Material Detail

Little Cowpuncher was the name of a mimeographed school newspaper, written and illustrated by Anglo and Mexican-American ranch children. It appeared from 1932 to 1943 at five different rural schools in Southern Arizona, where Eulalia Bourne was the teacher. Most of the students who attended these one- or two-room schoolhouses, close to the Mexican border, were bilingual and bicultural. Some were the sons and daughters of pioneer Mexican and American ranch families; others were children of ranch hands working for large landowners; and a few were temporary students from families living on mining claims or road camps. Their original and unedited stories and drawings vividly describe their lives on isolated ranches, and the everyday and special events throughout the school year at Redington, Baboquivari, Sasco, San Fernando, and Sopori schools. On this site you will find Little Cowpuncher online, looking as much like the originals as possible. Sets of the actual newspapers are in the Special Collections Room at the University of Arizona Library, as well as The Arizona Historical Society, both located in Tucson, Arizona.

Disciplines:

• Humanities  / English  / Literature  / Prose Nonfiction