography. You
don’t even have to guess where I get my inspiration and
courage. I never could have even walked out the door for
the first rodeo if I hadn’t learned from watching his life that
if you want to do something badly enough, you find a
way to do it. To me, that is his most important legacy.
Generations of readers have enjoyed his tall tales, tens of
thousands of visitors to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
have fallen in love with the mustangs that live there, hundreds of
thousands of acres of ranch land has been set aside for the
safety and use of wildlife, and those who have met him in person have been charmed by his charisma and larger than life persona. His
booming laugh, his physically imposing size...at 6’5” he can’t help but dominate the room... his penetrating gaze, and wild stories always make him the center of attention!
Today he’s 85 and getting hard of hearing and a bit cantankerous like my great-uncle Buck was known to be, but he’s busy writing his first book of poetry, feeding cattle every day and dreaming, of course, of what he’s going to do next! Happy Birthday..I hope you live to be 100!
– Mary Williams Hyde, 2010 http://www.buckaroocountry.com
My uncle was a rodeo photographer who was featured in Life Magazine. Just saying that though, doesn’t tell the whole story. In those days there were no digital high speed cameras like I used for the photo above. For him to get the shot he had to get in close to the action where, if he didn’t get off one or two frames at exactly the right moment, all was lost. He tells of getting to know the bucking patterns of the bulls and broncs so well that he could lay on the ground and know they wouldn’t be coming his way. Well, I can tell you, you’re not ever going to find me laying on the ground like he did or even find me in the arena!!! – Mary Williams Hyde`