Speaker 1: This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
Speaker 1: the show where America is the star and the American people,
Speaker 1: and we'd love to hear your story. Send them to
Speaker 1: Ouramerican Stories dot com. There's some of our favorites up next,
Speaker 1: a story from Denver, Colorado, where we broadcast on k
Speaker 1: HOW and KA, two great iHeart affiliates in the Denver area.
Speaker 1: When Quentin we Dan started work at the Lazybe Chuck
Speaker 1: Wagon and Show in Estes Park, Colorado, he was a
Speaker 1: young man and his experience ended up changing his life.
Speaker 1: Here's Quentin with the rest of the story.
Speaker 2: Pasta Park is located in the northern half of Colorado
Speaker 2: along what we call the Front Range of Colorado. It's
Speaker 2: about seventy miles northwest of Denver, and beautiful town in
Speaker 2: the mountains, and it's basically a gateway town at the
Speaker 2: foot of Rocky Mountain National Park. It does draw a
Speaker 2: lot of traffic, you know. The town in the wintertime
Speaker 2: has maybe six thousand people, and I think in the
Speaker 2: summertime it's seventy to eighty thousand people. So in ESTs
Speaker 2: Park is a town with many things to do in
Speaker 2: the summertime, is very much a summertime tourism or visitor
Speaker 2: town and many of the kids starting it around the
Speaker 2: age of twelve or thirteen, you know that middle school
Speaker 2: age find summer jobs. And I had some friends who
Speaker 2: had worked at the lazybe the year before, and they
Speaker 2: contacted me after I got up fifth grade and said, hey, Quentin,
Speaker 2: you know there were buddies that I rode mini bikes with,
Speaker 2: and they said, hey, we had this job last year,
Speaker 2: and we think you're trying to save up for a
Speaker 2: new mini bike. You might be able to get this
Speaker 2: job at this place called the Lazy b It's a
Speaker 2: lot of fun. You get to have the food every night,
Speaker 2: and they feed you well, and we work really hard
Speaker 2: and have a lot of fun. So I went and
Speaker 2: actually interviewed for the job when I was gosh, just
Speaker 2: a week after I got out of the fifth grade,
Speaker 2: and they hired me. And I started in the summer
Speaker 2: of nineteen eighty two. And back then, you know, we
Speaker 2: worked from four o'clock to about ten o'clock every night,
Speaker 2: and it was ten dollars a night. Eventually, you know,
Speaker 2: I was there for ten summers, and eventually I saved
Speaker 2: up enough money in that job to pay not quite
Speaker 2: but a lot of most of my most of my
Speaker 2: college tuition to put myself to schools. It's you know,
Speaker 2: it's called chuck Wagon and Show, and it's basically modeled
Speaker 2: after a little bit of the history and life of
Speaker 2: the cowboy, right, and it goes back to the theme
Speaker 2: of you know, the late eighteen hundred, the cattle drives
Speaker 2: that came out of Texas going north to the you know,
Speaker 2: the stockyards in Kansas City or coming across Colorado to Montana.
Speaker 2: Goes back to the life of the cowboy and living
Speaker 2: on the range and eating this chuck wagon meal. Right,
Speaker 2: So you have the chuck wagon, they serve beef and
Speaker 2: beans and biscuits, and then at night the cowboys would
Speaker 2: sit around a campfire and play their guitars and tell
Speaker 2: jokes and stories, et cetera. And from that kind of
Speaker 2: developed a genre of music, right that really got going
Speaker 2: in the early nineteen thirties and forties with with you know,
Speaker 2: stand up cowboy wrangler bands like the Sons of the Pioneers.
Speaker 2: This format is all about having a western meal on
Speaker 2: an old hot tin plate, and then after that you
Speaker 2: sit around and you have a live Western show and
Speaker 2: they sing the songs of the cowboys.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: People really enjoy this kind of event and family friendly
Speaker 2: thing to do on vacation. It really started with the
Speaker 2: Flying w and Caldorf Springs in the nineteen fifties, and
Speaker 2: they started doing trail rides followed by an evening meal
Speaker 2: and then a little guitar playing, and so many people
Speaker 2: started coming for the evening meal and guitar playing. They
Speaker 2: quit coming for the trail rides. They came for the
Speaker 2: meal on the show, and from that started the first
Speaker 2: chuck wagon in show format, right. And it wasn't long
Speaker 2: before quite a few of these guys who did that
Speaker 2: singing in those shows, they left there and they went
Speaker 2: off to start their own chuck wagons and other towns
Speaker 2: around the West. This one got started in about nineteen
Speaker 2: sixty three in Estas Park, you know, by several of
Speaker 2: these singing cowboys, these singing wranglers who had done this
Speaker 2: at the Flying w They started the Lazy b and
Speaker 2: Estes Park. Eventually it came under the ownership of Tom
Speaker 2: Justin and he came to own it in the early
Speaker 2: seventies and he owned it and ran it and operated
Speaker 2: it until right about two thousand when he sold it,
Speaker 2: so it was really his life's work. He was he
Speaker 2: was one of the singers and really the star of
Speaker 2: the show with this classic deep baritone, beautiful voice, and
Speaker 2: led the led, you know, led the band Tom and
Speaker 2: his wife Helen. Helen was from Germany and had grown
Speaker 2: up and went through the Second World War and and
Speaker 2: and had really been through some tough times herself. And
Speaker 2: they were extremely frugal, diligent, hard working people, and their
Speaker 2: standard of excellence and expectation was was always striving for perfection.
