The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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July 22, 2008

Book recounts Rough Riders

By Bridget Nash Staff Writer

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.

What you may not know is the account of Rough Rider Billy McGinty, who was from right here in Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma Rough Rider: Billy McGinty’s Own Story” is a manuscript written by McGinty himself with commentary and notes by Jim Fulbright and Albert Stehno.

Fulbright and Stehno held a book-signing in Enid Tuesday evening at Soap-weed and Cactus.

“It’s a rare firsthand account,” Fulbright said. “There are a lot of things in there people don’t know.”

The manuscript, which has never before been published, was given to Stehno by McGinty’s granddaughter, Delma Imogene Crozier, in 1995.

“(McGinty) had written one book that was published and it is scarce, and he had written this one, which was never published,” said Stehno, a Billings rancher and member of the Cherokee Strip Historical Society board.

Stehno, a longtime friend of the McGinty family, began to research the story and the events therein and later collaborated with Fulbright to edit and write a commentary to this one-of-a-kind account.

“We did some editing and reorganizing,” said Ful-bright, a native Oklahoman who writes about the Old West.

The unique tale not only tells the story of McGinty’s days as a Rough Rider but also of his adventures performing in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, among other accomplishments.

For those who are Rough Rider fans and enjoyed the 1997 film version, Fulbright and Stehno said McGinty’s story provides a more realistic look at the Rough Riders and may tell more of the story.

“They were a little hyperbolic of the characters (in the movie),” Fulbright said.

“This kind of fills in some of the gaps the movie left out,” Stehno said.

Those who missed the book-signing still can purchase the book at Soapweeds and Cactus, 122 N. Indepen-dence.

Anyone who would like to catch Fulbright and Stehno in person can travel to Chisholm Trail Museum in Kingfisher for another book-signing at 7 p.m. Thursday.

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