Wallace D. "Wally" McRae (born February 26, 1936) is an American rancher,

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

cowboy poet Cowboy poetry is a form of poetry that grew from a tradition of cowboys telling stories. Authorship Contrary to common belief, cowboy poetry does not actually have to be written by cowboys, though adherents would claim that authors should have so ...

and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. He runs the Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on Rosebud Creek, south of

Rosebud, Montana Rosebud is an unincorporated community, census-designated place and river town in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. It is located approximately 1.5 miles east of the intersection of the Yellowstone River and Rosebud Creek. Interstate 94 p ...

Biography

McRae is a third-generation rancher, his family members having raised cattle and sheep in southeastern Montana since 1885. He attended grade school and high school in nearby

Colstrip, Montana Colstrip is a city in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2020 census. Established in 1924 and incorporated as a city in 1998, Colstrip is the largest city in Rosebud County with 25.2% of the total populatio ...

. He graduated from

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

in 1958 with a degree in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. After college, he was commissioned by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets. Following the death of his father in 1960, McRae returned to Montana with his wife Ruth Hayes to take over the family ranching operations.

Career

McRae recalls having recited his first poem at age 4, at the one-room schoolhouse attended by his sisters. Since then, he has published more than 100 poems on topics both humorous and romantic, as well as matters of social concern such as environmental protection. As a poet, McRae is considered a "fixture at national cowboy poet gatherings" and is "internationally known for his poem 'Reincarnation' ". As of 2015, McRae has been an invited performer at every Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering. The American journalist

Charles Kuralt Charles Bishop Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on '' The CBS Evenin ...

discusses McRae's efforts to preserve the land and the cowboy way of life in a small community in his book, ''Charles Kuralt's America''. The poem "Things of Intrinsic Worth" appears with the interview in the Kuralt book. McRae was the subject of a segment on the American TV newsmagazine series ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' and he read his poetry in a 1999 episode of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

P.O.V. ''POV'' (also written ''P.O.V.'') is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) public television series which features independent nonfiction films. ''POV'' is an initialism for ''point of view''. ''POV'' is the longest-running showcase on television ...

'' His poems have been included in many anthologies of cowboy poetry. In addition, McRae wrote the foreword to a collection of cowboy poetry published in 2000.

Awards and honors

* 1989: Governor's Award for the Arts in Montana * 1990:

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

* Nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

to serve on the National Council of the Arts * 1999: ''

The Missoulian The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...

'' listed McRae as number 42 in the Most Influential Montanans of the Century * 2009: Montana Book of the Year award for ''Stick Horses'' * 2020: Inducted into the

Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) hall of fame organization. Its stated goal is to ""To honor our cowboy way of life, American Indian cultures, and our collective Montana western heritage. It confers the honour of induction on an ann ...

, with the Living Award * H.G. Merriam Award,

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

Mansfield Library

Published works

*''Stick Horses and Other Stories of Ranch Life'' (2009) *''Cowboy Curmudgeon and Other Poems'' (1992) *''Things of Intrinsic Worth: Poems'' (1989) *''It's Just Grass & Water: Poems'' (1986) *''Up North is Down the Crick: Poems'' (1985)

References

External links

McRae feature includes text of five poems, including "Reincarnation" and "Things of Intrinsic Worth"Short film on McRae, including his recitation of "Things of Intrinsic Worth"
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Wally 1936 births American male poets Culture of the Western United States Living people People from Rosebud County, Montana Cowboys Cowboy poets National Heritage Fellowship winners 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Montana State University alumni 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers