Fred Grove (born Frederick Herridge; July 4, 1913 – September 2008) was a
Native American author and winner of five prestigious "Spur Awards" from
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include histori ...
for his
western novels. He was born in
Hominy, Oklahoma
Hominy ( Osage: ''Hą́mąðį'' "night-walker") is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census, a 38 percent increase over the figure of 2,584 recorded in 2000.
The town was the home of an all-Na ...
.
Biography
Grove was the son of a
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
cowboy and an
Osage-
Lakota
Lakota may refer to:
* Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes
*Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples
Place names
In the United States:
* Lakota, Iowa
* Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County
* La ...
woman born on the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...
in
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
. His great-grandfather,
Henry Chatillon, guided
Francis Parkman
Francis Parkman Jr. (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of '' The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life'' and his monumental seven-volume '' France and England in North Am ...
on his tour of the
Great Plains, from which evolved the classic book, ''
The Oregon Trail''. Grove was provoked into writing at an early age. The ten-year-old boy was visiting relatives in
Fairfax, Oklahoma
Fairfax is a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The Osage Nation reservation is coterminous with the county. The population was 1,380 at the 2010 census, down 11.3 percent from the figure of 1,555 recorded in 2000. It is notable as t ...
, when a wealthy Indian woman's house exploded, killing her and two family members. The novelist graphically recalled details the 1923 murder conspiracy to appropriate the woman's money. Grove's mother was Osage and Lakota, which thrust the tragedy into sharper focus. He remembers "the situation was lawless, with county officials apparently doing little to bring the guilty to justice." A subsequent
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
investigation resulted in prison sentences for two white men, one a cattleman and leading citizen of Fairfax — the other the son-in-law of the murdered woman.
He remembered, "Those were years of fear in
Osage County," he said, "of rumors and threats. As a boy this intrigued me, angered me. I wanted to write about it someday, and air those wrongs." A number of years later, Grove met the FBI agent who directed the investigation, and they collaborated on a
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...
book about the incident, but were unable to find a publisher. "It was very discouraging. I spent a year reading state newspapers on microfilm." The result of his extensive research were two novels, ''Warrior Road'' and ''Drum Without Warriors''. The first novel was written from a Native American's point of view, the second from an FBI agent posing as a racehorse owner looking for match races, which sparked Grove's latent interest in
quarterhorse
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...
racing. He also penned
Apache novels, which he has continued to write into his 90s.
Determined to write, Grove earned his B.A. degree in journalism from the
University of Oklahoma
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
, class of 1937, where he was a sports editor of the student daily newspaper during his senior year. He later served as sports editor for two dailies before drifting into general news and desk work. "It was during the
Depression and you felt lucky to have a job," he said. "My first one paid $18 a week and I was glad to have it." Grove had attempted to write westerns after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and interviewed "a lot of Oklahoma pioneers" while working as a reporter for the ''Shawnee Morning News''. "They were wonderful old people who had made the land runs in that state and remembered the 1870s and 80s. This further spurred my interest in the West."
He sold his first short story, "The Hangman Ghost" to ''.44 Western Magazine'' in 1951, and taught beginning reporting at the University of Oklahoma as well as a
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
course. There he took creative writing classes from Foster Harris and Walter Campbell (aka
Stanley Vestal). He later served as public information director of the
Oklahoma Educational Television Authority
The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The authority operates as a statutory corporation that holds the licenses for all of the PBS stati ...
"until the politicians got hold of OETA, demanding that the staff perform like trained seals."
Grove quit his job and considered it the best career move he ever made. He then wrote his Osage novels and got into quarter horse racing. ''Flame of the Osage'', his first novel, was sold when he was 45 and he said, his writing was more habit than compulsion. "I enjoy writing when I have a feel for the story. Writing hard takes a lot out of you. The finished novel is the real reward for me, a feeling of great relief."
Quarter horse racing became the subject of three of Grove's most successful books: ''The Great Horse Race'', ''Bush Track'', and ''Match Race''. The first and last of these won awards.
Notable among Grove's later fiction is the series of five Jesse Wilder novels set during and after the American Civil War: ''Bitter Trumpet'', ''Trail of Rogues'', ''Man on a Red Horse'', ''Into the Far Mountains'', and ''A Soldier Returns''.
(Source: ''Maverick Writers'' () by S. Jean Mead (aka
Jean Henry-Mead).
Awards
*1963:
Owen Wister Award
''Owen Wister Award'' is an annual award from the Western Writers of America given to lifelong contributions to the field of Western literature. Named for writer Owen Wister ('' The Virginian''; 1902), it is given for "Outstanding Contributions to ...
*Grove has won five
Spur Award
Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...
s, given annually by the
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include histori ...
. He won three Spur Awards for novels and two for short stories:
** 1961: ''Comanche Captives''
** 1962: "Comanche Woman"
** 1968: "When the Caballos Came"
** 1977: ''The Great Horse Race''
** 1982: ''Match Race''
*Grove has also won two
Western Heritage Awards, given annually by the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum:
** 1961: "Comanche Son"
** 1968: ''The Buffalo Runners''
*Grove received a Distinguished Service Award from
Western New Mexico University
Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico. It was founded in 1893.
History
Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to offer classes on S ...
for his fiction set on the Apache frontier.
"Biographical Note" in the Register of the Fred Grove Papers, 1942-2002
Rio Grande Historical Collections, New Mexico State University Library
Bibliography
Novels
*''Flame of the Osage'' (1958)
*''Sun Dance'' (1958)
*''No Bugles, No Glory'' (1959)
*''Comanche Captives'' (1961)
*''The Land Seekers'' (1963)
*''Buffalo Spring'' (1967)
*''The Buffalo Runners'' (1968)
*''War Journey'' (1971)
*''The Child Stealers'' (1973)
*''Warrior Road'' (1974)
*''Sanaco'' (1974)
*''Drum Without Warriors'' (1976)
*''The Great Horse Race'' (1977)
*''Bush Track'' (1978) (sequel to "The Great Horse Race")
*''The Running Horses'' (1980)
*''The Phantom Warrior'' (1981)
*''Match Race'' (1982)
*''A Far Trumpet'' (1985)
*''Search for the Breed'' (1986)
*''Deception Trail'' (1988)
*''Bitter Trumpet'' (1989)
*''Trail of Rogues'' (1993)
*''Man on a Red Horse'' (1998)
*''Into the Far Mountains'' (1999)
*''Destiny Valley'' (2000)
*''A Distance of Ground'' (2000)
*''The Years of Fear'' (2002)
*''The Spring of Valor'' (2003)
*''A Soldier Returns'' (2006)
*''Trouble Hunter'' (2006)
Short story collections
*''Red River Stage: Western Stories'' (2001)
*''The Vanishing Raiders: Western Stories'' (2005)
*''Savage Land: Western Stories'' (2010)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grove, Fred
1913 births
2008 deaths
Native American writers
Lakota people
Osage people
Western (genre) writers
People from Hominy, Oklahoma