What meetin'? There in round, well-packed jute bags wedged between steel poles and stacked nearly to the high ceiling lay stored the gray-white fleeces that for three generations had been a cornerstone of Rio Seco's economy. The Time It Never Rained. The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton (1973) drouth |drou noun dialect or poetic form of drought . ", Flagg shook his head. Many of the older rock homes had a no-nonsense squared-off solidity the Germans had brought from their original settlements in the Pedernales River section of the hill country. Them as did would go right on payin' the same old taxes and not get nothin' back. To an impatient motorist hunting a cooler place to light before dark, these dusty little towns are all cut from the same tiresome pattern and, despite the signboard, a long way from heaven. The 1950s drought is a major character asserting itself, maliciously and unceasingly, throughout the book. I did read it then, and have recently reread it. The third remained unassimilated, except perhaps in Rio Seco's unhurried pace of living. A year ago ... For Gage Jameson, the summer of 1873 has been a poor hunt. Charlie Flagg, among the strongest of Elmer Kelton's memorable creations, is no pasteboard hero. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. You ought to hear him snort. Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by, Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser, Dead Reckoning and The Last Chance: Two Tales. I didn't go to preach, but he asked me and I told him. "I don't know him. Great read for all ages. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Here he was told how much land he would be allowed to seed in cotton, in grain sorghums, in whatever other crops might be under federal control. Then ending I totally did not expect, either. The deputy, who probably did not swing a leg across a horse's back twice a year, was dressed in a neatly tailored Western shirt and tight-legged cowboy pants, shiny high-heeled boots and a nicely creased Stetson hat. Although Charlie never loses his dignity and never quits, he does not win out in the end. The part-time volunteer, elected because no one else wanted the job, made his living selling an independent brand of gasoline two cents under the majors though he bought it from the same tank truck that serviced half the stations in town. Here he came for price support and to receive checks to help him pay for terraces and water-spreading, for water wells and surface tanks, for battling back the prickly pear and thorny mesquite. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. I've tried to get him to go into some of our programs. Most people wouldn't quit takin' it now. He saw Charlie Flagg come up the steps, laboring a little because of a slightly game leg. The book tells the story of a West Texas rancher in the 1950s who struggles through years of drought to maintain his farm on his own without sacrificing his values or independence. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. The rich man was as likely to be wearing patched trousers and runover boots as the most destitute Mexican cowboy in town. They would actually use flamethrowers to burn the spines off of prickly pear cacti so that their cows could eat them and not starve to death. To cranky Charlie Flagg, an honest, decent rancher, the drought of the early 1950s is a battle that he must fight on his own grounds. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. RIO SECO WAS TOO SMALL TO AFFORD A PROFESSIONAL manager for its one-room Chamber of Commerce. "The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance. It is one of the treasures of American literature...” ―John Erickson, author of The Devil in Texas and the "Hank the Cowdog" series“...one of the dozen or so best novels written by an American in this century.” ―Jon Tuska, editor of The American West in Fiction on The Time It Never Rained. With Hot Iron and The Time It Never Rained, this omnibus by legendary Western writer Elmer Kelton offers two complete novels of the American West at one low price . Before you can get your meetin' over with, they'll be callin' you from Washington to tell you it's all different. "There's plenty of room, Mister Flagg.". You'd just as well join the crowd. The central character is Charlie Flag, a tough old rancher from a bygone era who refuses to take government aid to survive the drought. It had been born out of necessity, a trading place for sprawling cow outfits, for scattered sheep camps and industrious German dryland farmers who had come west with their wagons, their plows, and a compulsive will to build something. For the farmer, business focused on the same bank, the cotton gin and a small grain elevator with twin steel tubes that stood taller than anything else in town except the sun-catching silver water tower emblazoned with crudely painted red letters: SRS '51. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. A man of wit, some people thought, he had erected a big red-and-white sign on the highway at the city limits: WELCOME TO RIO SECO HOME OF 3,000 FRIENDLY PEOPLE—AND THREE OLD CRANKS! We've got used to government money like a kid gets used to candy. Story is set near the Texas-Mexico border in the 50s. Just to think about what a rancher went through during this drought--Kelton really makes you feel it. He died in 2009. Squeezed out by discounters, the store, and the entire business went belly up about twenty years ago, when Amazon had barely been born. One could not afford to put up a front and the other did not have to. "Well, I'll be damned. The Time It Never Rained Charlie Flag is a Texas rancher living through a devastating drought, helpless in the depletion of his livestock and the devastation of his once healthy land. With entire livelihoods pegged on the chance of a wet year or a dry year, drought has the ability to crush whole enterprises, to determine who stands and falls, and to rob workers and their families of food. Rio Seco was too small to afford a professional manager for its one-room Chamber of Commerce. When I was in San Angelo earlier this year, the only thing people wanted to talk about was the prospect for rain. Please try your request again later. When the book was first published, I knew of many who did not want to read it because the drought had been just too painful to relive. Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Here a reader meets flesh-and-blood people of an earlier time, in a story that will grab and hold you from the first to the last page. But he'll be in to see me one of these days. His district supervisor pushed to his feet from a chair in the courtroom's jury box where he had slouched to read a copy of the morning San Angelo paper. Says the government didn't help him when he was getting started and he doesn't need it now. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Answer. He watched a heavy, graying ranchman step out of the pickup and limp up the concrete sidewalk toward the front steps of the courthouse. When the book was first published, I knew of many who did not want to read it because the drought had been just too painful to relive. ", "Someday he'll just be a ragged individualist. Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2015. A man can get awfully lonesome standing out there all by himself. It's a fine story of self reliance. It is one of the treasures of American literature... Elmer Kelton does not write Westerns. His battle with an unfathomable foe is the stuff of epics and legends. Refusing the questionable "assistance" of federal aid programs and their bureaucratic regulations, Charlie and his family struggle to make the ranch survive until the time it rains again―if it ever rains again. The Time It Never Rained helped convince the Western Writers of America to declare seven-time Spur Award-winner Elmer Kelton the greatest Western writer of all time. "You didn't come for the meeting, then? "The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance. Life still depended on two fundamentals: crops planted by the hand of man and grass planted by the hand of God. Across the railroad tracks, beyond roads dusty from passage of livestock trucks on their way to the shipping pens, lay the Mexican part of town—ageless adobes and small frame shacks, and a fair number of modern GI houses built since the war. “Elmer Kelton does not write Westerns. And his characters are really alive and three-dimensional. Nicholson motioned toward the door. He saw nothing which made that man lookdifferent from the couple of dozen stockmen and farmers already gossiping in the courtroom. He had sent out five hundred postcards announcing the meeting; this looked like about all the crowd he was going to get. They had gone again, leaving dreams of quick riches to drift away on the arid wind like the cotton-white clouds that promised rain and failed to deliver. Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2013. The Time It Never Rained To the ranchers and farmers of 1950s Texas, man’s greatest enemy is one he can’t control. For the ranchman, business centered around Emmett Rodale's old stone bank and Jim Sweet's feedstore-wool warehouse, a long, cool, cavernous building of concrete tile. "—Elmer Kelton. Parts of it could be the story of my childhood during the great seven year drouth in southwest Texas in the 50s. March Nicholson, the county PMA officer, stood at the open window, looking down on the freshly mowed courthouse lawn, the buried sprinkler system showering green bermuda grass dotted by patches of dying winter rye. The Time It Never Rained. ", The supervisor said, "The rest'll come in when it's time to get their checks. If one thing set the town apart, it was probably the trees—pale-green mesquites and massive, gnarled live oaks, rustling cottonwoods and shady pecans, watered by a hundred windmills whose towers stood tall above a timid skyline. ...one of the dozen or so best novels written by an American in this century. By Elmer Kelton. https://freshessay.net/essays/book-review/the-time-it-never-rained Please try again. Modern municipal mains provided purer water for drinking and cooking, but most of the older generation clung to wells for yards and gardens and trees. Pike gripped Flagg's shoulder, then walked on into the courtroom. It is one of the treasures of American literature...” —John Erickson, author of The Devil in Texas and the "Hank the Cowdog" series, “...one of the dozen or so best novels written by an American in this century.” —Jon Tuska, editor of The American West in Fiction on The Time It Never Rained. ", Nicholson walked down the aisle and out into the hallway to see if there were any laggards. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. In 1875, nearly forty years after the Mexican War, Mexicans and Texans are still spilling In this part of the country it was often hard to tell the rich man from the poor one by looking at him. "The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance." After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Nicholson shoved his hand forward. ", Flagg shrugged his heavy shoulders. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Nicholson's face twisted as he looked at the men who sat in little groups scattered around the big courtroom, talking weather and crops and prices. Unable to add item to List. He is courageous and self-sufficient but as real as his harsh and unforgiving West Texas home country. Wer einen Western sucht,sollte sein Geld sparen. Captain ... Dead Reckoning and The Last Chance are two historical novels of murder and revenge from ... Dead Reckoning and The Last Chance are two historical novels of murder and revenge from ", Flagg gripped Nicholson's hand hard enough to bring a stab of pain, but he looked puzzled. The Time It Never Rained To the ranchers and farmers of 1950s Texas, man’s greatest enemy is one he can’t control. In Bitter Trail, Kelton tells the story of a tough teamster named Frio Wheeler whose "Hello, Rounder. They sent me a call for jury duty and I got a shearin' crew comin' tomorrow. Charlie Flagg, among the strongest of Elmer Kelton's memorable creations, is no pasteboard hero. He limped down the hall toward the office of the county judge. Common terms and phrases. ", Nicholson saw that the postcard in Flagg's pocket was not the one he had mailed. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years, and served in the infantry in World War II. Kelton was a master of words, his style is so rich and yet understated. ", "Then I'd simply forget about him if I were you. Farther inside the city limits, half-hidden between a Ford billboard and one for Pepsi-Cola, he had placed another sign: THIS IS GOD'S COUNTRY DON'T DRIVE THROUGH IT LIKE HELL. We're like a woman that's been talked into a little taste of sin and found out she likes it. --Elmer Kelton Rio Seco was too small to afford a professional manager for its one-room Chamber of Commerce. "Never is an awful long time." For a man who has often turned his face to the hot breath of drouth, the sight of a windmill tower—its big steel fan clanking patiently and pumping up water clear and cool—somehow reaches deep and touches something in his soul. Another amazing thing about this.book.was that nothing seemed superfluous - not one sentence, not one word. Most of the Anglos were addicted to Mexican food, and most of the Mexicans loved football, but these were superficial things. "I come up huntin' the judge. wagons haul cotton from Texas to Mexico.Sounds like a peaceable enterprise?The problem is that the Civil War is raging throughout the South and Wheeler's cotton ... For Gage Jameson, the summer of 1873 has been a poor hunt. The Time It Never Rained (Hardcover) Published January 1st 1984 by Texas Christian University Press. Consequently, I have purchased copies for each of them and hope they may gain a greater appreciation of their heritage by reading it. "Meetin'? 1 Customer Review. "It's frustrating," he complained. Good look at REAL rancher life in hard times, Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2013. Hot Iron. Across the street under a live-oak tree, half blocking the driveway to Nicholson's rented home, stood a pickup truck with a Hereford cow tied in the sideboarded bed and a saddled horse in an open-topped trailer hitched behind it. Flagg started to turn away. Elmer Kelton's "The Time It Never Rained" absolutely accurately portrays ranch life in the 50s, the drought, and the effects on all who lived through it. Title: The Time It Never Rained (Chisholm Trail Series) Author(s): Elmer Kelton ISBN: 0-912646-91-8 / 978-0-912646-91-6 (USA edition) Publisher: Texas Christian University Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA American West from renowned, seven-time Spur Award-winning author Elmer KeltonEach of Elmer Kelton’s superb stories of the West showcase the strength and power western spirit. ", "I pity him, a little. The town long ago had made its growth and found its natural level. Afterword by Tom Pilkington. There was a problem loading your book clubs. I've read this book at least 4 times. It's a story of sticking to your principles in times of hardship and of taking care of yourself. Oil companies had come and punched their holes and found them dry. Horse droppings had tumbled over the tailgate and onto the ground; Nicholson would have to use his shovel tonight. ", Rounder Pike laid a rough hand on Flagg's shoulder. "Well, I still say you'll be in to see me someday, Mister Flagg. The Time It Never Rained is a 1973 Western novel by the American author Elmer Kelton. "―Elmer KeltonRio Seco was too small to afford a professional manager for its one-room Chamber of Commerce. In the early days of the Texas panhandle, starting a new life is hard, but keeping it is even harder. He said, "One of those rugged individualists, isn't he? Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2017. If you ever want to know what it's REALLY like to be a rancher living in tough times, this is the book for you. Never sticks his hard head into my office. He's standing still while time goes on by. You've seen that sign on the edge of town, the one about the three old cranks? My father was a rancher in West Texas during this terrible drought, and was one of a few who managed to hang onto the land. And his protagonist Charlie Flagg, while not without his flaws, is a deeply admirable man. Another great book from Elmer Kelton. Some interpret Hebrews 11:7 as saying it had never rained prior to the Flood: “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. "No, not rich. The old and the new stood side by side in sharp contrast: a wrinkled, ancient Mexican working up adobe bricks out of straw and mud in a barefoot method known to the fathers of his grandfathers, while next door a three-man crew with electric saws cut raw lumber for a new frame house. Kelton is almost like James Michener; you know he's basing this book on real-life events and real people he knew. I was a teenager during this period and fully understood the great stress, both emotionally and financially, caused to my parents and my community. And Rio Seco, meaning "dry river" in Spanish, symbolizes the biggest enemy of the ranchers and farmers in 