Speaker 2: That meant having the meal cooked perfect every night, served
Speaker 2: at the perfect temperature. The biscuit had to be hot
Speaker 2: and steamy in the middle and not too brown or
Speaker 2: black in the outside right. And the show Tom Tom
Speaker 2: had a standard of how he wanted to deliver the
Speaker 2: show every night, and how hard he worked with the
Speaker 2: band and the musicians to rehearse and practice every note
Speaker 2: and storm of the guitar, the you know, how they
Speaker 2: delivered that show, how tight it was every night, how
Speaker 2: rehearsed it was, the harmonies they did. Tom was always
Speaker 2: striving for the perfection of that a true professional does.
Speaker 2: And I think that's really one of the things that
Speaker 2: was my takeaway it was not just working hard. A
Speaker 2: lot of people can learn to work hard, but always
Speaker 2: striving to I know we can do it better. Right.
Speaker 2: People come here and they want something authentic and different
Speaker 2: and we have to deliver. And that was that was
Speaker 2: the standard he kind of said in all of us.
Speaker 1: And you've been listening to Quentin. We Dan tell the
Speaker 1: story of his work and a Chuck Wagon and show
Speaker 1: called the Lazy b And it's in Estes Park. The
Speaker 1: front Range of Colorado is where you'll find it. God's Country.
Speaker 1: If ever there's a part of America it's beautiful.
Speaker 2: This is it.
Speaker 1: And that is seventy miles northwest of Denver where he
Speaker 1: learned important life lessons. When we come back more with
Speaker 1: Quentin with Dan's story here on our American Stories blihabib here,
Speaker 1: and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our
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Speaker 1: helps us keep these great American stories coming.
Speaker 2: And.
Speaker 1: We returned to our American stories and Quentin we Dan's story.
Speaker 1: When we last left off, Quenton was telling us about
Speaker 1: his time spent at the Lazy Bee Chuck Wagon and
Speaker 1: Show in Estes Park, Colorado. His experience there ended up
Speaker 1: paying for his college tuition and became a part of
Speaker 1: his life. Here's Quinton talking about his favorite experience from
Speaker 1: that time, working with his boss.
Speaker 2: There is one moment that really stands out. It stands
Speaker 2: out about the kind of place that it was and
Speaker 2: the kind of man that Tom was. Tom had a
Speaker 2: beautiful Western singing voice. Many people compared him to Johnny Cash.
Speaker 2: That kind of voice and that kind of experience for
Speaker 2: those who listened to him. So one of the songs
Speaker 2: that Tom did was Ghostwriters in the Sky right, one
Speaker 2: of the most famous Western songs of all time, and
Speaker 2: Tom probably sang that song better than anyone I've ever heard,
Speaker 2: including Johnny Cash. And so in es This Park, you know,
Speaker 2: in the mountains, you do get some tough weather at times.
Speaker 2: You get a lot of afternoon showers and sometimes lightning
Speaker 2: storms in the evening, and and we did get our
Speaker 2: share of those, and there was there was one night
Speaker 2: during the show, when they were performing and singing, we
Speaker 2: had a lightning storm blow through the area and the
Speaker 2: building was hit by lightning or nearby and we lost power.
Speaker 2: And Tom had trained me and several others that, you know,
Speaker 2: what do we do when we lose power? What are
Speaker 2: the protocols? Et cetera. And I'll never forget going from
Speaker 2: the kitchen and running out, you know, to the to
Speaker 2: the audience area where the show was going on, and
Speaker 2: of course the power was out except for a couple
Speaker 2: of small emergency lights in the back, and that meant
Speaker 2: there was no no you know, the speakers were out
Speaker 2: as well. I'll never forget running into that room and
Speaker 2: hearing hearing the audience all sh shooting themselves. Because as
Speaker 2: they were performing Ghost Riders in the Sky, Tom kept
Speaker 2: right on singing and he kept writing playing. He didn't stop.
