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Show Jon I. Pentz Morgan, Utah born: 3 April, 1935 Jon Pentz was born in Stoddard, a small ranching and farming community on northern Utah's Weber River. One of fourteen children, he grew up working with cows, sheep and horses. Although his mother was busy caring for her large family, she, and eventually most of her children, herded sheep. As Jon tells it, "One time she was out herding sheep on Old Pet, this old mare, and Old Pet stopped and had a colt. Ma got off and had me, so I got on the colt and Ma got on Old Pet and away we went." As a young man, Jon spent time working with cattle on the Flying J Ranch near Winnemucca, Nevada, but sheepherding has always been his real love. For him, the isolation, hard work and difficult weather conditions associated with sheepherding have always been balanced by the freedom that allows him "to eat some fried taters at 9 o'clock... and if I want, wait till 10 and have me a can of sardines..." Jon, who has been writing western poetry for years, doesn't read the work of other poets or recite his work to anyone else. But whether he's writing a letter to his wife or one of his six children, or leaving a note for the boss, it's always in verse. For him, writing poetry is a recreational activity. He often writes in his old wood sheepcamp either late at night after the sheep have all settled, or first thing in the morning while waiting for the coffee to boil. His poems contain many of the same themes as those written or recited by cowboys and often reflect the same feelings of reverence for the landscape and love for living and working with animals in the out-of-doors. Cowboy Poetry From Utah 115 |