The New York Times identified Hallie Stillwell (1897?1997) as a "rancher and a Texas legend." As readers of her autobiography know, she became a rancher because she married one, but the legendary status she earned on her own.
At the age of nineteen, Hallie decided to take a job teaching school in the remote border town of Presidio, Texas. Her father thought it a dangerous proposition and told her she was getting into a wild goose chase. She responded, "Then I'll gather my geese." After teaching for a year, she got a proposal from an old-fashioned rancher twice her age, Roy Stillwell. Hallie's escapades as a bride in the rough environs of the Big Bend ranch have appealed to thousands of readers.
"More than anyone else, Hallie put a face on the Big Bend region and gave it a voice. The sweet grandmother lived a hard life, and had lived to laugh about it... In her delightful autobiography, I'll Gather My Geese, Hallie talks about the excitement of getting things like a kitchen sink, an outhouse, and a gas-powered refrigerator..." --The Austin Chronicle
1991
Texas A&M University Press, 153 pages
Available in hardback