Speaker 2: So as I ran into this room to go open
Speaker 2: the emergency exits and bring in more light, all you
Speaker 2: could hear was Tom singing Ghost Riders in the Sky
Speaker 2: and strumming his guitar, and over the next thirty seconds
Speaker 2: to one minute, you could hear the other singers try
Speaker 2: and get back on pace with him, and Tom never stopped,
Speaker 2: and Tom never made an excuse. And if that meant
Speaker 2: the lights are gonna go down, the lights are gonna
Speaker 2: turn off because of a storm, that doesn't matter. That's
Speaker 2: not the cowboy way to stop. And I'll never forget
Speaker 2: how Tom kept singing and he finished Ghost Riders in
Speaker 2: the Sky, standing there singing in the dark on the stage.
Speaker 2: You know, I've remembered that many times in my own career,
Speaker 2: when things are tough, you're working long hours, you know,
Speaker 2: all the things that life could throw at you in
Speaker 2: life or your job or whatever. I've never forgotten that more.
Speaker 2: Tom grew up in San Diego, and he kind of
Speaker 2: fashioned in the mountains outside of San Diego, and he
Speaker 2: kind of fashioned himself a cowboy. He felt like he
Speaker 2: really was the real deal. He'd grown up a small ranch.
Speaker 2: He was in the army, and I think that's when
Speaker 2: he started playing the guitar, and he and a few
Speaker 2: others went on one of those USO tours right where
Speaker 2: several of them get together and they go overseas and
Speaker 2: they hang out and play for the troops. And they
Speaker 2: did that for a year in the sixties. So I
Speaker 2: think that was a part of him coming of age
Speaker 2: realizing I'm going to do this all the time. Because
Speaker 2: when he came back, that is when he started at
Speaker 2: the Lazy b full time and when he went on
Speaker 2: from there to keep playing. So I think that's what
Speaker 2: got him going. It was really him that kept the
Speaker 2: Lazy Bee on a Western theme. They didn't really do
Speaker 2: country songs as we would think of country songs. It
Speaker 2: was really his mission. He talked about it a lot.
Speaker 2: He you know, there just weren't that many places you
Speaker 2: could go and listen to and have the nostalgia of
Speaker 2: the original Western music and life and time to the cowboy.
Speaker 2: So I did go back and continue to visit Tom Helen.
Speaker 2: His wife got sick and died in nineteen ninety eight.
Speaker 2: After that, you know, Tom was really on his own,
Speaker 2: trying to run a business, and I think he just
Speaker 2: got to a point where, you know, he was getting
Speaker 2: pretty old and and I think he found an exit
Speaker 2: point where you know, he had a buyer for the property.
Speaker 2: It was beautiful property, right, and I think that was
Speaker 2: his his exit point in two thousand and he took
Speaker 2: advantage of that. And then then unfortunately, you know, Tom
Speaker 2: was a smoker, and and you know he used to
Speaker 2: often say though it was his smoking. Oddly enough, he
Speaker 2: thought that really helped him keep his deep baritone, that beautiful,
Speaker 2: that beautiful tone in his voice. You know, I don't
Speaker 2: know if that was his own wishful thinking or what
Speaker 2: it was. But unfortunately, if Tom died of emphysema on
Speaker 2: Thanksgiving in two thousand and three, so that that was,
Speaker 2: you know, obviously the end. But I think at the
Speaker 2: you know, in two thousand when he gave it up,
Speaker 2: he had he had a buyer and a chance to
Speaker 2: exit the business. Another outfit bought it, tried to run
Speaker 2: it for just a few years and could not. They
Speaker 2: were not successful, and it closed down as a business.
Speaker 2: I then restarted it in twenty seventeen. But I thought,
Speaker 2: here's an opportunity to restart something I completely understand, to
Speaker 2: have a business that I can call my own, in
Speaker 2: my own hometown where I used to work when I
Speaker 2: was a kid. And so the doors will swing open
Speaker 2: at four thirty. There's a there's a there's a period
Speaker 2: of showing up, enjoying, enjoying some music, and settling in
Speaker 2: and then we do kick it off with the big
Speaker 2: dinner bell ringing at five thirty and we heard everybody
Speaker 2: into a line, and we bring him through a serving line,
Speaker 2: and you know, they're going to get an old, old
Speaker 2: tin plate, hot tin plate, and we're going to throw
Speaker 2: all hot food on there, and we're going to serve
Speaker 2: that whole room in about twelve or fifteen minutes. Right,
Speaker 2: We're going to move them through in a production fashion.
