“Words in the Wind”
Words and music by Marianne Fridell
with Miss Kursave’s 4th Grade Class
©2025 Marianne Fridell
Out in the dark, I watch the stars
Prairie air rises clear
On the ranch where my father took me everywhere
Mine to preserve and protect,
To care for and believe
As we listen to the prairie breathe.
I loved my childhood and remember
How Rebel ran so fast, then figure 8s at last
I’d ride alone, out on my own.
Reading and ice skating. Losing track of time.
My childhood was, oh, so fine.
Dad treated me like one of the boys
Gave me horses instead of toys
On the ranch where my horse and I rode everywhere.
We rode east to the farthest reach
Surprised wild coyotes.
And listened to the prairie breathe.
A rancher knows every season.
Where plants grow, where the cattle go
A rancher knows the reason
When something thrives, withers or survives.
A rancher knows.
Ticks and rattlesnakes, and prickly pear
Few strangers wander here
On the ranch where native plants grow everywhere.
Now many come to preserve and protect,
To care for and believe
As we listen to the prairie breathe.
A writer writes every day. Every day!
To write the truth. To know what happens.
I write the life that I live.
Just start writing. Follow where it goes.
This writer knows.
Out in the dark, I watch the stars
Prairie air rises clear
On the ranch where my father took me everywhere
Mine to preserve and protect,
To care for and believe
As we listen to the prairie breathe.
Now the prairie calls to me. Little Hattie leading me
So many discoveries. This is where I chose to be.
This is where I choose to be.
Linda Hasselstrom has been a member of the Hermosa community for many years. She has had the wonderful experience of being both a rancher and a writer. Linda was kind enough to share her incredible life story with us.
In her younger days, Linda spent a lot of time on the ranch with her father, working and riding her horses. When we asked her about her favorite memories with her horses, she told us about one of her favorite horses named Rebel and about creating a drill team with Arabian horses. Linda and one of her friends both had an Arabian horse and came up with an idea. They worked together to train their horses to run in patterns. This was especially challenging because the horses were fast and hard to control. Linda talked about her love of writing the truth and sharing her experiences that started at a young age. When she lived in Rapid City, one of her favorite memories was roller skating down Fifth Street. Linda moved to the ranch at the age of nine and began attending Hermosa School. She remembers her hour-long lunch break going by really quickly because they were having too much fun ice skating and getting soaking wet.
Ranching is a big part of Linda’s life because she has been doing it since she was young. She rode her horse almost every day. Her favorite place to ride was her east pasture, and she would sometimes spook the coyotes. She often recited Badger Clark as she rode because it kept up with the pattern of the horses’ walking. As Linda stands on the prairie, she sees beautiful prickly pear cacti and tall grass blowing in the fresh air. She feels that it is her job to protect the prairie that she loves so dearly.
Linda has been writing for the majority of her life. Her love started with keeping a journal, but she chose to share her writing and caught the interest of others. Her writing described the everyday life of a rancher, which is something that many people knew very little about. She published her first book, Windbreak, in 1987. Since then, she has published a total of 20 books and has helped many writers improve their writing. Linda gave us the advice, “write every day” and “always keep your writing.”
These days, Linda enjoys walking her dog, Hattie. She still carries a journal everywhere she goes; in case she thinks of something to write about. Linda plans to continue to protect the beautiful prairie, and she enjoys the peace that it provides. We want to thank Linda for her time and for encouraging us to write every day.