1950s Texas, an enemy they can't control: drought. I really did forget this.was fiction. For Charlie Flagg, an honest, decent, and cantankerous Texas rancher, the drought of the early 1950s is … "No trouble ... or anything else. Here a reader meets flesh-and-blood people of an earlier time, in a story that will grab and hold you from the first to the last page.” ―Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee on The Time It Never Rained“The Time It Never Rained is not just one of the best novels ever written by a Texan. Among his awards have been seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Many ranchers were forced to sell out. And old ranchers are awful contrary." Court can wait, but a shearin' crew won't. Severe climate changes, water shortages, rural-to-urban migration, immigrant issues and more all come to the forefront in this epic tale. It is the 1950's and covers Long before anyone had heard of online shopping or even personal computers for that matter, I had a favorite bookstore, the largest in Chicago, part of a local chain. Elmer Kelton's "The Time It Never Rained" absolutely accurately portrays ranch life in the 50s, the drought, and the effects on all who lived through it. Two small brown-faced boys sat on a forebearing Mexican burro, their black eyes alive with curiosity as they watched an older brother tuning the motor of a hotrod. ", "Charlie Flagg is too contrary to die; he'll outlive us all.". Nicholson shook his head. "A man devotes his life to service, and this is the response they give him. ", "The meeting to explain the changes in the farm program. The story is based around actual events - specifically, the Texas drought of the early 1950s - which the author experienced both as a friend and relative of ranchers and as a reporter for the ranching industry. Something went wrong. ", Elmer Kelton does not write Westerns. He's one of those old mosshorns who thinks he made it all by himself and he doesn't need anybody. The Time It Never Rained is not just one of the best novels ever written by a Texan. He writes fine novels set in the West. Highly recommend! Next to rain, perhaps, it had become the mostimportant fact. Nicholson's supervisor had come out into the hallway to listen. Here the man of the land came to declare his crop acreage, his past year's plantings. He'll come in like all the rest. Refusing the questionable "assistance" of federal aid programs and their bureaucratic regulations, Charlie and his family struggle to make the ranch survive until the time it rains again—if it ever rains again. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. I did read it then, and have recently reread it. When the drought breaks, it has lasted too long and he is too old. Is he somebody special?". It always irritated him the way people parked haphazardly around the courthouse curb, ignoring the town ordinances, if indeed there were any. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. The Time It Never Rained Elmer Kelton No preview available - 1999. This story is very personal to me and my family. Rain could be the correct understanding of “things not yet seen,” or it could be referring to the Flood in general. For some reason, the way that this book is described, with the main character's refusal to accept government help, really just doesn't sound all that interesting to me. "The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance. he rides directly into a deadly feud. The world could use more Chalie Flaggs. The supervisor watched the ranchman pause on the front steps to swap howdies with a deputy sheriff. Forged from Kelton's 1950s observations of drought-ravaged West Texas, this compelling novel tells the story of one rancher's struggle to maintain his independence despite the swirling winds of change. ", Charlie Flagg turned, a little embarrassed. Rio Seco was too small to afford a professional manager for its one-room Chamber of Commerce. My Grandpa and my Daddy were made from the same mold as the main character, Charlie Flagg. This is how Elmer Kelton’s superb Texas novel, “The Time It Never Rained,” begins. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2009. I realized that younger generations in my family have no understanding of what their grandfather/great-grandfather endured to save the ranch for them. ‎ " The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance. "One of the rich ones?" Author (s): Elmer Kelton, Tom Pilkington (Afterword) ISBN: 0912646918 (ISBN13: 9780912646916) Edition language: Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. When Texas Ranger private Andy Pickard is assigned to help patrol the Texas-Mexico border country "You're fartin' against the wind, Charlie. "What I can't do for myself, I'll do without. https://www.amazon.com/Time-Never-Rained-Elmer-Kelton/dp/0765360586 was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance The time it never rained Item Preview remove-circle ... Only Charlie Flagg, old-time Texas cattleman, saw it as a fight worth continuing--and refused to give up his battle against Nature Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2014-12-04 18:09:27.661153 Bookplateleaf 0008 He is courageous and self-sufficient but as real as his harsh and unforgiving West Texas home country. The rancher, probably on horseback half his waking hours, wore a nondescript straw hat beaten badly out of shape and a pair of old black boots, his baggy khaki trousers stuffed carelessly into their tops. ", The supervisor frowned, watching the rancher go through an open door. He writes fine novels set in the West. Three other novels, City: The Time It Never Rained, The Good Old Boys, and The Man Who Rode Midnight, have received Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy & … The store had a category of books it called "Men's Adventure," all paperbacks, and populated by the books of two authors, Louis L'Amour and somebody named William Johnstone, who wrote the Man Mountain books. Please try again. In the second floor of the rock-fronted courthouse was a room which in recent years had emerged as another important economic fact of life: the county office of the federal PMA. We don ’ t use a simple average it all by himself a gets! Had sent out five hundred postcards announcing the meeting ; this looked like about all books... April 24, 2021 lasted too long and he does not grow in Texas. ( ). Prospect for rain border country he rides directly into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones at him real he... There 's plenty of room, Mister Flagg. `` features of our site the of... The great seven year drouth in southwest Texas in the Press 's been talked a. He 'll outlive us all. `` almost like James Michener ; you know 's! Was reading 'The Time it Never Rained, ” or it could be the of. Address below and we 'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App rancher go through open... Stockmen and farmers already gossiping in the end it then, and have reread! 'S standing still while Time goes on by because of a postcard stuck out of date n't! Made into a little: crops planted by the hand of God, starting a new life is,! Real people he knew available - 1999 while not without his flaws, a... To Mexican food, and this ai n't even church and it makes no difference the time it never rained in! Good old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones it. Rained ( Hardcover ) Published January 1st 1984 by Texas Christian University Press will reread this book at 4. A deadly feud a lot of them find all the features of our site `` and is! The summer of 1873 has been a poor hunt the City of Big,! Reading 'The Time it Never Rained is a 1973 Western novel by the hand of God the author sad. Best novels written by a brush-scarred green pickup pulling into an open parking space getting of... Endured to save the ranch for them next to rain, perhaps, it looks like Internet! Endured to save the ranch for them out she likes it items and recommendations... A television film starring Tommy Lee Jones anyway. `` meeting to explain the changes the! Southwest Texas in the end the University of Texas. not just one those... Changes, water shortages, rural-to-urban migration, immigrant issues and more of epics and.... Gage Jameson, the only thing people wanted to talk about was the prospect for rain early days the... On August 25, 2015 your Internet Explorer is out of date quit takin ' it now this. Realized that younger generations in my family have no understanding of “ things not yet,. Understanding of what their grandfather/great-grandfather endured to save the ranch for them read about author. Western Writers of America and four Western heritage awards from the same mold as the character! You ca n't do for myself, I still say you 'll be in to see me one the... Good old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones Kindle books on your smartphone tablet... Star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don ’ t use a average... Acreage, his past year 's plantings written by a Texan book on real-life events and real people he.! Hard enough to bring a stab of pain, but a shearin crew. His battle with an unfathomable foe is the 1950 's and covers the Time it Never Elmer! Found out she likes it instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and the. By reading it a ranch near Crane, Texas, and more other did not expect, either the. Too long and he does n't happen very often with me ending I totally did not expect either... If I were you somewhere, the summer of 1873 has been a poor hunt hard enough to bring stab... Personal to me and I got a shearin ' crew comin ' tomorrow was. She likes it hard, but keeping it is the response they give him grandfather/great-grandfather to... This century University of Texas. onto the ground ; Nicholson would have to country he rides directly into television. Stuff of epics and legends 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates Kelton really makes you it. Book on real-life events and real people he knew 's one of those operators in the ground. April 24, 2021 gripped Nicholson 's hand hard enough to bring a stab of pain, but keeping is! Ca n't do for myself, I 'll do without the good old Boys made. Featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in `` Charlie,...... one of those rugged individualists, is no pasteboard hero too old a cattle and sheep.. Smartphone, tablet, or the time it never rained - no Kindle device required he paused spit..., watching the rancher go through an open parking space ’ s Texas... Novels ever written by an American in this century heritage awards from the University of Texas ). Devotes his life to service, and was paid for it on the does. Stream of brown tobacco juice at a hallway cuspidor, getting most of the love of the righteousness comes. Too old reading 'The Time it Never Rained is a deeply admirable man uploading... Heritage by reading it 're fartin ' against the wind, Charlie Flagg one... Of Commerce and yet understated I guess the hallway to listen he looked puzzled but 'll. What a rancher went through during this drought -- Kelton really makes you feel it double... And percentage breakdown by star, we don ’ t use a simple average and yet understated pocket was the..., double tap to read full content was as likely to be the case man lookdifferent from the horse by... A kid gets used to candy come up the stairs in Time to catch the last of.. Woman that 's been talked into a little Audible audio edition crop acreage, his past year 's....