Speaker 2: You know, it's not a country club. You know, Helen
Speaker 2: used to scream at us all the time. Let's keep
Speaker 2: it moving here, folks. This isn't a country club, all right.
Speaker 2: This is a chuck wagon experience, right, So we move
Speaker 2: them through a line and we sit down and you
Speaker 2: can hear that. You can hear the you know, the
Speaker 2: knives and forks banging on the on the tin plates
Speaker 2: for half an hour, and everyone enjoys their meal. It's
Speaker 2: the wranglers and the cowboys who serve the meal and
Speaker 2: who come around with the coffee lemonade and engage the
Speaker 2: guests and tell some funny silly stories and talk to
Speaker 2: them about what's going on in esses and where to
Speaker 2: go in the park, et cetera. So it's a very
Speaker 2: engaging experience. After we clear the tables and it kind
Speaker 2: of quiets down a little bit and the sun starts
Speaker 2: to set in the Rockies. Out comes the Wrangler Band,
Speaker 2: and it's about seventy five eighty minutes, and it's a
Speaker 2: range of classical nostalgia, a little bit of new stuff,
Speaker 2: some good comedy, maybe a few in person nations that
Speaker 2: are always you know, that always get people dialed in,
Speaker 2: and they kind of go away from a feeling. Hey,
Speaker 2: there's a little bit of a story here, and we
Speaker 2: are kind of connected to the West. You know, I'm
Speaker 2: not a cowboy necessarily, even though I love the romanticism
Speaker 2: of the wrangler and cowboy life, and even though you know,
Speaker 2: I rode horses a lot as a kid, not so
Speaker 2: much anymore. Right, And we only have a couple authentic
Speaker 2: cowboys in our operation because there's not many around that
Speaker 2: can sing and play guitar and maybe do some yodeling
Speaker 2: like Vick Anderson, right, that are the real dad. Right.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of people I think that they like
Speaker 2: the idea of being a cowboy or a wrangler, right,
Speaker 2: and they might dress that way, and they might really
Speaker 2: enjoy singing about it. But it's really difficult to find
Speaker 2: some real cowboys. So I'm glad we have one real cowboy,
Speaker 2: and I'm glad we have a group of people that
Speaker 2: have maybe done a little bit of those kinds of things,
Speaker 2: but they're not real cowboys. They're great entertainers who love
Speaker 2: singing this stuff and put on a great show and
Speaker 2: can tell a good story about what this is all about.
Speaker 2: And we honor those good old cowboys. I think it
Speaker 2: really grounds the guest experience around why do we call
Speaker 2: it a chalk wagon? Why do we have the food
Speaker 2: that we do? Right? It ties back to the trail rides,
Speaker 2: you know, eating the beans and biscuits, right, And I
Speaker 2: think I think it really gives people a connection to
Speaker 2: what we're what we're all about. Right. This this something
Speaker 2: that's uniquely American that we can all celebrate together. It's
Speaker 2: a part of our history. It's a part of our
Speaker 2: modern history. You've got the music and the old music
Speaker 2: and how it influenced today's modern country music. So I
Speaker 2: think I think that's all all a big part of it.
Speaker 1: And a special thanks to Quentin with Dan for opening
Speaker 1: up his home to us for this interview, If Buchanan
Speaker 1: for the pre production, and Monty Montgomery for the post production,
Speaker 1: and that one experience that stood out about his boss
Speaker 1: at the Lazy b Chuck Wagon and Show was that
Speaker 1: night of the storm when the power went out and
Speaker 1: the speakers were out too. I'll never forget the audience
Speaker 1: shushing themselves, Quenton said. And Tom kept playing, didn't miss
Speaker 1: a beat. And by the way, I remember seeing Tony
Speaker 1: Bennett at bottom Line with my family and it was
Speaker 1: a beautiful small club, five hundred people. Same thing happened,
Speaker 1: and Tony Bennett, without missing a queue, wheels up George Shearing,
Speaker 1: the keyboard player, right to the center of the audience,
Speaker 1: without missing a beat, does an hour a cappella with candles.
Speaker 1: This is what professionals do, and this is what Tom
Speaker 1: taught Quinton how to be a pro. Quentin Wheedan's story
Speaker 1: of the Lazybe Chuck Wagon and Show at Estes Park,
Speaker 1: Colorado here on our American Story